Chapter 18 - Air Pollution

Index of topics:

• Historical overview of significant air pollution events
• Air pollution in remote areas like the Grand Canyon
• Natural and anthroprogenic sources of pollutants
• Primary Pollutants
• Secondary Pollutants
• Introduction to L.A. and London smog
• Conditions required for L.A. and London smog
• Factors favoring high concentrations of smog
• LA smog:
  • primary pollutants
  • secondary pollutants
  • sources of the primary pollutants
  • photochemistry - the null cycle
  • ozone observations during mid afternoon
  • the role of ROG (reactive organic gases) in L.A. smog
  • reactions with and without ROG
• Factors affecting LA smog concentrations:
  • diurnal and meteorological factors
  • geographical factors like terrain and source location
  • more on diurnal variations
  • seasonal variations
• health effects
• Dispersion of pollutants:
  • the ventilation factor
  • chimney plume dispersion
  • more chimney plume dispersion
  • obstacles and dispersion
  • taller smokestacks
  • effects of an inversion
  • increasing the exit velocity
  • methods for increasing the exit velocity
  • increasing the exit temperature
  • methods for increasing the exit temperature
• Air pollution trends
• Acid rain
• Ozone in the Stratosphere
• Production and Destruction of stratospheric ozone
• Observations of stratospheric ozone depletion
• Review Questions
• Homework
• practice quiz

acknowledgments: many of the graphics and notes for this chapter come from an Air Pollution course taught at UCLA by Dr. Jeffery Lew