| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Air Pollution | The contamination of the atomosphere by wastes from sources such as industrial burning and auto exhaust |
| Primary Pollutant | A pollutant that is put directly into the atmosphere by human or natural activity |
| Secondary Pollutant | A pollutant that forms in the atmosphere by chemical reaction with primary pollutants, natural compenents of the air, or both |
| Smog | Urban air pollution composed of a mixture of smoke and fog produced from industrial pollutants and burning fuels |
| Temperature Inversion | The atmospheric condition in which warm air traps cooler air near Earth's surface |
| Acid Rain | Precipitation that contains a high concentration of acids; often because of the pollution of the atmosphere |
| pH | A value that is used to express the acidity or basicity of a system; pH of 1 to 7 is acidic, pH of 7 is neutral, pH of 7 to 14 is basic |
| Acid Shock | The sudden runoff of large amounts of highly acidic water into lakes and streams when snow melts in the spring or when heavy rains follow a drought |
| El Nino | The warm phase of the El Nino-Southern Oscillation; a periodic occurence in the eastern Pacific Ocean in which the surfacewater temperature becomes unusually warm |
| La Nina | The cool phase of the El Nino-Southern Oscillation; a periodic occurence in the eastern Pacific Ocean in which the surfacewater temperature becomes unusually cool |
| Ozone Layer | The layer of the atmosphere at an altitude of 15 to 40 km in which ozone absorbs ultraviolet solar radiation |
| Chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) | Hydrocarbons in which some or all of the hydrogen atoms are replaced by chlorine and fluorine; used in coolants for refrigerators and AC; destroy ozone molecules in stratosphere |
| Greenhouse Effect | Thje warming of the surface and lower atmosphere of Earth that occurs when carbon dioxide, water vapor & other gases in the air absorb and reradiate infared radiation; a naturally occuring process that helps warm the earth |
| Greenhouse Gases | A gas composed of molecules that absorb and reradiate infared radiation from the sun |
| Global Warming | A gradual increase in the average global temperature that is due to a higher concentration of gases sucha as carbon dioxide in the atmosphere |
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