Environmental Geology exam 2

The layer of atmosphere immediately above the earth where weather events occur is called the

troposphere

Carbon dioxide is a major factor in the global warming story since…

CO2 absorbs more infrared radiation than emitting

If surfaces reflect energy, that means

the surface has a high albedo

Greenhouse effect

a natural phenomenon where the atmosphere transmits sunlight while trapping heat

What is the atmosphere made of?

nitrogen, oxygen, water vapor, and aerosols

What is the layer between the troposphere and stratosphere?

tropopause

Layers of atmosphere, in order of lowest to highest

troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere

Which atmospheric layer holds the ozone layer?

stratosphere

Which atmospheric layer does the aurora borealis occur?

thermosphere

How much solar energy reaches earth?

50%

How much solar energy is reflected by clouds and/or the atmosphere?

25%

How much solar energy is absorbed by gases in the atmosphere?

25%

Where on the light spectrum is solar energy?

near infrared, shortwave

Where on the light spectrum is energy reemitted by earth?

longwave

What is most of our solar energy used for?

to evaporate water

Latent heating

energy stored in water vapor, humidity

Coriolis Effect

effect where wind is curved, depending on which hemisphere

Jet streams

hurricane force winds at top of trophosphere

Where do monsoons happen most?

subtropical and tropical areas

Why do monsoons not happen in the exact place every time?

depends on where the sun is most intense, earth’s axis changes with relation to sun’s highest intensity.

Cold front

boundary formed when cooler air pushes warmer air

What happens when cold front occurs?

cold air is more dense, it pushes warm air up, cooling it in the process. This can cause thunderstorms to trigger

Warm front

boundary formed when warm air slides over cool air

What happens when warm front occurs?

warm air is less dense, and slides over cool air. This forms long wedge-shaped bands of clouds. This can cause days of drizzle

Cyclonic storm types

hurricanes, typhoons, tornadoes

What can we use to see climate shifts decades, centuries, or millennia before?

Ice cores

Ice cores

collected from glaciers and similar to tree rings, reveals information about past atmospheric conditions

What ice core gives us weather records 420,000yrs ago?

Vostok ice core

How do ice cores tell us past atmospheric conditions?

air bubbles trapped in ice

Little Ice Age

historical climate change that affected humans back in the 1400s. Temps dropped, crops failed, fish migrated, and shipping lanes were blocked with ice

Milankovitch Cycles

periodic shifts in Earth’s orbit and tilt, changes distribution and intensity of sunlight

El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO)

occurs when warm surface waters in pacific ocean move back and forth between Indonesia and south America. Causes intense storms and heavy rains from cali to midwestern states

La Niña

causes high sea surface temperatures. This means more hot/dry weather and more violent hurricanes

Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO)

large pool of warm water moving back and forth across North Pacific every 30 years

What is affected by PDO?

salmon harvest in Alaska/pacific northwest

North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO)

similar to PDO but occurs between Canada and Europe (Atlantic)

What is the most important environmental issue of our time?

anthropogenic climate change

What were the co2 levels in the air in 1958 compared to 2011?

1958 had 315 ppm and 2011 increased to 397ppm

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

internation group of scientists/gov representatives from 130 countries that review scientific evidence for climate change

What is the probability that observed climate changes are anthropogenic, according to a 2007 report?

90%

What are the temp increase predictions by 2100?

1 to 6 degrees C

Examples of greenhouse gases?

CO2, Methane, and Nitrous Oxide

Sources of methane?

ruminants and rice paddies

Sources of Nitrous Oxide

vehicle engines, and agriculture process

Which area of the earth is warming the fastest from climate change?

poles

What are 4 steps for combating climate change?

implement emissions trading, sharing tech with less developed countries, reducing deforestation, and helping poorer countries respond to climate change

Kyoto Protocol (1997)

protocol where nations roll back on greenhouse gasses by 5% below 1990 levels by 2012

Issues with Kyoto protocol

China and India were both exempt from this agreement, and countries like the US and Australia declined to ratify the protocol

Carbon trading

an option to control greenhouse emissions. Described as legal limits on emissions, different amounts depending on countries. If you want to emit more than you have, you must “purchase” emission credits from others

Which greenhouse gas is the most powerful absorber of heat energy?

methane

Which country is the first to be listed as “Carbon neutral”

New Zealand

Anthropogenic

produced by humans

Natural sources of air pollution?

volcanoes, sea spray, vegetation, dust storms, and bacterial metabolism

What 6 criteria pollutants does the US Clean Air Act recognize

sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide (CO), ozone, lead, and particulates

Primary pollutants

released directly from source

Secondary pollutants

pollution made when a chemical is mixed with something else in the air making it hazardous

Fugitive Emissions

emissions that unintentionally escape source. Seen with dust from strip mining, rock crushing, construction and destruction

Sulfur dioxide

corrosive gas which reacts with vapor in air, causes acid rain.

