Air Resources and State of the

Atmospheric Environment
The Earth’s Atmosphere
• Blanket of air surrounding the earth that protects
us by blocking the dangerous radiation from the
sun and reducing temperature extremes between
day and night.
• Composed of mixture of gases that gradually thins
out as it reaches space
• composed of Nitrogen (78%), Oxygen (21%), and
other gases (1%).
 Composition of the Atmosphere
• Percent Composition of
Dry Atmosphere,
by volume - ppmv: parts
per million by volume
• Gasper NASA

• Nitrogen (N2)
• 78.084%
• Oxygen (O2)
• 20.946%
• Argon (Ar)
• 0.9340%

• Carbon dioxide (CO2)
• 365 ppmv
• Neon (Ne) 18.18 ppmv
• Helium (He) 5.24 ppmv
• Methane (CH4)1.745 ppmv
• Krypton (Kr) 1.14 ppmv
• Hydrogen (H2) 0.55 ppmv
• Not included in above
composition
of dry atmosphere:
• Water vaporHighly variable;
typically makes up about 1%
• Minor components of air
not listed above include:
• nitrous oxide (0.5 ppmv
• xenon (0.09 ppmv)
• ozone (0.0 to 0.07 ppmv,
0.0 to 0.02 ppmv in
winter)
• nitrogen dioxide (0.02
ppmv),
• iodine (0.01 ppmv),
• carbon monoxide (0.0 to
trace)
• ammonia (0.0 to trace).
 The evolution of the Earth's
atmosphere
• The modern atmosphere is sometimes
referred to as Earth's "third atmosphere", in
order to distinguish the current chemical
composition from two notably different
previous compositions.
• The original atmosphere was primarily
helium and hydrogen; heat (from the still
molten crust, and the sun) dissipated this
atmosphere.
• About 3.5 billion years ago, the surface had cooled
enough to form a crust, still heavily populated
with volcanoes which released steam,
carbon dioxide, and ammonia.
• This led to the "second atmosphere"; which was,
primarily, carbon dioxide and water vapor, with
some nitrogen but virtually no oxygen
• This second atmosphere had ~100 times as much
gas as the current atmosphere. It is generally
believed that the greenhouse effect, caused by
high levels of carbon dioxide, kept the Earth from
freezing.
• In the next few billion years, water vapor condensed to
form rain and oceans, which then dissolved the carbon
dioxide
• About 50 % of CO2 were absorbed into the ocean
• The first life forms were the cyanobacteria and were the
first oxygen producing evolving phototropic organisms.
• Cyanobacteria converted the earth’s atmosphere from
an anoxic (state without oxygen) to an oxic (with
oxygen) state. Being the first to carry out oxygenic
photosynthesis, they were able to convert carbon
dioxide into oxygen playing a major role in
oxygenating the atmosphere.
• Eventually, photosynthesizing plants evolved and
converted more carbon dioxide to oxygen
• Excess carbon were locked in fossil fuels,
sedimentary rocks (limestone), and animal shells.
• The oxygen released reacted with ammonia to form
nitrogen, aside from bacteria converting ammonia to
nitrogen
• The appearance of more plants increased the levels
of oxygen significantly but the concentration of CO2
dropped.
• The oxygen produced first reacted with various
elements like iron but eventually accumulated in the
atmosphere resulting to mass extinction and further
evolution
• Ozone layer started
to appear and life
forms were better
protected from the
UV
• The oxygen-nitrogen
atmosphere is the
"third atmosphere".
 Air Resources
• Nitrogen being the most
abundant gas in the
atmosphere is formed from
reaction of ammonia with
oxygen
• Dilutes oxygen and carbon
dioxide
• Helps slow down decay,
rusting, and burning
• Liquefaction and fractional
distillation of N2 from the
atmosphere
Uses of nitrogen
• Cryogenics and refrigerant
• responsible for the orange-
red, blue-green, blue-violet,
and deep violet colors of the
aurora.
• Component of proteins,
foods, fertilizers, poison, and
explosives
• Annealing steel and
blanketing medium during
production of electronic
components
 Uses:
• oxy-acetylene welding
• Oxygen is a by- • frequently used to aid
product of respiration of patients
in hospitals
photosynthesis
• used in making
• It combines easily methanol and ethene
with many substances oxide
• Supports life • rocket fuel oxidant
• Supports burning • steel manufacture
process • ozone (O3) in the
atmosphere is
protection against the
sun's ultraviolet rays
• Carbon dioxide – although small in
concentration plays a role in warming the
atmosphere
• Produced by animal respiration, burning of
fuels, , and by volcanic eruption
• Important to life of plant
• Not poisonous, but too much of it in the air
lessens the amount of oxygen breathed in by
humans and animals
• Carbon is one of the most common element that
has unique properties (can form bond with itself or
with other elements
• Found in all living organisms
• Can be found in compounds that can exist as gas,
liquid, or solid on the earth’s surface
• Thus carbon can help form solid minerals such as
limestone, plants and animals, and carbon dioxide
that can be carried around the world through the
atmosphere and be dissolved in water
• This makes possible the existence of carbon in
compounds which are essential to life on earth
• Carbon atoms continually move through living
organisms, the oceans, the atmosphere, and in the
crust of the planet (carbon cycle)
• The paths taken by carbon through this cycle are
complex and take millions of years to complete the
cycle (coal and crude oil).
• Others may take days or simply hours to pass the
cycle (Burning)
• The aggregation of the possible paths of carbon,
where it may be stored for extended periods (the
"sinks"), where it is likely to be released to the
atmosphere (the "source"), and what triggers those
sources (the "release agents"), together defines the
carbon cycle.(Global Climates - Past, Present, and Future, S. Henderson, S. Holman, and L.
Mortensen (Eds.). EPA Report No. EPA/600/R-93/126, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of
