APES Air Pollution Flashcards
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| 12873638957 | particulates (tsp) | non-gas emissions (solid or liquid) | 0 | |
| 12873648702 | 2 main sources of particulate emission | agriculture and construction | 1 | |
| 12873658074 | 3 ways to combat agriculture particulate emission | windbreak, cover crops, no-till agriculture | 2 | |
| 12873662254 | asbestos | synthetic fiber used as insulation or fireproofing (all good until the material starts to fail and sheds asbestos fiber, a particulate) | 3 | |
| 12873682862 | result of sulfur oxides | sulfur oxide emissions from coal burning recombine with water vapor in the atmosphere to form sulfuric acid precipitation which lowers the pH of water; leading to loss of biodiversity, loss of habitat, reduced photosynthesis, and reduced primary productivity | 4 | |
| 12873747452 | how to get rid of sulfur emissions | scrubbers, fluidized bed combustion, and pre washing the coal (all with limestone) | 5 | |
| 12873758358 | nitrogen oxides (NOx) | cause photochemical smog | 6 | |
| 12873763766 | photochemical vs industrial smog | china has terrible industrial smog from coal burning, while the US has photochemical smog from car exhaust | 7 | |
| 12873775134 | sulfur vs. nitrogen | sulfur emissions result from the burning of coal for electricity, nitrogen emissions result from the burning of petroleum for transport | 8 | |
| 12873782238 | stratospheric ozone | good ozone, produces oxygen molecules to block UV radiation and prevent 95% of it from reaching the surface | 9 | |
| 12873789031 | tropospheric ozone | BAD, ground-level ozone; respiratory irritant; affects old smokers and young children; disrupts photosynthesis; results from human pollution (automobile exhaust) | 10 | |
| 12873805912 | ozone (O3) | secondary air pollutant formed when sunlight catalyzes reactions between nitrogen oxides and volatile photochemical smog (associated with automobile exhaust) | 11 | |
| 12873832638 | primary pollution | emitted directly from smokestacks, tailpipes, or natural emissions | 12 | |
| 12873839815 | secondary pollution | form from interactions between primary pollutants | 13 | |
| 12873851467 | thermal inversion | warm air traps cold air and pollutants near the earth; happens typically in the winter; causes smog |  | 14 |
| 12873865561 | clean air act criteria limits | TSP (particulates), SO2 (sulfur oxides), CO (carbon monoxide), NO2 (nitrous oxides), O3 (ozone), and lead (banned in gasoline) | 15 | |
| 12921154125 | cyclical net zero | carbon from burning trees goes to the atmosphere and back to trees | 16 | |
| 12921164307 | sources of CO2 | burning fossil fuels, land clearing | 17 | |
| 12921167345 | sources of CH4 | incomplete decomposition (cattle flatulence, landfill gas, swamp gas...) | 18 | |
| 12921203031 | sources of NOx | automobiles, agriculture processes, fertilizer | 19 | |
| 12921218546 | water vapor as a greenhouse gas | not driven by anthropogenic causes | 20 | |
| 12921231739 | CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) | ozone depleting gas in coolants and aerosol propellants - phased out in the Montreal Protocol | 21 | |
| 12921254898 | black soot/black carbon | comes from china & india (USA has scrubbers) and lands in snowfields and glaciers, reducing the albedo effect | 22 | |
| 12940093369 | PANs | secondary pollutant; component of photochemical smog (caused by nitrogen oxides) | 23 | |
| 12921285838 | when does CO2 concentration peak? | early spring because most of the land is in the Northern Hemisphere | 24 | |
| 12940081296 | results of CO2 increase and climate change (???) | frequency of more intense storm activity; sea level change (thermal expansion of water); global warming or cooling; changes in disease distribution; loss of agriculture; loss of biodiversity; reduction of the albedo effect | 25 | |
| 12940128471 | primary reason for sea level change | thermal expansion of water | 26 | |
| 12940140492 | albedo effect | reflecting of light/UV back into the upper atmosphere, reducing heating | 27 | |
| 12940171404 | effect of volcanoes on climate | volcanoes have a cooling effect because particulates and sulfur particles reflect UV light back out | 28 | |
| 12940220171 | climate change is a ___________ feedback loop | positive | 29 | |
| 12940226888 | environmental positive feedback loops | melting of permafrost, burning fossil fuels, the ocean, trees | 30 | |