Where is sulfur dioxide naturally from?

sea spray, volcanic fumes, and organic compounds

Where is sulfur dioxide anthropogenically from?

fossil fuel combustion, and smelting of sulfide ores

Nitrogen Oxides

reactive gases made when nitrogen’s heated above 650 degrees C in the presence of oxygen, OR nitrogen compounds oxidized by bacteria

Ozone

a pollutant in the troposphere, damages vegetation and buildings

Lead

a neurotoxin and metallic air pollutant, makes up 2/3 of metallic air pollution

Which pollutant was banned from being in gas, being the most successful pollution control in American history?

Lead

Mercury

another type of metallic air pollution, also a neurotoxin, most exposure in humans from eating fish

Halogens

group of elements (Fluorine, Chlorine, Bromine) that can be a pollutants

Types of aerosols

dust, ash, soot, lint, smoke, pollen, and spores

Why is dust dangerous for humans?

can carry things like viruses and bacteria, primary source of allergies and asthma

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCS)

organic chemicals usually oxidized to CO and CO2

Types of Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAP)

carcinogens, neurotoxins, and endocrine disrupters

What is used to report on toxin release and waste management?

toxic release inventory

How many Americans live in areas where cancer rate is 10x normal standard?

over 100 million

Aesthetic degradation

type of “unconventional pollutants” which includes noise, odor, and light pollutions

EPA found that concentrations of toxic air pollutions are higher in

indoor areas than outdoor. This is due to people being inside more than outside, and chemicals (chloroform and benzene) are found more

Who suffers most from indoor air pollution?

less developed countries. This is due to organic fuels making up most of the household energy, which is poorly ventilated

Where on earth did we notice that stratospheric ozone levels were dropping rapidly?

south pole

What material caused a drop of stratospheric ozone levels?

chlorofluorocarbons (CFC)

What is the result of reduced concentration of ozone in the stratosphere?

more UV radiation hits the ground

Air pollution that caused a 4 day long temp inversion in London, England in Dec 1952 caused how many deaths?

12,000

What is produced when theres incomplete combustion of fuel

carbon monoxide

What are examples of a non-point source water pollution?

runoff from parking lots, agricultural fields, feedlots, golf courses etc

What are pathogens

disease causing organisms

What pH does rainwater have?

5.6

What protocol phased out high usages of CFC and other chlorines?

Montreal Protocol (1987)

How much CFC has been cut down since Montreal Protocol?

95% since 1988

According to WHO, how many people die prematurely from air pollution related illnesses each year?

5 to 6 million people

What are some human health effects of air pollution?

bronchitis, emphysema, any sort of lung disease

Acid deposition

deposition of wet acidic solutions or dry acidic particles in air

Why is pH important in freshwater lakes?

if pH is 5, it’ll disrupt animal reproduction and kill plants, while anything lower will kill fish

What other structures are affected by Acid Deposition?

forests, marble, limestone, and steel

What can we do to control air pollution?

conservation of energy, removing particles from the air, and electrostatic precipitators

Clean Air Act (1963)

First national pollution control that implements air quality standards and identifies critical pollutants.

What does the 1990 amendment of the Clean Air Act address

Acid rain, urban air pollution, toxic emissions, and ozone depletion

What is the purpose of Cap and Trade programs?

they set a maximum amount of pollutants for companies, but allow companies to pay others to reduce emissions for them

Is Cap and Trade successful in reducing pollutants?

although it worked well with reducing sulfur dioxide, its caused more local hot spots that continue to pollute

Which pollutant hasnt shown significant decline in the last decade?

Nitrogen Oxides

Why is air pollution is less developed countries still an issue?

alot of these places have weak or nonexistent government regulation, so these places usually dont have anything like the Clean Air Act

Water pollution

Any physical, biological, or chemical change in water quality that affects organisms or makes water unusable

Point Source

discharge pollution from specific locations

Examples of point source locations

factories, power plants, drain pipes