7: Atmosphere and Air Pollution
- Page ID
- 164509
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- 7.1: The Atmosphere
- The atmosphere, the gaseous layer that surrounds the earth, formed over four billion years ago and is held in place by the attractive forces of gravity. This section is a brief introduction to the layers of the atmosphere and the differences between climate and weather.
- 7.2: Earth's Energy Balance
- Earth’s temperature depends on the balance between energy entering and leaving the planet. When incoming energy from the sun is absorbed, Earth warms. When energy is released from Earth into space, the planet cools. Many factors, both natural and human, can cause changes in Earth’s energy balance, including changes in greenhouse gasses; variations in the sun’s energy reaching Earth; and changes in the reflectivity of Earth’s atmosphere and surface.
- 7.4: What Makes the Climate Change and How do We Study Past Climates?
- This section discusses the natural causes of changes in the Earth's climate over time. These include changes in the radiation from the Sun, changes in the tilt of the Earth, changes in Earth's orbit, changes in greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere, shifts in the location of land on earth through plate tectonics, and changes in ocean circulation.
- 7.6: Air Pollution
- Air pollution occurs in many forms but can generally be thought of as gaseous and particulate contaminants that are present in the earth’s atmosphere. Chemicals discharged into the air that have a direct impact on the environment are called primary pollutants. These primary pollutants sometimes react with other chemicals in the air to produce secondary pollutants.
Connie Rye (East Mississippi Community College), Robert Wise (University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh), Vladimir Jurukovski (Suffolk County Community College), Jean DeSaix (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill), Jung Choi (Georgia Institute of Technology), Yael Avissar (Rhode Island College) among other contributing authors. Original content by OpenStax (CC BY 4.0; Download for free at http://cnx.org/contents/185cbf87-c72...f21b5eabd@9.87).
- Kyle Whittinghill (University of Vermont)