Define Acid Deposition

• mix of pollutants that deposit from the atmosphere

• can take the form of acidic wet or dry

Green House Gases:

• gas in the atmosphere that absorbs infrared radiation

Acid deposition on aquatic ecosystems

• kills fish/amphibian larvae

• damages fish gills

• disrupts food webs

Effects of acid deposition on plants

• defoliation of vegetation

• reduced photosynthesis which reduces plant productivity

• decreases crop yield

4 Strategies to Reduce Air Pollution

• reduced reliance on fossil fuels

• public transportation

• renewable energy sources

• more green spaces

• catalytic converters

• ‘polluter must pay’ legislation

type of radiation to reduce air pollution

• ultraviolet radiation (UV)

Why wasn’t Rowland-Molina hypothesis originally supported?

• originally based on other hypotheses not data

• other hypothesis were backed up by data

Reduce damage to ozone

• education and data collection of CFCs

• international agreement (Paris, Montreal)

• replace CFCs with less damaging products

HCFCs? F-Gases? What do they do?

• Hydrochlorofluorocarbons and fluorinated gases used to replace CFCs

Impacts of using HCFCs

• less stable also less harmful than CFCs

• depletes ozone at slower rate and slower period of time

Impacts of using F-gases

• least harmful to ozone

• having the lowest impact on the amount of ozone damage caused

• strong greenhouse gas and add add to greenhouse effect