ENV100H1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 42: Urban Heat Island, Nitrogen Dioxide, Tropospheric Ozone

• School: UTSG
• Department: School of Environment
• Course: ENV100H1
• Professor: Barbara Murck

Document Summary

Outdoor air pollution affects climate and harms people and ecosystmes. Air pollutants = gases and particulate matter that are added to the atmosphere by way of various activities. Outdoor (ambient) air pollution: has decreased in recent decades, policies, laws, tech, etc, significant problems in developing countries, ex. Beijing: partly natural, partly heavy reliance on coal in northern china, some urban areas too. Second most variable = aerosols from a variety of sources. Curve shows concentration of aerosols: high at ground surface, troposphopic aerosols, anthropogenic activities, some natural activities, source is the surface, stratosphere, another spike in concentration of aerosols, volcanic origin, can be transported globally. Water in atmosphere condenses to form clouds. Those further condense to drop as precipitation. There has to be a place for water molecules to call home or else they will not begin to condense. As in putting stuff into the atmosphere.