Flashcards
Air Pollution
Cards in this deck (27)
- 1Definition of aerosola dispersion of solid and liquid particles
suspended in gas (air) - 2Primary AerosolAtmospheric particles that are
emitted or injected directly into the atmosphere. - 3Secondary aerosolAtmospheric particles that are
created by in situ aggregation or nucleation from gas
phase molecules (gas to particle conversion). - 4How much total flux is there of aerosols and how much of that is anthropogenicTotal 2500-24000
Anthropogenic 300-650 - 5Types of natural background aerosol-Stratospheric (Volcanoes SO2 → H2SO4. Cloud formation)
- Tropospheric (Deserts, Oceans, Vegetation) - 6What unit is particle size measured in?Aerodynamic diameter
- 7Dynamic of aerosols- Formation (Gas-particle conversion, photochemical processes)
- Growth (Condensation, coagulation. Coagulation
important for high particle numbers)
-Removal (Wet deposition, dry deposition) - 8Controls on Aerosol conc- emitter activity
- Weather patterns
- Wind, turbulence
- Precipitation
- Topography - 9Thermal inversion-Stable layer of warm air forms over an
extended area of cooler air near ground
level.
-Particles accumulate under the warm
layer, unable to rise into the upper
atmosphere and be dispersed. - 10Effects of aerosols on climateDirect effect – scatter and absorb solar and IR radiation in the atmosphere.
Indirect effects – alter cloud formation and cloud albedo.
Considered to have negative effect – globalcooling. - 11Other effects of aerosols- haze (mainly PM 2.5)
- corrosive, acid rain, effects buildings,, monuments
- environmental damage, acidification of river and lake - 12Aerosols health effects- exposure can cause:
- Premature death
- respiratory problems
- lung cancer/disease
- heart attacks
-premature births - 13Particle sources includeMobile sources - vehicles (VOC, NO2 and PM)
Stationary sources - Power stations, factories, central heating (NO2, SO2 and PM)
Natural sources - Forest fires, volcanoes, dust storms (PM) - 14Common UK air pollutantsPM - dust, sea spray, pollen
NOx - mainly anthropogenic
O3 - Secondary
SO2 - Mainly anthropogenic
CO - Anthropogenic
PAH - Anthropogenic - traffic
Benzene - Anthropogenic
Lead
Ammonia - 15legislative steps1956 - clean air act
1961 - national air pollution monitoring network
1998 - automatic urban and rural network (AURN) established 127 sites - 16AURN areas monitoredUrban area
Suburban area
Industrial station
Rural area
Traffic station
Background station - 17What is air pollution?Mixture of gases and particles released into the atmosphere by man-made processes, typically combustion of fossil fuels
- 18CO- Incomplete combustion of fuel ('cold' or badly tuned engines)
- road transport (90%)
- Levels are decreasing (improved vehicle engine efficiency, catalytic converters). Improvements partially cancelled out by an increase in traffic levels - 19SO2- Globally, much of the SO2 comes from natural sources, but in the UK a large proportion comes from power stations
- coal or in the vicinity of coal- or oil-fired power stations
- acid rain, sulfurous smog - 20NO2- Sources (UK): Road transport (50%) power stations (25%)
- formation of tropospheric O3
- irritates and inflames the lungs - 21Hydrocarbons- VOC and PAH
- VOCs contribute to the formation of ground level ozone.
- Certain VOCs are known to cause cancer - 22Tropospheric ozone- Increased NO2/O3 levels in the summer may cause photochemical smog.
- lung and eye irritation, migraine. Strong oxidising agent, damages buildings and vegetation - 23PM- Natural and anthropogenic
- no known safe limit Finer particles (PM10, diam. < 10 mm) penetrate more deeply into the lungs
- Very fine particles (from combustion) can remain in the atmosphere for weeks, causing transboundary pollution - 24NAQS- UK National Air Quality Standards
- Concentration (over a given time period) below which pollution levels are considered acceptable. - 25AQMAsAir Quality Management Areas
- Places where objectives not likely to be achieved are declared local AQMA, and a Local Air Quality Action Plan is set up to improve air quality - 26AQAPAir Quality Action Plan
A report on improving air quality in an AQMA - 27AQAP Measures- Park and ride schemes
- Improvement of bus quality
- Green travel planning (car share schemes, secure bike parking and showers, season tickets for public transport)
- Stagger school times
- Better access to public transport and improvement of up to date travel times
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- Undergraduate Aspects of Pollution Flashcards on Air Pollution, created by Emma Grantham on 14/01/2018.
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- Emma Grantham
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