Research and Development, Washington, DC. pp. 59 - 64.)
The Carbon Cycle
• Carbon sinks include
long-lived trees,
limestone (formed from
the carbon-containing
shells of small sea
creatures that settle to
the ocean bottoms and
build up into thick
deposits), plastic (a
modern invention, but
very long-lived), and the
burial of organic matter
(such as those that
formed the fossil fuels
we use today).
• Carbon sources
include the burning
of fossil fuels and
other organic matter,
the weathering of
limestone rocks
(which releases ),
and the respiration
of living organisms.
• Release agents
include volcanic
activity, forest fires,
and many human
activities.
• The other 1% is composed of "trace" gases, the
most prevalent of which is the inert gaseous
element argon. The rest of the trace gases,
although present in only minute amounts, are
very important to life on earth.
• Two in particular, carbon dioxide and ozone, can
have a large impact on atmospheric processes.
• Another gas, water vapor, also exists in small
amounts. It varies in concentration from being
almost non-existent over desert regions to about
4% over the oceans. Water vapor is important to
weather production since it exists in gaseous,
liquid, and solid phases and absorbs radiant
energy from the earth.
• Other trace gases such
as methane, oxides of
nitrogen are transparent
to UC radiation but can
absorb outgoing
infrared radiation, in
effect trapping the heat
energy. This trapped
heat energy makes the
earth warmer than it
would be without these
trace gases. (GHG)
• This phenomenon has been called the
"greenhouse effect" because the trace
gases trap heat similar to the way that a
greenhouse's transparent covering
traps heat.
• Without our atmospheric greenhouse
effect, earth's surface temperature
would be far below freezing.
• On the other hand, an increase in
atmospheric trace gases could result in
increased trapped heat and rising
global temperatures.
 Layers of the Atmosphere
• The troposphere is where
all weather takes place; it
is the region of rising and
falling packets of air. The
air pressure at the top of
the troposphere is only
10% of that at sea level (0.1
atmospheres). There is a
thin buffer zone between
the troposphere and the
next layer called the
tropopause.
• It extends from the earth's
surface to an average of 12
km (7 miles).
• The pressure ranges from
1000 to 200 millibars (29.92
in. to 5.92 in.).
• The temperature generally
decreases with increasing
height up to the tropopause
(top of the troposphere);
this is near 200 millibars or
36,000 ft.
• The temperature averages 15°C (59°F) near the
surface and -57°C (-71°F) at the tropopause.
• The layer ends at the point where temperature no
longer varies with height. This area, known as the
tropopause, marks the transition to the
stratosphere.
• Winds increase with height up to the jet stream.
• The moisture concentration decreases with height
up to the tropopause.
• The air is much drier above the tropopause, in the
stratosphere.
• The sun's heat that warms the earth's
surface is transported upwards largely by
convection and is mixed by updrafts and
downdrafts.
• The troposphere is 70% and 21% . The
lower density of molecules higher up would
not give us enough to survive.
• Troposphere-air flow is
usually horizontal
• Ozone layer –responsible
for absorbing the ultraviolet
radiation from the suin
• Above the stratosphere is
the mesosphere and above
that is the ionosphere (or
thermosphere), where
many atoms are ionized
(have gained or lost
electrons so they have a
net electrical charge).
• The ionosphere is very thin, but it is where
aurora take place, and is also responsible for
absorbing the most energetic photons from
the Sun, and for reflecting radio waves,
thereby making long-distance radio
communication possible.
• The structure of the ionosphere is strongly
influenced by the charged particle wind from
the Sun (solar wind), which is in turn
governed by the level of Solar activity.
 State of the Atmospheric
Environment
• Most scientists believe that human
activity is altering the composition of the
atmosphere by increasing the
concentration of greenhouse gases
(GHGs). Greenhouse gases occur
naturally in the atmosphere and their
presence results in what atmospheric
scientists call the greenhouse effect.
• It is important to remember that the
greenhouse effect is what keeps the earth
warm enough to be habitable.
• The current concern is directed at an
enhanced greenhouse effect, one that
would put more heat-absorbing gases into
the atmosphere, thereby increasing global
temperatures.
• The enhanced greenhouse effect has
been linked to increased GHG emissions
from human activities.
• The recent attention given to the
greenhouse effect and global warming
is based on the recorded increases in
concentrations of some of the
greenhouse gases due to human
activity. Of particular interest are water
vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous
oxide, chlorofluorocarbons, and ozone.
With the exception of
chlorofluorocarbons, all of these gases
occur naturally and are also produced
by human activity.
• Water vapor is the most important GHG on the
planet.
• Unlike most of the other atmospheric gases, water
vapor is considered to be a 'variable' gas; that is,
the percentage of water vapor in the atmosphere
can vary greatly depending on the location and
source of the air.
• Water vapor absorbs heat readily.
• human activity is not directly changing water vapor
content.
• But man, directly influence other GHGs. Although
other GHGs are individually less important than
water vapor, increasing their concentrations may
affect global climate in significant and measurable
ways.
• Carbon dioxide (CO2 ) is considered the
most important human-influenced GHG.