| 12940235465 | carbon sinks | permafrost, trees, the ocean, fossil fuels | 31 | |
| 12940273157 | Montreal Protocol | Phase out of ozone depleting substances (CFCs) | 32 | |
| 12940285511 | effect of CFC's on the ozone layer | CFCs break down ozone in the stratosphere | 33 | |
| 12940304690 | Clean Air Act | established national standards for states, strict auto emissions guidelines and regulations, which set air pollution standards for private industry; does not regulate commercial vehicles | 34 | |
| 12940327382 | catalytic converter | a platinum, coated device that oxidizes HC, NOx, and CO that would otherwise be emitted in exhaust, converting them to CO2, H2O, and N2. | 35 | |
| 12940357873 | electrostatic precipitator | a device that removes suspended particulates from power plants by applying a high-voltage electrostatic charge and collecting the particles on charged plates | 36 | |
| 12940393395 | source of VOCs | industrial solvents and cleaners; carpets and furniture (polyester); primary pollutant largely based on hydrocarbons; shouldn't be used in small spaces without ventilation | 37 | |
| 12940407030 | H2SO4 | sulfuric acid | 38 | |
| 12940414301 | ozone is a __________ pollutant | primary (recombines) or secondary (emitted) | 39 | |
| 12940421738 | natural gas pollution | carbon monoxide | 40 | |
| 12940430537 | mitigate vs remediate | mitigate = offset, remediate = restore | 41 | |
| 12940451774 | tropospheric ozone (formation) | formed by the splitting of nitrous oxides in the presence of sunlight providing an extra oxygen atom to bond with O2 forming O3 | 42 | |
| 12940469029 | pH of acid rain | less than 5.6 (around 4.3 in the USA) | 43 | |
| 12940494178 | causes of acid deposition | nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide are released into the atmosphere from car exhaust and fossil fuels; they react with water and other chemicals in the presence of sunlight to produce nitric and sulfuric acids | 44 | |
| 12940533715 | to remediate an acidic lake | add limestone (CACO3, calcium carbonate) | 45 | |
| 12940540750 | CFCs ??? cycle thing - need to learn | 46 | ||
| 12940571802 | houses with ________ are at risk of radon exposure | basements; digging into rock introduces the risk of exposing uranium and releasing radon | 47 | |
| 12940590895 | el nino | abnormal warming of surface ocean waters, west coast of South America, coast of Peru | 48 | |
| 12940605363 | results of el nino | reversal of normal climate patterns, lack of upwelling (sad fishing industry) | 49 | |
| 12940634670 | la nina | colder than normal waters off the coast of Peru | 50 | |
| 12940626112 | results of la nina | intensification of normal climate patterns | 51 | |
| 12958997136 | where is all of the life? | troposphere | 52 | |
| 12958999933 | where is the ozone layer? | stratosphere | 53 | |
| 12959006030 | order of the layers of the atmosphere | troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere | 54 | |
| 12959011097 | most heavy gasses are found closer to | sea level | 55 | |
| 12959013774 | composition of the troposphere | 78% nitrogen 21% oxygen 0.93% argon 0.04% carbon dioxide (400PPM) | 56 | |
| 12959030690 | photochemical smog | O3 (ozone), PANs, and aldehydes (nitrogen oxides react with VOC's to form PAN's and aldehydes) | 57 | |
| 12959052941 | trade winds | highly consistent, reliable tropical winds | 58 | |
| 12959058282 | westerlies | mid-latitude winds | 59 | |
| 12959062128 | polar easterlies | unreliable cold winds that blow from the east to the west near the North Pole and South Pole | 60 | |
| 12959075711 | coriolis effect | large scale motions (trade winds) are influenced by earth's rotation | 61 | |
| 12959088896 | burning hydrocarbons releases | carbon oxides | 62 | |
| 12959101789 | hydrocarbons | coal, wood, oil (FOSSIL FUELS) | 63 | |
| 12959115409 | CO2 vs CO | carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas, carbon monoxide is a deadly poison | 64 | |
| 12966399526 | doldrums | a frequently windless area near the Equator | 65 | |
| 12966662521 | pollution treatment | - primary: filters - secondary: aerobic bacteria breaks down remaining matter (bromine, iodone, UV radiation sanitize the water) - tertiary: vegetative absorbtion | 66 | |
| 12971172225 | secondary pollution components | sunlight and water | 67 |