| Term | Definition |
|---|
| ENSO | El Nino Southern Oscillation, see-sawing of air pressure over the S. Pacific |
| During an El Nino Year | trade winds weaken & warm water sloshed back to South America |
| Durin a NOn El Nino Year | easterly trade winds and ocean currents pool warm water in the western pacific, allowing upwelling of nutrient rich water off the West coast of South America |
| Effects of El nino | upwelling decreases disrupting food chains, N US has mild winters, SW US has increased rainfall, less atlantic hurricanes |
| Primary air pollutants | produced by humans & nature (CO, CO2, SO2, NO, hydrocarbons, particulates) |
| Particulate matter (source, effect, reduction) | buring fossil fuels & car exhaust; reduces visibility & respiratory irritation; filtering, electrostatic percipitators, alternative energy) |
| Nitrogen oxides | source: auto exhaust effects: acidification of lakes, respiratory irritation, leads to smog & ozone equation: SO2 + O2 - NO2; NO2+H2O - HNO3 reduction: catalytic converter |
| Sulfur oxides | source: coal burning effects: acid deposition, respiratory irritation, damages plant equation for acid formation: SO2 + O2 - SO3 + H2O - H2SO4 reduction: scrubbers, burn low sulfur fuel |
| Carbon oxides | sources: auto exhaust, incomplete combustion effects: CO binds to hemoglobin reducing bloods ability to carry O, CO2 contributes to global warming reduction: catalytic converter, emission testing, oxygenated fuel, mass transit |
| Ozone | formation: secondary pollutant, NO2 + UV - NO + O O + O2 - O3, with VOCs effects: respiratory irritant, plant damage reduction: rduce NO emissions & VOCS |
| Radon | radioactive gas, formed from teh decary of Uranium, causes lung cancer and is a problem in the Reading Prong |
| Photochemical somg | formed by chemical reactions inolving sunlight (NO, VOC, O) |
| acid deposition | caused by sulfric and nitric acids resulting in lowered pH of surface waters |
| Greenhouse gases | examples: H2O, CO2, O3, CH4, CFCs effect: they trap outgoing infrared (heat) energy, causing earth to warm |
| Effects of global warming | rising sealevel (thermal expansion) extreme weather, droughts (famine) extinctiosn |
| Ozone depletion caused by | CFCs, methyl chloroform, carbon tetrachloride, halon, methyl bromide all of which attack stratospheric ozone |
| Effects of ozone depletion | increased UV, skin cancer, cataracts, decreased plant growth |
| Clean Air Act | set emission standards fro cars, and limits for release of air pollutants |
| Kyoto Protocol | controlling global warming by settling greenhouse gas emissions targets for developed countries |
| Montreal Protocol | phaseout of ozone deleting substance |
Combine with other sets
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