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Contemporary Urban Environments > Urban Air Quality > Flashcards

Urban Air Quality Flashcards

1
Q

What are particulates?

A

Tiny pieces of solids and tiny droplets of liquids floating in. the air

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2
Q

WHat is the difference between particulates in urban areas and rural areas

A

There are more in urban areas and their concentration is a lot higher

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3
Q

What are the 4 types of particulates.

A
  • Vehicle Exhausts
  • Burning of refuse, cigarettes and fuel
  • Construction, Minning and Quarrying
  • Plants and Moulds
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4
Q

Explain vehicle exhausts

A

They produce fine particulates. About 80% of fine particulates in urban areas are from vehicle exhausts

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5
Q

Explain burning of refuse, cigarettes and fuel

A

This produces both fine and coarse particulates like sulphates, nitrates, soot and ash

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6
Q

Explain construction, mining and quarrying

A

These activities produce coarse particulates like tiny fragments of rock, brick and cement dust

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7
Q

Explain plants and moulds

A

Generate coarse particulates eg - pollen and mould sporea

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8
Q

Why are particulates bad?

A

They cause health problems. Coarser particulates are usually filtered out by the nose or throat, however finer particles can enter the lungs

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9
Q

Why are PM10 bad?

A

Can cause or make worse problems like asthma, bronchitis, lung cancer and heart disease

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10
Q

What are examples of pollutants?

A

Nitrogen and sulphur oxide and hydrocarbons they come from burning fossil fuels

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11
Q

What happens when pollutants come into contact with sunlight?

A

The UV light causes them to break down into harmful chemicals which form photochemical smog

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12
Q

Where is photochemical smog a problem?

A

In cities like LA and Barcelona. It i more common in places with hot and sunny climates as there’s more sunlight

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13
Q

Why is photochemical smog a problem in warmer places?

A

As they have a temperature invasion which keeps pollutants at ground level

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14
Q

What is a temperature invasion?

A

A layer of warm air trapped below denser cooler air

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15
Q

What is photochemical smog linked to?

A

Health Problems - Breathing difficulties, respiratory problems and headaches

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16
Q

What 4 schemes have been put in place to reduce pollution by reducing traffic

A
  • Congestion Charge
  • Predestination
  • Public transport improvements
  • Other schemes for reducing traffic
17
Q

Explain the congestion charge

A

People are charged if they use their vehicles in certain places at certain times

18
Q

WHat has the congestion charge done in. its first year of operation

A

It reduced traffic and emissions by around 16%

19
Q

How much is the congestion charge?

A

£13.50 - £15

20
Q

Whats the negatives of the congestion charge?

A

People travel around the edge of the zone to avoid being charged increasing the traffic in these areas

21
Q

WHat is Predestination

A

Vehicles are restricted from entering certain places at certain times. Reducing pollution by road traffic

22
Q

What cities use Predestination

A

London, Liverpool and Cardiff

23
Q

What can Predestination lead to?

A

Shops receiving fewer customers as people can only get there by foot

24
Q

What does Public Transport Improvements aim to do

A

Encourages people to use public transport instead of their cars reducing pollution

25
Q

Give 3 examples of Public Transport Improvements

A
  • Improved bus services to make the journey cheaper faster and more efficient like bus lanes
  • Park and Ride schemes making public transport easier
  • Trams and Light railway services run on lines so don’t get caught on road congestion.They pollute less then buses
26
Q

Where has public transport improvements been successful

A

Links city centre to suburbs. In Bury it has taken 2.6 million cars off the roads

27
Q

How much did the metrolink cost?

A

£1 billion

28
Q

What problems did park and ride cause?

A

Shifted traffic to rural areas

29
Q

What has Mexico city done to reduce traffic?

A

Banned from using their cars q weekday a week, based on the last digit of their number plate - Some rich households get around this by buying 2 cars

30
Q

WHat have Birmingham and Bristol and London done?

A

Run a car sharing scheme to encourage people making the same journey to share a car. Some people find car sharing inconvenient or worry about sharing a car with a stranger

31
Q

What 2 schemes have been put in place large scale to tackle pollution?

A

Legislation (Laws) and Alternative fuels

32
Q

What did the UK do in 1956 and 1968?

A

UK clean air act - reduced domestic pollution by introducing smoke control areas where only smokeless fuel can be burned and reduced industrial pollution by introducing the use of tall chimneys

33
Q

WHat are cars doing on a large scale to reduce pollution?

A

The Road Vehicles Regulations reduce exhaust emissions by ensuring cars pass an emissions test in an MOT

34
Q

What has Scotland done to reduce pollution?

A

Legislation allows local authorities to do roadside emission tests, where they issue fines if vehicles fails. Throughout the UK, local authorities can issue fines to people who leave their engines running unnecessarily

35
Q

WHat can petrol and diesel be replaced by?

A

Biofuels (Bioethanol and Biodiesel) produced from plants

36
Q

Why are biodiesels good?

A

They directly replace petrol and. diesel and have lower particulate emissions. However, growing crops needed to make biofuels can reduce biodiversity

37
Q

What is LPG?

A

Liquified Petroleum gas produced from fossil fuels that have lower emissions than petrol or diesel. However, cars have to be converted to use LPG and service stations have to be adapted to distribute it

38
Q

Why are electric vehicles better

A

Lower emissions because they run off batteries, rather than conventional fuel. Electrical vehicles need recharge points and producing and disposing of the batteries can cause environmental problems

Contemporary Urban Environments (9 decks)

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