Greenhouse Gases and Air Pollution Lecture Notes

Practice vocabulary flashcards covering greenhouse gases, air pollution, and the biological consequences of global warming based on the provided lecture notes.

Greenhouse gas

A gas that absorbs infrared radiation from the Sun, causing it to remain trapped in the Earth’s atmosphere.

Carbon monoxide (CO)

A pollutant that binds to haemoglobin, reducing the oxygen-transporting capacity of the blood and potentially leading to suffocation and death.

Sulfur dioxide ($SO_2$)

A gas that combines with water vapor to form acid rain, which damages plants, aquatic life, and soil, and causes respiratory problems in humans.

Anthropogenic greenhouse effect

The increase in the greenhouse effect specifically caused by human activities.

Global Warming Potential (GWP)

A relative measure of how much heat a greenhouse gas traps in the atmosphere, with Carbon Dioxide having a baseline value of $1$.

Methane

A potent greenhouse gas produced by cattle during grass digestion and released by rice paddy fields, with a Global Warming Potential of $21$.

Nitrous oxide

A greenhouse gas with an atmospheric lifetime of $120\,yr$ and a Global Warming Potential of $310$.

Water vapour

An unpredictable and dynamic greenhouse gas with a very short atmospheric lifetime of $1-5\,days$.

Carbon dioxide ($CO_2$)

A gas produced during the combustion of fossil fuels that reached an average concentration of $422.8\,ppm$ in $2024$.

The Greenhouse Effect

A natural process that traps heat in the atmosphere, keeping the planet at about $15-18\,^{\circ}\text{C}$ to support life.

Enhanced greenhouse effect

The process where extra greenhouse gases from human activities trap additional heat, leading to global warming and climate change.

Nitrogen oxides

Non-metal oxides that contribute to air pollution and can be blown by the wind to cause acid rain in different locations or countries.

Dalmatian pelican

A species in Deep Bay, Mai Po, whose numbers fell to just one bird by $2009$ due to climate change and rapid human development.

CFCs

Short for Chlorofluorocarbons, listed as one of the key greenhouse gases alongside water vapour, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane.