Climate Change, Ozone

Loss and Air Pollution

Key Concepts

• Components of Earth’s atmosphere

• Changes in Earth’s climate over time
• Possible effects of global warming
• Adapting to climate change
• Human impacts on the ozone layer
• Protecting and restoring the ozone layer
Troposphere
• Where weather happens
• Location - surface to about 10 km.
• Composition - unpolluted air: Nitrogen (78%)
Oxygen (21%). Remaining 1% is CO2
(0.0365%), H, He, Ar.
– Water vapor is an additional variable
amount, .01% to 5%.
Stratosphere
• Where jets fly (at the bottom of it)
• Location - Above troposphere, about 10-50
km. Very thin air - virtually no weather, and
no turbulence.
• Composition- Similar to troposphere, except
– water vapor is 1000 x less
– ozone is 1000 x greater.
Climate and Weather
• Climate = long-term atmospheric conditions
• Weather = short-term atmospheric conditions
• Both climate and weather are dynamic – they
change with time
The Greenhouse Effect
Greenhouse gases
• Carbon Dioxide - fossil fuel burning, land
clearing/burning.
• Methane - Breakdown of organic material by
anaerobic bacteria.
• Nitrous Oxide - Biomass burning, automobile
exhaust.
• Ozone – automobile exhaust
• Chlorofluorocarbons - Refrigerants, cleaning
solvents, propellants.
CO2 measurements
Evidence for Climate Change

1. 20th C was hottest in the past 1000 years

2. Global temp has risen 0.6°C (1.1°F) since 1861
3. 16 warmest years on record since 1980, 10
warmest since 1990
4. Glaciers and sea ice are melting
5. Sea level has risen 100-200 cm over 20 th C
Projecting Future Changes in Earth’s
Climate
We can’t do real experiments on the whole
earth’s climate, so how do we predict future
climate change?
• Scale up from small experiments
• Computer models (GCMs)
• Learn from the past
– Paleoclimatology and Paleoecology
Past Climate Changes
CO2 and temperature from ice cores
Paleoecology: biological responses
to past climate change
Projected future global warming
Biological responses to potential
future climate change
Ocean currents “conveyor belt”
Some Possible Effects of a
Warmer World
• See figure
12-10
Solutions: Dealing with the Threat
of Climate Change
Options
• Do more research before acting –
“wait and see” (current US
strategy)
• Act now to reduce risks because
global warming would have severe
impacts
• Act now in same way to reduce
risks of global warming because it
has other benefits to environment
and society (even if warming
doesn’t happen)
Removing CO2 from the Atmosphere
Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions

• 1988 - Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

(IPCC) established, body of scientists advising UN on
climate change
• 1997 - Representatives of 161 nations met in Kyoto,
Japan for a UN meeting on climate change
• Kyoto Protocol - agreement reached during meeting to
reduce CO2 emissions from 39 developed countries to
5.2% below 1990 levels by 2012.
• 2001 US pulled out of the agreement.
• Russia’s recent ratification was enough for the Kyoto
Protocol to take effect.
• Will there be a new post-Kyoto treaty?
Ozone in the Stratosphere: the “Ozone
hole”

• Ozone (O3) in the

stratosphere protects
life on the surface of
the earth from
harmful UV solar
radiation.
CFCs
• Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and related
chemicals break down ozone in stratosphere
• Uses (mostly phased out)
• Air Conditioners
• Refrigerators
• Spray cans
• Cleaners for electronic parts
• Sterilizing medical instruments
• Fumigants for granaries and cargo ships
Ozone Depletion in the Stratosphere
Seasonal Ozone Layer Thinning at the Poles

Credit: © Science VU/NASA/Visuals Unlimited

Large Antarctic Ozone hole three times the size of the United States. September, 2000.
Loss of the Ozone Layer:
Reasons for Concern
• Increased incidence and severity of sunburn
• Increase in eye cataracts
• Increased incidence of skin cancer
• Immune system suppression
• Increase in acid deposition
• Lower crop yields and decline in productivity
Skin Cancers
Solutions: Protecting the Ozone Layer

• CFC substitutes
• Montreal Protocol 1987
• Copenhagen Protocol 1992
• both signed by 177 countries
• CFCs take 10-20 years to get to the
stratosphere
• CFCs take 65-385 years to break down
Future CFC concentrations
Air Pollution
Key Concepts

