3

The atmosphere The atmosphere’s composition

Wheather, Climate and Air
 Atmosphere = the thin layer of gases around Earth
Pollution  Provides oxygen
DR MUHAMMAD IKRAM A WAHAB  Absorbs radiation and moderates climate
25 OCTOBER 2021  Transports and recycles water and nutrients
 78% N2, 21% O2
 Minute concentrations of permanent (remain at stable concentrations)
gases
 Variable gases = varying concentrations across time and place
 Human activity is changing the amount of some gases
 CO2, methane (CH4), ozone (O3)

6
The two highest levels of the
The first two layers of the atmosphere Atmospheric properties
atmosphere
 Troposphere = bottommost layer (11 km [7 miles])
 Atmospheric pressure = the force
 Air for breathing, weather  Mesosphere = 50–80 km (31–56 mi) above sea level per unit area produced by a
 The air gets colder with altitude  Extremely low air pressure column of air
 Tropopause = limits mixing between troposphere and the layer above it  Temperatures decrease with altitude  Relative humidity = the ratio of
 Stratosphere = 11–50 km (7–31 mi) above sea level water vapor air contains to the
 Drier and less dense, with little vertical mixing  Thermosphere = atmosphere’s top layer
amount it could contain at a
 Becomes warmer with altitude
given temperature
 Extends upward to 500 m (300 mi)
 Contains UV radiation-blocking ozone, 17–30 km (10–19 mi) above sea level  Temperature = varies with
location and time
Atmospheric pressure
decreases with altitude

Solar energy causes air to circulate 9

Solar energy heats the atmosphere Solar energy creates seasons
 Energy from the sun:
 Air near Earth’s surface is warm
 Heats and moves  Because the Earth is tilted, each hemisphere tilts toward the sun for
and moist
half the year
air  Convective circulation = less
 Results in a change of seasons
 Creates seasons dense, warmer air rises
 Creating vertical currents
 Influences weather
and climate  Rising air expands and cools

 Solar radiation is highest near the 


 Cool air descends and
equator becomes denser
 






 The spatial relationship between the Earth and sun determines how much  Replacing rising warm air
solar energy strikes the Earth 



Convection influences
 Microclimate = a localized pattern of weather conditions
weather and climate



 12
The atmosphere drives weather and Air masses have different pressures
Air masses produce weather
climate

 Weather and climate involve the physical properties of the troposphere  High-pressure system = air that descends because it is cool
 Front = the boundary between air 




 Temperature, pressure, humidity, cloudiness, wind masses that differ in temperature,  It spreads outward as it nears the ground
 Weather = specifies atmospheric conditions over short time periods and moisture, and density 

 Brings fair weather
within small geographic areas  Warm front = boundary where warm,
moist air replaces colder, drier air  Low-pressure system = warm air rises and draws air inward toward
 Climate = patterns of atmospheric conditions across large geographic
the center of low pressure
regions over long periods of time  Cold front = where colder, drier air
 Mark Twain said, “Climate is what we expect; weather is what we get” displaces warmer, moister air  Rising air expands and cools
 It brings clouds and precipitation








Climate patterns and moisture Global wind patterns

Global wind patterns
distribution
 Doldrums = a region near the equator with few winds
 Atmospheric cells interact with Earth’s rotation to produce global wind
patterns  Trade winds = between the equator and 30 degrees
 As Earth rotates, equatorial regions spin faster  Blow from east to west
 Weaken periodically, leading to El Niño conditions

 Coriolis effect = the apparent north-south deflection of air currents of the  Westerlies = from 30 to 60 degrees latitude
convective cells  Blow from west to east
 Results in curving global wind patterns called the doldrums, trade winds, and  People used these winds to sail across the ocean
westerlies
 Wind and convective circulation in ocean water maintain ocean currents
 And can create violent storms

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Air Pollution Air Quality in Asia Sources of Air Pollution

