Air pollution and Population Dynamics

This flashcard set covers key concepts from a lecture on air pollution, population dynamics, and related environmental topics.

Noise Pollution

Any source loud enough to cause hearing loss, stress, heart problems

Aquatic Noise Pollution

Ship engines, military sonar, seismic air blasts

Acid Deposition

Sulfur and nitrogen oxides, primarily from burning fossil fuels

Major Sources of Acid Deposition

Coal-fired power plants, metal factories, vehicles with diesel

Environmental Effects of Acid Deposition

Respiratory irritation, asthma, higher risk for children. Soil and water acidification.

Clean Air Act

Laws regulating and reducing air pollutants.

Clean Air Act Details

Allows the EPA to set acceptable levels for criteria air pollutants.

Vapor Recovery Nozzle

Capture hydrocarbon VOCs released from gasoline fumes during refueling; reduces benzene exposure.

Crushed Limestone

Used to remove SO2 from coal power plants.

Fluidized Bed Combustion

More coal is combusted at lower temperatures, limiting NOx; uses limestone for efficiency.

Developing Nations Air Pollutants

Biomass fuels release CO, PM, NOx, VOCs

VOCs

Chemicals used in home products that easily vaporize and enter the air, irritating eyes and throat

Asbestos

A long, silicate particle previously used in insulation; phased out but still in older buildings; dangerous to remove, can lead to lung cancer.

Carbon Monoxide (CO)

An asphyxiant that causes suffocation due to CO binding to hemoglobin in blood; lethal to humans in high concentrations, hard to detect.

Radon Gas

Released by the decay of Uranium naturally found in rocks underground; enters through cracks.

Lightning Strikes Effect

Convert N2 in the atmosphere to NOx

Volcano Emissions

SO2, PM, CO, NOx

Particulate Matter (PM)

Solid or liquid particles suspended in air.

PM2.5

Particles from combustion; more dangerous to humans due to smaller size

Photochemical Smog

VOCs bind with NOx, broken by sunlight.

Impacts of Smog

Reduces sunlight, limiting photosynthesis; respiratory irritant, worsens asthma.

Urban Heat Island Effect

Urban areas tend to have higher surface and air temperatures due to low albedo surface

Thermal Inversion

Warm air is trapped near Earth's surface due to a temperature inversion

Six Criteria Air Pollutants

SO2, NOx, CO, Pb, O3, PM

Nitrogen Oxides (NOx)

Released by combustion; forms when N2 combines with O2; respiratory irritant, ozone formation in photochemical smog.

Primary Air Pollutant

Directly from a source (vehicles, power plants).

Gyres

Gyres are large ocean circulation patterns due to global winds.

Upwelling Zones

Areas of the ocean where winds blow warm surface water away from a landmass, drawing up colder, deep water to replace it.

El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO)

A pattern of shifting atmospheric pressure over the equatorial Pacific, affecting weather in South America, Australia, and Africa.

Watershed

All the land that drains into a specific body of water.

Albedo

Proportion of light reflected by a surface; higher albedo reflects more light (ice, snow), low albedo reflects less.

Gases in Earth's Atmosphere

Nitrogen (78%), Oxygen (21%), Argon (.93%), Water Vapor, CO2

Troposphere

Closest to Earth, where weather occurs and most dense.

Exosphere

Outermost layer

Porosity

Amount of pore space in soil.

What is Soil?

Mix of geological and organic components: sand, silt, clay, humus, nutrients, water, air, living organisms.

Weathering

Breakdown of rocks into smaller pieces through physical, biological, and chemical processes.

O Horizon

Layer of organic matter (plant roots, dead leaves, animal waste) on top of soil.

A Horizon

The topsoil, layer of humus and minerals from parent material; most biological activity.

B Horizon

Subsoil, lighter layer below topsoil mostly made of minerals, with little to no organic matter.

C Horizon

Closest to parent material, sometimes bedrock.

Soil Degradation

Loss of ability to support plant growth through soil erosion and nutrient depletion.

Compaction

Compression of soil by machines, grazing livestock, and humans reduces ability to hold moisture.

Core

Dense mass that releases heat.

Asthenosphere

Outer layer of mantle.

Lithosphere

Thin, brittle layer of rock floating on mantle.

Divergent Plate Boundary

Plates move away from each other

Convergent Plate Boundary

Plates move towards each other.

Convection Cycle (Divergent)

Magma heated by Earth's core rises to lithosphere.

Industrialization

Process of economic and social transition from agrarian to industrial economy.

Stage 1 (Pre-Industrial)

High death rate and high birth rate.

Stage 2 (Industrializing)

Decreasing death rates.

Stage 3 (Industrialized)

Very low birth and death rates.

Stage 4 (Post-Industrial)

Birth rate declines further, high life expectancy.

Carrying Capacity

Earth has carrying capacity based on food production.

Global Population Growth Rate

Crude Birth Rate - Crude Death Rate / 10

Rule of 70

Time it takes for population to double

Total Fertility Rate (TFR)

Total number of children a woman will have in her lifetime.

Replacement Level Fertility

TFR required to offset deaths in population to keep it stable.

Infant Mortality Rate (IMR)

Number of deaths of children under 1 year per 1000 people.

Age Cohort

Group of similarly aged individuals.

0-14

Pre-reproductive

15-44

Reproductive age.

Overshoot

Population cannot support itself anymore

Die-off

Sharp decrease in population size when resource depletion.

Biotic Potential

Maximum potential growth rate with no limiting resources.

Specialist Species

A small range of tolerance; narrow ecological niche; more prone to extinction.

Generalist Species

A larger range of tolerance; broader niche; less prone to extinction.

K-Selected Species

Few offspring, heavy parental care, reproduce many times, long lifespan, slow to sexual maturity.

R-Selected Species

Many offspring, reproduce once, short lifespan, quick to sexual maturity; high population growth rate.

Survivorship Curve

A life table charting survival rate in a population.