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Chapter 9: Air: Climate and Pollution Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.
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Chapter 9 Topics The Atmosphere and Climate Climate Change Climate and Air Pollution Interactions Between Climate Processes and Air Pollution Effects of Air Pollution Air Pollution Control Clean Air Legislation Current Conditions and Future Prospects
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Part 1: The Atmosphere and Climate
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The atmosphere has four distinct zones of contrasting temperature.
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Energy and the "Greenhouse Effect"
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Convection and Atmospheric Pressure Evaporation Latent heat Condensation Convection currents Air pressure differences Coriolis effect
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Tornadoes are local cyclonic storms caused by rapid mixing of cold, dry air and warm, wet air.
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Seasonal Winds and Monsoons
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Ocean Currents Warm an cold ocean currents influence life on earth Result from surface winds, water density (depending on the temperature and saltiness of water) Carry water north and south distributing heat Eg. Gulf stream carries warm Caribbean water to Europe.
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Part 2: Climate Change The Earth's climate changes, often in short or long cycles. Ice ages, droughts Milankovitch cycles, orbital shifts, sunspot cycles, ocean currents Climate does not necessarily change gradually - meteor impacts, methane releases?
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Milankovitch cycles
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Human-Caused Global Climate Change Global mean surface temperatures have increased about 0.9 degrees F over the past 100 years. Much of this change is now understood to result from a number of human activities, primarily the burning of oil, gas, and coal. CO 2 levels are increasing 0.5% a year.
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Carbon dioxide levels are increasing
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Possible Implications of and Debate Surrounding Global Warming More heat waves More extreme storm activity Changes in rainfall, snowfall patterns Ecosystem effects Higher sea levels More disease Winners: Siberia, Scandinavia Losers: most of U.S. (particularly SE; Washington may be nicer), island states Skepticism Kyoto Protocol
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