• Structure and composition of the atmosphere

• Types and sources of outdoor air pollution
• Types, formation, and effects of smog
• Sources and effects of acid deposition
• Effects of air pollution
• Prevention and control of air pollution
Outdoor Air Pollution
• Primary - Released directly from planet’s surface. Dust,
smoke particles, Nitrogen, Carbon etc.
• Secondary - Formed when primary pollutants react or combine
with one another, or basic elements.
 Primary Air Pollutants
Carbon Monoxide—Produced when organic
materials are incompletely burned.
• Single largest source is the automobile.
• Not a persistent pollutant.
• Binds to hemoglobin in blood and makes the
hemoglobin less able to carry oxygen.
• Most dangerous in enclosed spaces.
• Cigarette smoking an important source.
 Primary Air Pollutants
Volatile Organic Compounds
• Hydrocarbons - Group of organic compounds
consisting of carbon and hydrogen.
– Evaporated from automobile fuel or remnants of
fuel incompletely burned.
– Catalytic converters used to burn exhaust gases
more completely.
 Primary Air Pollutants
Particulates—Minute pieces of solid materials
dispersed into the atmosphere (<10 microns).
• Smoke, Asbestos, Dust, Ash
• Can accumulate in lungs and interfere with the
ability of lungs to exchange gases.
 Primary Air Pollutants
Sulfur Dioxide (SO2)—Sulfur and oxygen compound
produced when sulfur-containing fossil fuels are burned.
• Burning coal is primary artificial source
• Volcanoes and hot springs are natural sources
• Mt St Helens releases 50 to 250 tons/day when active
• Steam Plant recently: 200 tons/day
• After scrubbers installed (cost $250 million): 27 tons/day
• SO2 is also a precursor to acid rain (a secondary pollutant)
Primary Air Pollutants

• Nitrogen Oxides (NO, NO2)—Formed when

combustion takes place in the air.
– Automobile exhaust is primary source.
– NOx is also a precursor to acid rain and
photochemical smog (both secondary
pollutants) and is a greenhouse gas
Secondary Air Pollutants

• Ozone (O3)
• PANs (Peroxyacetyl nitrate)
• Aldehydes
• all three formed by interaction between NO x
and VOCs.

• Note: - Ozone is a pollutant in the

troposphere, but natural and beneficial in the
stratosphere.
Photochemical Smog
• Brown-air smog
• Some primary pollutants
react under the influence
of sunlight
(photochemical reaction),
including NOx, O3, PANs.
Corrosive, irritating.
• Common in urban areas
of the west US: cars +
sun + mountains.
 Credit: © John D. Cunningham/Visuals Unlimited 213524

Los Angeles smog.

Industrial Smog
• Gray-air smog
• From burning coal and oil
(particulates, sulfur dioxide,
sulfuric acid).
• London was the smog capitol.
In 1952, smog developed for
days, no atmospheric mixing,
4,000 people died.
• Now mainly a problem in
LDCs with developing
industries and no pollution
control laws.
Thermal inversion
• warm air normally near surface, pollutants disperse as
air rises and mixes
• when cool air trapped under warm air, confined by
mountains, pollutants do not disperse, intensify with
time
Regional Outdoor Air Pollution from
Acid Deposition
• Wet deposition • Dry deposition
Acid Deposition in the US
Acid Deposition and Humans

• Respiratory diseases
• Toxic metal leaching
• Damage to structures, especially
containing calcium carbonate
• Decreased visibility
• Decreased productivity and profitability
of fisheries, forests, and farms
Acid Deposition and Aquatic Systems

• Fish declines
• Aluminum toxicity
• Acid shock
Acid Deposition, Plants, and Soil

• Nutrient leaching
• Heavy metal
release
• Weakens trees
 Credit: © Rob & Ann Simpson/Visuals Unlimited

Acid rain-damaged Fraser Fir and Red Spruce trees. Mt. Mitchell State Park, North Carolina.
Solutions to Acid Deposition
Indoor Air Pollution
Radon

• Radioactive radon-222
• Lung cancer threat
• Occurs in certain areas
based on geology
• Associated with
uranium and organic
material in rock
Effects of Air Pollution on People

• Respiratory diseases
• Asthma
• Lung cancer
• Chronic bronchitis
• Emphysema
• Premature death
 Clean Air Act
(1967, 1970, 1977, 1990)
• Series of detailed control requirements the federal
government implements and states administer.
– All sources subject to ambient air quality regulation.
– New sources subject to more stringent controls.
– Visibility reducing emissions regulated.
• Since passage, EPA reports air pollution cut by 1/3
and acid rain cut by 25%.
• EPA estimates benefits to human and environmental
health outweigh costs 40:1.
National Ambient Air Quality Standards
• NAAQS established for six pollutants:
– Sulfur Dioxide
– Nitrogen Oxides
– Particulate Matter
– Carbon Monoxide
– Ozone
– Lead
• Experts say two other important pollutants should be
listed:
– Volatile Organic Compounds
– Carbon Dioxide
 Control of Air Pollution
• Industrial Activities
– Scrubbers
– Precipitators
– Filters
• Sulfur Removal
– Switch to low-sulfur fuel.
– Remove sulfur from fuel before use.
– Scrubbing gases emitted from smokestack.
So what is in your car’s exhaust?

• CO
• CO2
• NOx
• VOCs
• PM
• And can lead to formation of secondary
pollutants
Emission Reduction
Reducing Motor Vehicle Air
Pollution
Reducing Indoor
Air Pollution