Man made/ anthropogenic

 Presence in the outdoor and indoor substances in
concentration and duration, sufficient to produce
measurable adverse effects on human beings, animals,
vegetation or materials
 Is worsening in urban areas
 Mobile sources; vehicles, off road traffic/machines
 PM is most significant pollutant
 Stationary sources
 Others: HC, CO, NOX, SOX, Pb
 Fuel combustion: power plants, industry, domestic
 Serious but not well studied  Industrial activities: grinding, crushing, blasting
 Increasing sources emission  Municipal solid waste incineration and disposal
 Indoor air pollution  Agricultural: residue degradation, burning
 Regional/long range transport: acid rain, dust storm, haze, ABC  Other sources: smoking, street cooking, incense burning, unpaved roads
 Natural sources: volcanoes, earthquake, forest fire, dust storm, biogenic
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Natural sources pollute: volcanoes Natural sources pollute: fires Natural sources pollute: dust storms

 Release particulate matter, sulfur  Fires pollute the atmosphere with soot and gases  Wind over arid land sends
dioxide, and other gases huge amounts of dust
 Over 60 million ha (150 million acres) of forests and
 Can remain for months or grasslands burn per year aloft
years
 Human influence makes fires worse  Even across oceans
 Aerosols = fine droplets of sulfur
dioxide, water, oxygen  Fuel buildup from fire suppression, development  Unsustainable farming and
in fire-prone areas, “slash-and-burn” agriculture grazing promote:
 Reflect sunlight back to space
 Climate change will increase drought and fires
 Cool the atmosphere and In 1997, unprecedented forest  Erosion
surface fires sickened 20 million and

 


 



caused a plane to crash  Desertification













Pollutants exert local and global 22 23 24

Factors affecting air pollution at a
effects Definition of AQM
location
 Residence time = the time a pollutant stays
in the atmosphere  Ambient air quality is a dynamic and complex environmental  Emission:
 Pollutants with brief residence times exert phenomenon exhibiting large temporal and spatial variations.  Sources: natural, man mad
localized impacts over short time periods Ambient air can be expressed using concentrations of individual air
 Degree of control/management
pollutants or AQI
 Particulate matter, automobile exhaust
 Meteorology
 Pollutants with long  AQM: organized efforts to regulate extent, duration and location of
pollutants emissions to achieve ambient air quality standards  Transport/diffusion: AP dilution
residence times exert
regional or global impacts thereby minimizing aesthetic, environmental & health risks  Transformation: secondary AP. Etc
 Pollutants causing  Integrated AQM has many dimensions, systematic planning and  Sink; wet and dry removal
climate change executing AQM activities to ensure continuous improvement  Topography: affecting dispersion and sink/deposition
 ozone depletion

25 26 27
How air pollutants are formed in Atmospheric particles: emission and
Health effects: influencing factors
combustion? effects
Emission
 Burning carbonaceous matter with air Dose
-AP amount
-Pollutant conc
 -AP type
Complete combustion: HC+O2 H2O+CO2 -Breathing rate
-Pollutant types
 Incomplete combustion emits PIC: CO, soot(PM), HC
 NOX formed from nitrogen in air high temperature
Conc of AP Exposure
 Non-HC matter: N2, S, heavy metals, ash -Emission -No of people
-Dispersion -AP concentration Health Effect
 Burning non-carbonaceous matter present in fuel such as S, -Time period -Dose
heavy metals result in air pollution -Age/sex
-smoking
 Non-combustible (ash): particle -personal health
 NOX formed from N2 in fuel (complete combustion) conditions
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Airborne particle size ranges Health effects of trace metals Gaseous pollutants and health effects

Sources: Londahl et
al., 2006






CO

μ    Product of incomplete combustion
    Most abundant and widely distributed air pollution found in the
   lower atmosphere
   Sources: Fortoul et al  CO is a colorless and odorless gas
2015. (Health effects
   of Metals in  It is stable and has a lifetime of a few months in the atmosphere
   Particulate Matter)
 CO maybe be chemically active in smog formation
 

  

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Health effects of CO Health effects of SO2 Oxides of Nitrogen (NOX)