• Over geologic time, sources and sinks

generally balance. In today's
atmosphere, however, levels are
climbing in a dramatic and easily
measurable fashion, providing evidence
that there are now more sources than
sinks.
 What are the sources for this
'extra' CO2?
• Human activities primarily responsible for the
increases
– Fossil fuel combustion accounts for 65%

– Deforestation ( released from trees that are cut

and burned or left to decay) accounts for 33%

– The by-products of cement production account for

the remaining 2%
• natural sources of CO2
– Plants and animals give off CO2 while alive
and respiring and when dead and decaying
(bacteria that consume the dead bodies
respire too, after all).
– Carbonate rocks contain CO2 that can be
released by exposure to acid and/or
weathering. Certain naturally carbonated
spring waters contain CO2 because the water
has passed though carbonate rocks on its way
to the surface.
– Volcanoes
– geological sources are insignificant when
compared to the human sources.
 Methane (CH4 )
• largely a product of natural biologic processes, but
its output can be accelerated by human activities.
• emitted from the decay of organic matter in
waterlogged soils (for example, wetlands and rice
paddies) and from the digestive tracts of grazing
animals (for example, ruminants).
• increased conc’n. from human activities include the
expansion of rice agriculture, the increased number
of livestock, the increased number of landfills, and
leakage from natural gas pipelines.
 Nitrous oxide (N2O )
• naturally occurring GHG but the conc’n.
increased significantly because of human
activities
• is emitted from coal-burning power plants
and can be released from the breakdown
of chemical fertilizers in the soil.
• From automobiles
 Ozone (O3 )
• also a greenhouse gas.
• It is important not to confuse the presence of the
ozone in the stratosphere (a good thing) with the
presence of ozone in the troposphere (a bad thing).
• In the troposphere, ozone can be a major
component of urban smog − damaging crops and
aggravating respiratory problems as well as
enhancing the greenhouse effect.
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)
• have no natural source;
• produced entirely by human activity.
• been used widely as refrigerants in air conditioners,
refrigerators, freezers, and heat pumps.
• found in some foam plastics and used in some
electronics manufacturing.
• Even though CFC production has been vastly
reduced, these compounds remain in the atmosphere
for a long time; we shall see their effects as GHGs for
many years.
• Other substances emitted to the atmosphere
– Hydrocarbons
– Other organic substances
– Heavy metals such as lead
– Particulate matter
• While the earth's temperature is dependent
upon the greenhouse-like action of the
atmosphere, the amount of heating and
cooling are strongly influenced by several
factors just as greenhouses are affected by
various factors.
• In the atmospheric greenhouse effect, the type
of surface that sunlight first encounters is the
most important factor.
• Forests, grasslands, ocean surfaces, ice caps,
deserts, and cities all absorb, reflect, and
radiate radiation differently. Sunlight falling on
a white glacier surface strongly reflects back
into space, resulting in minimal heating of the
surface and lower atmosphere.
• Sunlight falling on a dark desert soil is strongly
absorbed, on the other hand, and contributes to
significant heating of the surface and lower
atmosphere. Cloud cover also affects
greenhouse warming by both reducing the
amount of solar radiation reaching the earth's
surface and by reducing the amount of radiation
energy emitted into space.
• Scientists use the term albedo to define the
percentage of solar energy reflected back by a
surface. Understanding local, regional, and
global albedo effects is critical to predicting
global climate change.
 Atmospheric Processes

• From the cycle, water is an essential

part of the earth's system.
• The oceans cover nearly three-quarters
of the earth's surface and play an
important role in exchanging and
transporting heat and moisture in the
atmosphere.
• Most of the water
vapor in the
atmosphere
comes from the
oceans.

