Industrial scientists have hypothesized that much of the nitrous oxide that contributes to air pollution originates from the burning of organic matter in forest fires
The results of one extensive study in which smoke samples taken from forest fires were bottled and then analyzed in a research laboratory supports this hypothesis, since the analysis showed that all of the samples contained high concentrations of nitrous oxide
By using gas-analyzing devices mounted on helicopters, researchers can perform on-site analyses of smoke instead of sending smoke samples to laboratories for analysis.