SCIE 1P50 Lecture Notes - Lecture 20: Criteria Air Contaminants, Tropospheric Ozone, Sulfur Dioxide
Document Summary
Atmosphere = the thin layer of gases that surrounds earth; protective factor. Trans ports & recycles water & nutrients within resvoirs. 1% of other gases its 4 layers differ in temperature, density & composition. Minute concentrations of permanent (remain @ stable concentrations) & variable gases (variable concentrations). Air for breathing, weather temperatue declines with altitude (higher & higher you go, the colder it is) Tropopause = limits mixing between troposphere & the layer above it. Stratosphere = 11-50km (7-31 mi) above sea level. Drier & less dense, with little vertical mixing. Contains uv radiation-blocking ozone, 17-30 km (1-19 mi) above sea level. Mesosphere = 50-80km (31-56 mi) above sea level. Extremely low air pressure temperatue decreases with altitude. Convective circulation = less dense, heated up by the radiation, warmer air rises. Cool air descends & becomes dense, replacing warm air. Thermal inversion = a lyer of cool air occurs beneath a layer of warmer air.