• Most of the
precipitation
falling over land
finds its way
back to oceans
• About two-thirds returns to the
atmosphere via the water cycle
• the oceans and atmosphere interact
extensively.
• Oceans not only act as an abundant
moisture source for the atmosphere but
also as a heat source and sink
(storage).
• The exchange of heat and moisture has
profound effects on atmospheric
processes near and over the oceans.
• Ocean currents play a significant role in
transferring this heat poleward. Major
currents, such as the northward flowing Gulf
Stream, transport tremendous amounts of
heat poleward and contribute to the
development of many types of weather
phenomena. They also warm the climate of
nearby locations. Conversely, cold southward
flowing currents, such as the California
current, cool the climate of nearby locations.
 Energy Heat Transfer
• Practically all of the
energy that reaches the
earth comes from the
sun. Intercepted first by
the atmosphere, a small
part is directly
absorbed, particularly
by certain gases such
as ozone and water
vapor. Some energy is
also reflected back to
space by clouds and the
earth's surface.
Energy is transferred
between the earth's
surface and the
atmosphere via
conduction,
convection, and
radiation.
• Conduction is the • Since air is a poor
process by which heat conductor, most energy
energy is transmitted transfer by conduction
through contact with occurs right at the
neighboring earth's surface. At night,
molecules. the ground cools and
the cold ground
• Some solids, such as
conducts heat away
metals, are good
from the adjacent air.
conductors of heat During the day, solar
while others, such as radiation heats the
wood, are poor ground, which heats the
conductors. Air and air next to it by
water are relatively conduction.
poor conductors.
• Convection transmits • These vertical
heat by transporting motions effectively
groups of molecules distribute heat and
from place to place moisture throughout
within a substance.
the atmospheric
Convection occurs in
column and
fluids such as water and
air, which move freely.
contribute to cloud
and storm
• In the atmosphere,
development (where
convection includes
rising motion occurs)
large- and small-scale
and dissipation
rising and sinking of air
masses and smaller air
(where sinking
parcels. motion occurs).
• To understand the
convection cells that
distribute heat over the
whole earth, let's consider a
simplified, smooth earth with
no land/sea interactions and
a slow rotation. Under these
conditions, the equator is
warmed by the sun more
than the poles. The warm,
light air at the equator rises
and spreads northward and
southward, and the cool
dense air at the poles sinks
and spreads toward the
equator. As a result, two
convection cells are formed.
• the slow rotation of
the earth toward the
east causes the air • Radiation is the
to be deflected transfer of heat energy
toward the right in without the
the northern involvement of a
hemisphere and physical substance in
toward the left in the the transmission.
southern Radiation can transmit
hemisphere. This heat through a
deflection of the vacuum.
wind by the earth's
rotation is known as
the Coriolis effect.
• Energy travels from the sun to
the earth by means of
electromagnetic waves. The
shorter the wavelength, the
higher the energy associated
with it. This is demonstrated in
the animation below. As the
drill's revolutions per minute
(RPMs) increase, the number
of waves generated on the
string increases, as does the
oscillation rate. The same
principle applies to
electromagnetic waves from
the sun, where shorter
wavelength radiation has
higher energy than longer
wavelength radiation.
• Most of the sun's radiant energy is concentrated in
the visible and near-visible portions of the
spectrum. Shorter-than-visible wavelengths
account for a small percentage of the total but are
extremely important because they have much
higher energy. These are known as ultraviolet
wavelengths