 CO has high affinity to hemoglobin  reducing O2 carrying
capacity of blood
 Effects
 Fatigue, nausea, impaired vigilance, confusion, and drowsiness
 Aggravation cardiovascular disease: chest pain
 Death if very high conc. In confined spaces (enclosed garage)
 Non-flammable, non explosive, colorless gas  NOX=NO+NO2 (important air pollutants)
 NO formed at high temp (90% of NOX emission) colorless, odorless,
 Above 0.3 ppm the gas has a pungent, irritating odor
nonflammable
 SO2 is partly converted SO3 and then to sulfate particles (SO4) in the  NO2 formed at low temp, reddish brown gas, non-flammable, toxic,
atmosphere has strong chocking odor
 Health Effects  NO2 absorbs visible light and cause reduction in atmospheric visibility
 NOX: participate in the photochemical reactions to form ozone and other
 Very soluble, irritate and inflame tissues oxidants
 Bronchiol construction  Health effects (less known)
 Synergetic effects of SO2 and PM (London smog)  Increased airway resistance and impaired lung function in asthmatics

 Indirect: acidification of water/soil  Increased respiratory illness in children

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Pollution in developing nations is
Success stories
high

 Technology and federal policies

 Cleaner burning engines and catalytic converters
 Permit trading programs and clean coal technologies
reduce SO2 emissions
 Phase-out of leaded gasoline   










 

 More people own cars
 

 

 Smog in Beijing surrounds an
Olympic stadium
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Photochemical (brown air) smog CFCs destroy ozone The Antarctic ozone hole

 Produced by a series of reactions  CFCs are inert (don’t react)

 High-altitude polar stratospheric clouds form
 Formed in hot, sunny cities surrounded  CFCs remain in the stratosphere
during the dark, frigid winter
for a century
by mountains  Nitric acid in clouds splits chlorine off of CFCs
 UV radiation breaks CFCs into
 Light-driven reactions of primary chlorine and carbon atoms  A polar vortex (swirling winds) traps chlorine
pollutants and atmospheric compounds  The chlorine atom splits ozone  UV radiation in September (spring) sunshine
 Morning traffic releases NO and VOCs dissipates the clouds and releases the
High levels of NO2 cause  Ozone hole = decreased ozone
photochemical smog to form levels over Antarctica chlorine
 Irritates eyes, noses, and throats 




 

a brown haze over cities  The chlorine destroys the ozone


  

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Burning fossil fuels produces acid rain Biomass burning
Emission of biomass burning


   

 Burning fossil fuels releases sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides

Burning of the world's living
Greenhouse gases
 These compounds react with water, oxygen, and oxidants to
and dead vegetation for land  CO2 and CH4
form sulfuric and nitric acids
clearing, land use change,

 
Chemically active gases
and natural burning resulting
from lightning-induced fires.  CO, NOx, SO2, C2H6, C2H4,
C3H8, C3H6, CH3Br, etc.

Majority (>90%) of biomass
burning is human initiated
Atmospheric aerosol
 black carbon, organic

Has increased significantly matter, K+, Na+, Ca2+,
over the last 100 years. Mg2+, NH4+, H+, Cl-, H2SO4,
HSO4-, SO4 2-, NO3-, etc.

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Indoor air pollution in developing
Indoor Air Pollution VOCs pollute Indoor air
country

 Indoor air pollution = in workplaces, schools, and homes  Stems from burning wood,  The most diverse group of indoor air pollutants
 Health effects are greater than from outdoor pollution charcoal, dung, crop
wastes with little to no  Released by everything from plastics and oils to perfumes and paints
 The average U.S. citizen spends 90% of the time indoors ventilation  Most VOCs are released in very small amounts
 Exposed to synthetic materials that have not been comprehensively tested  Fuel burning pollution  Unclear health implications due to low concentrations
 Being environmentally prudent can make it worse causes 1.6 million
 Formaldehyde leaking from pressed wood and insulation irritates mucous
deaths/year
 To reduce heat loss and improve efficiency, ventilation systems were sealed off membranes and induces skin allergies
 Soot and carbon monoxide
 Windows do not open, trapping pollutants inside  Pesticides seep through floors and walls
 Pneumonia, bronchitis, lung cancer, allergies, cataracts, asthma, heart disease,
etc.  Are brought in on shoe soles
 46 Sources of indoor air pollution
Living organisms can pollute indoors

 Dust mites and animal dander worsen asthma

 Fungi, mold, mildew, airborne bacteria cause allergies, asthma, other
respiratory ailments, and diseases
 Building-related illness = a sickness produced by indoor pollution
 Sick building syndrome = a sickness produced by indoor pollution with
general and nonspecific symptoms
 Reduced by using low-toxicity building materials and good ventilation