GEOG 221 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Smog, Carbon Tetrachloride, Environmental Policy
16 Feb 2013
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Document Summary
Ozone: can"t live with it, can"t live without it. Most ozone is found in a layer between 15 and 35 km above the surface (stratosphere) Ozone layer here is beneficial to life on earth (absorbs harmful uv radiation from the sun) Photochemical ozone (created near the surface) is a secondary pollutant. High energy uv (far) is absorbed high in the atmosphere, near uv is transformed into 3 different uv types (a, b, c) Ozone: uv radiation connection: all uv-c (highest energy most destructive) is absorbed by o3 layer (destroys dna, most uv-b is absorbed but holes are causing increased exposure and health risks (skin cancer, etc) Cumulative, happens over time a lifetime of exposure leads to problems later in life: nearly all uv-a reaches the surface (mostly benign) Plays a role in some health effects such as immune system, etc. Parts of sunlight have enough energy to do damage to your. Oxygen molecules are photolyzed, yielding 2 oxygen atoms.
