Chapter Summay Of 'Chapter 17 Vocabulary'

Chapter 17 Vocab

* Acid deposition- the settling of acidic or acid-forming pollutants from the atmosphere onto Earth’s surface. * Acid rain- Acid deposition that takes place through rain. * Aerosols- very fine liquid droplets or solid particles aloft in the atmosphere. * Air pollutant- gases and particulate material added to the atmosphere that can affect climate or harm people or other organisms. * Air pollution- the act of pollution the air, or the condition of being polluted by air pollutants. * Ambient air pollution- see outdoor pollution * Atmospheric pressure- the weight per unit area produced by a column of air * Carbon monoxide- a colorless, odorless gas produced primarily by the incomplete combustion of fuel.
* CFC’s- chlorofluorocarbon.
One of a group of human-made organic compounds derived from simple hydrocarbons in which hydrogen atoms are replaced by chlorine, bromine, fluorine. * Clean Air Act of 1970- revision of prior congressional legislation to control air pollution that set stricter standards for air quality, imposed limits on emissions from new stationary and mobile sources, provided new funds for pollution-control research and enabled citizens to sue parties violating the standards. * Clean Air Act of 1990- congressional legislation that strengthened regulations pertaining to air quality standards, auto emissions, toxic air pollution, acid deposition, and depletion of the ozone layer, while also introducing market-based incentives to reduce pollution. * Cold front- the boundary where a mass of cold air displaces a mass of warmer air. * Convective circulation- a circular current driven by temperature differences * Coriolis effect-The observed effect of the Coriolis force, especially the deflection of an object moving above the earth, rightward in the northern hemisphere and leftward in the southern
hemisphere. * Criteria pollutant- six air pollutants- carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, tropospheric ozone, particulate matter, and lead- for which the Environmental Protection Agency has established maximum allowable concentrations in ambient outdoor air because of the threats they pose to human health. * Ferrel cell-An atmospheric cell lying between the two thermally direct cells: the Polar cell and the Hadley cell. It transfers warm air to high latitudes and shifts cold air back to the subtropics, where it is warmed. * Front- the boundary between air masses that differ in temperature and moisture. * Ground level ozone- see tropospheric ozone. * Hadley cell- A large-scale atmospheric convection cell in which air rises at the equator and sinks at medium latitudes. * Halocarbons- A chlorofluorocarbon or other compound in which the hydrogen of a hydrocarbon is replaced by halogens. * Inversion layer- in a temperature inversion, the band of air in which temperature rises with altitude. * Montreal Protocol- he Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer is a protocol to the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer. It is an international treaty designed to protect the ozone layer by phasing out the production of a number of substances believed to be responsible for ozone depletion. * Nitrogen dioxide- a foul-smelling reddish brown gas that contributes to smog and acid deposition. * Outdoor pollution-air pollution that occurs outdoors * Ozone depleting substances- airborne chemicals that destroy ozone molecules and thin the ozone layer * Ozone hole- thinning of the ozone layer over Antarctica. * Ozone layer- a portion of the stratosphere that contains most of the ozone * Particulate matter- solid or liquid particles small enough to be suspended in the atmosphere and able to damage respiratory tissues when inhaled. * Photochemical smog- air pollution containing ozone and other reactive chemical compounds formed by the action of sunlight on nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons, especially those in automobile exhaust. * Polar cell- one of a pair of cells of convective circulation. * Primary pollutant- directly harmful * Relative humidity-the ratio of the water vapor contained in a given volume of air to the maximum amount the air could contain for a given temperature * Residence time- in a biogeochemical cycle, the amount of time a nutrient remains in a given pool or reservoir before moving to another * Secondary pollutant- added to the atmosphere * Sick building syndrome- a building-related illness produced by indoor pollution in which the specific cause is not identifiable. * Stratosphere- the layer of the atmosphere above the troposphere and below the mesosphere * Temperature inversion- an abnormal increase in temperature with height in the troposphere * Troposphere- the bottommost layer of the atmosphere * VOCs- volatile organic compound