warm layer of air at mid-altitude covers a layer of colder, denser air below
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convective circulation
air picks up moisture and rises, air cools once risen and forms clouds, then precipitates, finally cooler, denser air sinks and cycle restarts
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hadley cells
warm air rises and expands, releasing the mouisture that becomes the heavy rainfall producing the tropical rainforests
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ferrel and polar cells
similar to hadley but less intense and located around 60deg latitude and dry conditions near the poles
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rule of 70
70/growth rate
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secondary air pollutants
primary pollutants that react with another part of the atmosphere to produce a new compound (ozone and sulfuric acid!)
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most US nitrogen oxide pollution results from ____
combustion in vehicle emissions
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The Clean Air Act of 1970
revision of prior Congressional legislation to control air pollution. set stricter standards for air quality, imposed limits on emissions from new sources, provided new funds for pollution control research, let citizens sue for bad air
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THe Clean Air Act of 1990
strengthened regulations pertaining to air quality standards, auto emissions, toxic air pollutants, acid deposition, and stratospheric ozone depletion
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catalytic converters
converts hydrocarbons, NOx, and CO emissions into CO2, H20 vaper, and N2, resulting in cleaner burning engines
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scrubbers
use a combination of air and water that actually seperates and removes paticulates and SO2 before they are emitted from smokestacks
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electrostatic precipitators
installed in smokestacks, use an electrical charge to make particulates coalesce so they can be physically removed before entering the atmosphere
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Clean Power Plan
EPA’s plan for regulating existing power plants by cutting CO2 emissions below the 2005 levels by 2030
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industrial smog
results from coal or oil burning, sulfuric acid
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photochemical smog
formed when sunlight reacts with NO and VOCs released from automobile combustion. tropopheric ozone most abundently produced by these reactions
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stratospheric ozone
absorb UV rays, protects life on earth
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tropospheric ozone or ground-level ozone
colorless gas, poses human respiratory problems
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chloroflourocarbons (CFCs)
ozone-depleting substance, NOT GOOD
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acid deposition (187 prep book)
desposition of acidic or acid-forming pollutants that have a pH lower than 6.5 (acid rain, sleet, snow, or hail)
causes nutrient leaching, “mobilizes” toxic metal ions, endangers aquatic life, erodes stone buildings
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global warming potential
the relative ability of a greenhouse gas to contribute to global warming
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radiative forcing
the earth is receiving and retaining 1.6watts/m2 more thermal energy than it is emitting back into space
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ocean absorption
decreasing as humans emit more and more CO2
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The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
IPCC! you know this dawg :)
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SOME effects of climate change include
higher sea levels, storm surges, ocean acidification, modification of biological phenomena, spatial shifts in the ranges of organisms
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SOME **actions against** climate change include
(194 prep)
shifts in electricity generation and transportation, agricultural developments, carbon sequestration, adaptation
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carbon offsets
participants can make up for their high emissions by paying someone else to reduce theirs, literally **offsetting** them :D