Atmosphere: Air Pollution And Its Effects (our Fragile Planet)

OUR FRAGILE PLANET ATMOSPHERE OUR FRAGILE PLANET Atmosphere Biosphere Climate Geosphere humans and the Natural environment hydrosphere oceans polar regions OUR FRAGILE PLANET ATMOSPHERE Atmosphere Copyright © 2007 by Dana Desonie, Ph.D. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher. For information contact: Chelsea House An imprint of Infobase Publishing 132 West 31st Street New York NY 10001 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Desonie, Dana.   Atmosphere / Dana Desonie.    p. cm. — (Our fragile planet)   Includes bibliographical references and index.   ISBN-13: 978-0-8160-6213-3 (hardcover)   ISBN-10: 0-8160-6213-7 (hardcover)   1. Atmosphere. 2. Weather. 3. Meteorology. I. Title. II. Series.   QC861.3.D47 2007   551.5--dc22 2007008241 Chelsea House books are available at special discounts when purchased in bulk quantities for businesses, associations, institutions, or sales promotions. Please call our Special Sales Department in New York at (212) 967-8800 or (800) 322-8755. You can find Chelsea House on the World Wide Web at http://www.chelseahouse.com Text design by Annie O’Donnell Cover design by Ben Peterson Cover Photograph: © Jerome Scholler/Shutterstock.com Printed in the United States of America Bang FOF 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 This book is printed on acid-free paper. All links and Web addresses were checked and verified to be correct at the time of publication. Because of the dynamic nature of the Web, some addresses and links may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. Contents Preface vii Acknowledgments ix Introduction x  Part oNE: What the atmosphere Provides 1 1. The Gases and What They Do 2. The Atmosphere: Past and Present 13 3. The Motions of the Atmosphere 22 4. Other Factors That Shape a Region’s Climate 35  Part tWo: atmospheric Behavior: the Weather 3 43 5. What Makes the Weather? 45 6. Extreme Weather 59  Part tHrEE: Human Influence on the atmosphere: Local Impacts 79 7. Air Pollutants and Air Pollution 81 8. Air Pollution and the Environment 92 9. Air Pollution and Human Health 101 10. Acid Rain 110 11. Air Pollution Control 123 12. The Atmosphere Above Cities 138   Part Four: Human Influence on the Atmosphere: Global Impacts 145 13. Ozone Loss in the Stratosphere 147 14. Climate Change 157 Conclusion 169 Glossary 173 Further Reading 183 Index 189 Preface T he planet is a marvelous place: a place with blue skies, wild storms, deep lakes, and rich and diverse ecosystems. The tides ebb and flow, baby animals are born in the spring, and tropical rain forests harbor an astonishing array of life. The Earth sustains living things and provides humans with the resources to maintain a bountiful way of life: water, soil, and nutrients to grow food, and the mineral and energy resources to build and fuel modern society, among many other things. The physical and biological sciences provide an understan