chapter 15 & 19 Flashcards
air pollution
introduction of chemicals, particulates, and microorganisms into the atmosphere
particulate matter
solid or liquid particles suspended in air
haze
reduced visibility
photochemical oxident
a class of air pollutants formed as a result of sunlight acting on compounds such as nitrogen oxides
ozone
a secondary pollutant made up of three oxygen atoms bound together
smog
a type of air pollution that is a mixture of oxidents and particulate matter
photochemical smog
smog that is dominated by oxidents such as ozone
sulfurous smog
smog dominated by sulfur dioxide and sulfate compounds
volatile organic compound
an organic compound that evaporates at typical atmospheric temperatures
primary pollutant
a polluting compound that comes directly out of a smoke stack exhaust pipe or natural emission source
secondary pollutant
a primary pollutant that has undergone transformation in the presence of sunlight, water, oxygen and other compounds
thermal inversion
a situation in which a relatively warm layer of air at mid altitude covers a layer of cold dense air below
inversion layer
the layer of warm air that traps emissions in a thermal inversion
global change
change that occurs in the chemical biological and physical properties of the planet
global climate change
changes in the average weather that occurs in an area over a period of years or decades
global warmig
the warming of the oceans land masses and atmosphere
greenhouse effect
absorption of infrared radiation by atmospheric gases and reradiation of the energy back toward earth
greenhouse warming potential
an estimate of how much a molecule of any compound can contribute to global warming over a period of 100 years relative to a molecule of CO2
ocean acidification
the process by which an increase in ocean CO2 causes more CO2 to be converted to carbonic acid which lowers the PH of the water
kyoto protocol
an international agreement that sets a goal for global emissions of greenhouse gases from all industrialized countries to be reduced by 5.2% below their 1990 levels by 2012
carbon sequestration
an approach to stabilizing greenhouse gases by removing CO2 from the atmosphere
