Chapter 15

Air pollution and Global

Warming
 Learning Objectives
1. List and briefly describe the layers of the atmosphere.(Chap 3)
2. Outdoor air pollutants.
primary pollutant vs secondary pollutant.
a.
b. stationary sources vs mobile sources of pollution.
3. What is a smog? photochemical smog vs industrial smog.
4. Define acid deposition. List four effects of acid deposition.
5. List three potential sources of indoor air pollution where you live.
6. What is global warming? Causes? Harmful effects?
7. What is ozone depletion?
a. What are the major gases resulting in ozone depletion?
b. What are the likely effects of ozone depletion?
c. How this change can be prevented?
 Air pollution
 Air pollution is the presence of one or more chemicals in the
atmosphere in sufficient quantities and duration to cause harm
 Pollution in cities > rural areas
 Outdoor pollutants can infiltrate into houses and buildings causing
indoor pollution
 Air pollution = high-risk human health problem
 Two major categories:
 Outdoor air pollution
 Indoor air pollution
 Air pollution
Outdoor pollution
o stationary source: sources that are fixed
in one site ex. power plants, factories

o mobile source: sources that move from

one place to another ex. cars, trucks
Air pollution
Outdoor pollution
o Primary pollutants: emitted directly into the troposphere
Ex: CO, CO2, NO, NO2, SO2
o Secondary pollutants: primary pollutants reacting with one another
or with the basic components of the air
Ex: SO3, H2CO3, HNO3, H2O2, H2SO4

Figure 15.3 Human

inputs of air
pollutants
 Air pollution
Smog - Definition
 Smog = smoke + fog
 A mixture of air pollutants including gases and fine particles
 It is caused by a reaction between sunlight and emissions of gases
mainly from human activity.
 A brownish-yellow or greyish-white cloud
 2 types

Photochemical Smog in Mexico City Industrial Smog

 Air pollution
Smog
Factors influencing smog
 Local climate
 Warm, dry climate and high sunlight intensity  more smog
 Wind speed : high speed wind  less smog
 Topography
 Mountains stop the horizontal transport of smog
 Population density
 Amount of industry
 Amount of fuels used in transportation, heating and industry
What factors influence the
level of outdoor pollution?
 Air pollution
Outdoor pollution
 Outdoor air pollution can be reduced by:
 Gravity effect: particles that are heavier than air settle down
 Rain and snow help cleaning the air
 Salty sea spray from ocean washes pollutants from the air
 Winds disperse air pollutants

 Outdoor air pollution can be increased by:

 Urban buildings slow wind dispersal of pollutants
 Mountains reduce air flow and promote formation of smog
 High temperatures promote chemical reactions
 Emissions of VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds)
 Transportation of pollutants from one area to another
What is acid deposition?
 Acid deposition
Definition
 Occurs when pollutants produced by industrial
operations are carried by the wind, undergo complex
chemical reactions in the atmosphere, and fall to the
earth
 HNO3(nitric acid), H2SO4 (sulfuric acid), SO3 (sulfur trioxide),
NO3(nitrate)
 With a pH lower than 5.6

 Two forms:
 Wet deposition: acid rain, snow, cloud, fog
 Dry deposition: dry acidic particles, gas.

The natural
acidity of rain
Acid deposition
Where?

Acid deposition by regions

Acid deposition

CaCO3

Figure 15.6 Acid deposition

 Graphic damage done to outdoor artwork by
the action of acid rain and air pollution over a
period of 60 years.

Acid deposition
Effects
Human health
 Respiratory diseases (bronchitis and asthma)

Materials
 Release toxic metals to drinking water.
 aluminum from water pipes,
 lead and mercury from soil and rocks,
 Damage to outdoor structures containing
Calcium Carbonate ( buildings, statues, car finishes)

Ecosystem
 Decreased atmospheric visibility = smog
 Decreased productivity of fisheries
 Acid deposition
Effects
Plants and soil
 Leaves and trees are directly
damaged
 Nutrients (Ca and Mg) are
leached from the soil
 Metals, toxic to plants and
animals, released into the
soil
 Weakens trees
Acid deposition
Solutions

Figure 15.8 Ways to reduce acid

deposition and its damage
 Air pollution
Indoor pollution

 Indoor air pollution usually is a greater threat to human health

than outdoor air pollution.
 According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the
four most dangerous indoor air pollutants in developed countries
are:
 Tobacco smoke.
 Formaldehyde.
 Radioactive radon-222 gas.
 Very small fine and ultrafine particles.
Figure 15.10 Numerous indoor air pollutants can be found in many modern homes
Prevention and control of
air pollution
Figure 15.14 Ways to prevent, reduce, or disperse emissions of pollutants
frim stationary sources
Figure 15.15 Ways to prevent, or reduce emissions from motor vehicles
Figure 15.16 Ways to prevent, or reduce indoor air pollution
Figure 15.17 You can reduce your exposure to indoor air pollution
Past climate and the green
house effect
 Over the past 900,000 years, the
troposphere has experienced
prolonged periods of global cooling
and global warming, in a cyclical
manner.

Figure 15.18

 For the past 1,000 years,

temperatures have remained
fairly stable but began to rise
during the last century. Figure 15.19
 Past climate
How do we know?
 Scientists analyze tiny air bubbles trapped in ice cores
 Information about past:
 troposphere composition.
 temperature trends.
 greenhouse gas concentrations.
 solar, snowfall, and forest fire activity

Figure 15.20
 The natural greenhouse effect

 = natural warming of the planet as a result of heat trapped by greenhouse

gases
 Carbon dioxide CO2,
 Methane CH4,
 Nitrous oxide N2O,
 Chlorofluorocarbon CFCs,
 H2O vapor …

Figure 3.3 Greenhouse Earth

 These gases have always been present in
the earth’s troposphere in varying
concentrations.
 Increases in average concentrations of
three greenhouse gases in the troposphere
between 1860 and 2004
 The natural greenhouse effect
 Three human activities have released greenhouse gases into the
troposphere:
1. Increased use of fossil fuels
2. Deforestation
3. Cultivation of rice paddies and use of organic fertilizers

GLOBAL WARMING
 Theory that we as humans are increasing greenhouse gases through
industrialization, causing an increase of the amount of sunlight that gets
caught and heats the Earth.
 Global warming
Evidences ??
1. Temperature
 Rise in average global surface temperature (0.6°C since 1900)
 20th century = hottest century in the past 1000 years
 10 warmest years on record since 1970
 Global warming
Effects on the planet
 Rapid projected temperature
increase
 2 Cº inevitable
 4 Cº possible
 Effects will last for at least 1,000 years

Figure 15.C Measured and projected

changes in the average temperature of the
 Global warming could alter
atmosphere. ocean currents and cause
both excessive warming
and severe cooling.
 Global warming
Evidences ??
2. Ice caps and glaciers
 Over the past 50 years, Arctic temperatures have risen almost twice as fast as
those in the rest of the world.
 Permafrost melting release more CO2 and CH4 into the troposphere.
 Glaciers and floating sea ice are shrinking at increasing rate
 Changes in glaciers, rainfall patterns, hurricanes

2012

Coverage of the Pastoruri glacier (Peru).

Photograph: National Water Authority, Peru/Guardian
 Global warming
Evidences ??
3. Sea levels
 Sea level rise is caused primarily by two factors:
 Melting of ice sheets and glaciers
 Expansion of seawater as it warms

Changes in average sea level over the past 250,000 years

based on data from ocean cores.
 Global warming In 2005, an ice core showed that
CO2 levels in the troposphere
Evidences ?? are the highest they have been
in 650,000 years.

3. Greenhouse gas emissions

 Annual greenhouse gas emissions up 70% between 1970 and 2008
 Global warming
Effects on biodiversity
 In a warmer world, agricultural productivity may increase in
some areas and decrease in others
 Crop and fish production in some areas could be reduced by
rising sea levels that would flood river deltas
 Global warming will increase deaths from:
 Heat and disruption of food supply
 Spread of tropical diseases to temperate regions
 Increase the number of environmental refugees
Figure 15.29 Some ways to slow atmospheric warming and the resulting climate change projected for this century
 Global warming
International actions

Montreal Protocol (1987)

 Ozone-damaging gases contribute to global warming
 196 countries
 Aim to reduce the emission of ozone-damaging gases commonly used in
fridges, foams and industrial application
 Global warming
International actions

KYOTO Protcol (signed Dec 1997)

 International agreement linked to UNFCCC (1992)
 192 parties
 Developed parties committed legally to emissions reduction targets
 Adopted at COP7 (Morocco, 2001)
 First commitment period 2008-2012
 37 industrialized countries committed to lower their GHG emissions by at least
5% compared to 1990
 Doha Amendment (COP18, 2012)
 Second commitment period 2013-2020
 committed to lower their GHG emissions by at least 18% compared to 1990
 Revised list of GHG to be reported
 Global warming
International actions

Paris Agreement (2005)

 April 2016: 174 countries + EU
 Since May 2019, 194 states + EU
 Aim = keep global warming to below 2˚C and try to limit it at 1.5˚C
 Each party nominated an emissions reduction target
 EU target is to reach 40% below 1990 levels by 2030
 USA target 26-28% below 2005 levels by 2025
Figure 15.35 Some ways for us to prepare for the possible long-term
harmful effects of climate change
Figure 15.34 You
can reduce your
annual emissions of
CO2.
Ozone depletion
 Ozone depletion

 Less ozone in the stratosphere allows for more harmful UV

radiation to reach the earth’s surface.
 The ozone layer keeps about 95% of the sun’s harmful UV
radiation from reaching the earth’s surface.

Since 1976, in Antarctica, ozone

levels have markedly decreased
during October and November.
 Ozone depletion
Causes
 Ozone thinning: caused by CFCs and other ozone depleting
chemicals (ODCs).
 Coolants in air conditioners and refrigerators
 Propellants in aerosol cans
 Cleaning solutions for electronic parts
 Fumigants
 Bubbles in plastic packing foam
Figure 15.37 Decreased
levels of ozone in the
stratosphere can have a
number of harmful effects
Figure 15.38 You
can reduce your
exposure to
harmful UV
radiation
 Ozone depletion
How to prevent it?
 All countries need to step up efforts to control and prevent outdoor and
indoor air pollution
 Reducing the possible harmful effects of projected rapid climate change
during this century requires emergency action to:
 Cut energy waste,
 Sharply reduce greenhouse gas emissions,
 Rely more on renewable energy resources,
 Slow population growth.
 We need to continue phasing out the use of chemicals that have reduced
ozone levels in the stratosphere and allowed more harmful ultraviolet
radiation to reach the earth’s surface.