• The physical and chemical structure of the
atmosphere, the way that the gases interact with
solar energy, and the physical and chemical
interactions between the atmosphere, land, and
oceans all combine to make the atmosphere an
integral part of the global biosphere.
 Overview of processes and properties
associated with global climate change
• Earth's climate has always changed; it is the rate
of change that is of current concern to scientists.
• Carbon is critical to the biosphere and must
continue cycling to support life on Earth.
• The carbon cycle includes sources, sinks, and
release agents.
• Carbon dioxide is an important greenhouse gas.
• Living organisms in an ecosystem can have
profound effects upon the local atmosphere.
• Understanding the major greenhouse
gases is necessary to identify the
current trends in atmospheric
concentrations and climate change.
• Changes in vegetation can have
profound effects upon wind speed.
• Human activity has been linked with
increased greenhouse gases in the
atmosphere.
 Present Climates and Human
Activity
• The discovery of fossil fuels and the means of
turning the energy trapped within them into heat,
transportation, and the basis for manufacturing
and construction and the global industrial
revolution that followed changed the world
forever for our species
• Since the 1800s, CO2
concentrations worldwide
have increased from
approximately 280 ppm
(or 0.028%) to around 365
ppm (0.0365%). The
increase seems trivial, but
it also means that some 3
gigatons (3 billion metric
tons) of CO2 are being
added to the atmosphere
every year.
• Because CO2 is a powerful
greenhouse gas, it can be
concluded that the earth's
temperature should go up
as CO2 concentrations
increase.
• climatologists have
detected a steady but small
increase in global average
temperatures over the last
few decades, based on
weather data collected all
around the world. Six of the
last ten were the hottest
years on record.
• Regardless of the cause of the
warming, we understand enough about
global climate to predict that as the
temperature goes up, the entire global
climate system powered by heat energy
should also change, although the
magnitude and direction of the changes
are uncertain
 Future climates- The Great
Uncertainty
• Will the climate change for the worse because of our
actions?
• In fact, no one knows for sure. Most atmospheric
scientists believe that the global climate is warming
at least partially because of a build-up of CO2 from
fossil fuel use, but what that means to humans and
natural ecosystems is largely unknown.
• The climate is vastly complex and strongly influenced
by many factors other than greenhouse gas
concentrations
• it extremely difficult to link any climatic events or
characteristics to a single cause.
• As a result, controversy exists as to the
magnitude and danger of global warming
induced by greenhouse gases.
• Many scientists take the issue very seriously
and support efforts to slow or reverse the build-
up of atmospheric CO2 with the expectation that
global warming will slow as a result. Others,
however, contend that CO2 may not be affecting
the climate and that the changes are part of
natural, long-term climatic cycles.
• They suggest that efforts to reduce
emissions are unnecessary and dangerous
to economic growth and development.
• While the controversy rages, researchers
around the world continue to gather
atmospheric data, develop and refine
predictive computer models, and try to
reduce the uncertainty in our
understanding of the earth's climate.
• With this, let us try to ponder on the
critical issues about the state of our
atmospheric environment and its
relation to climate change, explore the
possibility of balancing the sources and
sinks (or reservoirs) of GHG’s , the
nature of climate change and predictions
of future changes, and the elements of
the scientific and political debates that
will ultimately determine how we respond
to climate change
Thank you!