Air Pollution
During this phenomena, a cooler air mass is trapped beneath a warmer air mass, stopping convection from carrying pollutants up and away
thermal inversion
Ozone can form in the troposphere after this compound is broken down by light
What is NO2? Forms NO + O, free O combines with O2 to form O3.
This air pollutant is released by FF/biomass combustion and can lead to respiratory irritation and smog. Examples include dust, pollen, ash, or mold.
What is particulate matter
Fat soluble compounds building up to reach higher and higher concentrations in an organism over time.
This concept is known as
bioaccumulation
Identify a source of noise pollution in the ocean
What are noise of ship engines, military sonar, & seismic air blasts, etc
Give an example of a secondary air pollutant
What are any of the following:
Tropospheric O3 (Ozone)
Nitric acid (HNO3) & nitrate (NO3-)
Sulfuric acid (H2SO4) & sulfate (SO42-)
Name a factor that can increase smog formation rates
What are sunlight, temperature, or cars?
This was passed in 1970 and allowed for EPA to set acceptable levels for criteria air pollutants & monitor emissions levels from power plants and other facilities
Clean Air Act
DDT is taken in by bottom feeders/zooplankton & biomagnified. Small fish eat the zooplankton, large fish eat the small fish, and eagles eat the large fish. Which animal will have the highest levels of DDT?
What is eagles
These are a living source of VOCs
plants
Combustion of this releases more air pollutants than other fossil fuels
What is coal
These compounds combine with NO to form photochemical oxidants
What are VOCs?
Pollutants entering the environment from many places at once are known as a ___________ source of pollution.
Non-point
Release of which two nutrients into water systems causes eutrophication?
This is a natural base that can neutralize acidic soil/water and is often crushed and added to soils/waters to neutralize and mitigate the effects of acid rain.
Limestone (calcium carbonate)
This greenhouse gas does not directly effect air quality
What is carbon dioxide?
Ozone formation peaks during this time of day
What is the afternoon?
These standards require the entire US “fleet” of vehicles to meet certain average fuel, and requires vehicle manufacturers to work to make more efficient vehicles that burn less gasoline and release less NOx, PM, CO, and CO2
What is CAFE Vehicle Standards
When the algae die it is decomposed and the oxygen is used during this process causing hypoxia and dead zones
These two compounds are the primary pollutants that cause most acid precipitation
What is NOx and SO2
Name the 6 criteria air pollutants covered by the Clean Air Act.
SO2, NOx, CO, PM, O3, Pb
When VOCs instead bind to the NO it is unavailable to react with the O3, resulting in higher ozone levels at night.
Vehicles made after 1974 are required to have catalytic converters to reduce NOx, CO and hydrocarbon emissions. This regulation helped to phase out which neurotoxin that was a common gasoline additive (since it damaged the catalytic converters)?
What is lead
Waterways with low nutrient (N/P) levels, stable algae pop, and high dissolved oxygen
What are oligotrophic waterways
This is a natural source of CO2
What is respiration, aerobic decomposition, or combustion of biomass (forest fires)?