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ENV SCI U9 AIR
AIR / ATMOSPHERE VOCAB
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| AIR POLLUTION | Air pollution consists of chemicals or particles in the air that can harm the health of humans, animals, and plants. |
| SMOG | Smog, or smoke fog, is a type of intense air pollution. The word "smog" was coined in the early 20th century, and is a portmanteau of the words smoke and fog to refer to smoky fog due to its opacity, and odor. |
| TEMPERATURE INVERSION | A temperature inversion is a layer in the atmosphere in which air temperature increases with height = trapping of smog and other toxic gasses in a densely populated urban environment or metropolitan area. |
| SICK-BUILDING SYNDROME | SBS = developing symptoms of illness from the building in which they work or reside. The main identifying observation is an increased incidence of complaints of symptoms such as headache, eye, nose, and throat irritation, fatigue, dizziness, and nausea. |
| pH | a figure expressing the acidity or alkalinity of a solution on a logarithmic scale on which 7 is neutral, lower values are more acid and higher values more alkaline. |
| PRIMARY POLLUTANT | This is any type of pollutant put directly into the environment. They differ from secondary pollutants because secondary pollutants must form in the atmosphere. |
| SECONDARY POLLUTANT | This is a pollutant which forms in the atmosphere, not emitted directly from a source (like vehicles). Instead, they form as a result of the pollutants emitted from these sources reacting with molecules in the atmosphere to form a new pollutant. |
| ASBESTOS | A naturally occurring material present in soil/rocks. Exposure may lead to lung diseases & other health conditions. Many manufacturing companies used asbestos in construction materials for fibrous strength. Many countries have banned the use of asbestos. |
| RADON | A radioactive gas formed when uranium breaks down in rocks, soil and water - invisible, odorless, tasteless - can rise from under the ground and get trapped inside buildings, where it can reach high and dangerous levels that can cause cancer |
| ACID PRECIPITATION | Acid rain is precipitation with a pH of about 5.2 or below, mainly caused by human activities such as fossil-fuel combustion. It can harm ecosystems, buildings, and human health, and is a global environmental issue. |
| ACIDIFICATION | Reduction in the pH of the ocean over time, caused by the uptake of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. It affects the chemistry and biology of the ocean and the food web, and can have serious implications for human health and economy |
| ACID SHOCK | Sudden increase in the acidity of surface waters, caused by Spring snow melting, releasing acidic precipitation into water system. Can cause significant damage to freshwater species and habitats. It can be lethal for many aquatic organisms such as fish. |
| VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUND (VOC) | VOCs are chemicals that evaporate easily and have low water solubility. They are used in many products and can affect indoor air quality and health. |
| SCRUBBER | Scrubber systems (e.g. chemical scrubbers, gas scrubbers) are a diverse group of air pollution control devices that can be used to remove some particulates and/or gases from industrial exhaust streams. |
| CATALYTIC CONVERTER | An exhaust emission control device which converts pollutants in exhaust gas into less-toxic pollutants by catalyzing a redox reaction. Catalytic converters are usually used with internal combustion engines fueled by gasoline or diesel (i.e., car engines). |
| GREENHOUSE EFFECT | the trapping of the sun's warmth in a planet's lower atmosphere, due to the greater transparency of the atmosphere to visible radiation from the sun than to infrared radiation emitted from the planet's surface. |
| GLOBAL WARMING | The long-term warming of the planet’s overall temperature. Though this warming trend has been going on for a long time, its pace has significantly increased in the last hundred years due to the burning of fossil fuels |
| CO2 | a colourless gas that is a major greenhouse gas and a product of combustion, fermentation, and respiration |
| OZONE | highly reactive gas of 3 oxygen atoms - a natural and man-made product in Earth's upper atmosphere (stratosphere) and lower atmosphere (troposphere). Depending on where it is in the atmosphere, it affects life on Earth in either good or bad ways. |
| ATMOSPHERE | A mixture of gases that surrounds Earth - providing us with air to breathe, shielding us from harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation coming from the Sun, trapping heat to warm the planet, and preventing extreme temperature differences between day and night. |
| METHANE | a colorless, odorless, and highly flammable gas, and the main component in natural gas, which is used to generate electricity and heat homes around the world |
| POLLUTION | Any substances in water, soil, or air that degrade the natural quality of the environment, offend the senses of sight, taste, or smell, or cause a health hazard |
| CONSERVE | To keep in a safe or sound state to avoid wasteful or destructive use of |
Created by:
kristin.miller
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