The Atmosphere

Withgott and Brennan, Chapter 12( p. 271-287; also omit section on climate patterns)

Objectives: Students should be able to

1. describe the layers of the atmosphere
2. discuss the cause and effect of criteria air pollutants
3. discuss the causes and effects of selected other air pollutants
4. discuss the impact of the Clean Air Act and the Montreal Protocol

Composition: N₂, O₂, argon plus traces of other gases and aerosols

Layers:  troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere/thermosphere

• Locations

• Basic properties

• Inversions in troposphere:  cause and effect

Outdoor air pollutants

Natural pollutants: dust from wind; sulfur dioxide and particulates from volcanoes, particulates from fires

Criteria pollutants (established by EPA, Clean Air Act)

•     Carbon monoxide

•     Sulfur dioxide

•     Nitrogen dioxide

•     Tropospheric ozone

•     Particulate matter

•     Lead

•     Know sources and why they are harmful

•     Regulated by EPA, monitored by state and local agencies

           Other pollution problems

• Smog: types, causes and why they are harmful

• Stratospheric ozone depletion:  causes; Montreal Protocol

• Acid rain

Indoor air quality:    

• increasingly aware of its importance

• industrialized nations: tobacco smoke and radon are most common; mold

• developing world: smoke and particulates from fires