Download Atmospheric Systems (2) - PetlakEnvironmentalScience20

ES 20 – Unit 2
Atmospheric Systems
*Outcomes:
Part 1 – ES20-AS1 – Assess
the impact of air quality on
human and environmental
AIR QUALITY
*Part 1 -
ES20-AS1 – Assess the impact of air
quality on human and environmental health and the need
for regulations and mitigating technologies.
Qualities of the Atmosphere
Outcome – understand the layers of the atmosphere, the composition of air within
the troposphere, and
*Atmosphere – thin layer of gases surrounding Earth.
*Layers of the atmosphere (apple analogy)
Troposphere
- 11km
Stratosphere (ozone layer – O3) – 11-55km
Ozone is not good in the troposphere? Free radical good or bad?
Mesosphere – 50-80km
Thermosphere – 80-500km
*Atmosphere is ~78% nitrogen gas (N2) and 21% oxygen gas (O2).
Also contains water vapour.
Temperature (Heat) affects how much water (H2O) the air can
hold (humidity). The percentage indicates how much of its max
it can hold.
*Air pressure – force exerted by air on the area below it. (Higher
above sea level = less pressure) Stack o’ book analogy.
Qualities of the Atmosphere
Outcome – understand the layers of the atmosphere, the composition of air within
the troposphere, and
*Condensation – dew and frost.
*Cloud formation – surface or particle for
air to condense.
*Heat (energy) transfer drives air
movement.
Heat transfer via - Radiation (energy
through space – sun heating the earth)
conduction (contact – of molecules as well),
convection (through fluids). Sinking of cool
air (dense), rising warm air (molecules move
away faster - less dense).
* Air mass is a large body of air with a
Humans and Air Quality
indicators: pose questions regarding how human activities and technologies have
influenced air quality (e.g. is air pollution necessary? Where is most polluted and
why? What are some local sources of air pollution?
*Pollution – introduction of contaminants (which
Fun fact –
negatively affects or impedes the regular or healthy Toronto has a
functioning of what it was introduced to).
“congestion
charge”.
Where are the most polluted places on earth?
http://list25.com/the-25-most-polluted-places-onearth/
*Check SK or another location
*Is air pollution necessary/natural? Canada – www.airhealth.ca/
We exhale a pollutant so yes kind of! - http://www.lung.ca/protectBut maybe we can make it not so
protegez/pollution-pollution/indoorinterieur/school-ecole_e.php
pronounced.
States - http://www.airnow.gov/
*Local sources of air pollution?
Cars, mines, refinery
- http://www.stateoftheair.org/#
Ozone Depletion
indicators: investigate the role of the stratospheric ozone layer depletion as a
contributor towards human health issues such as cancers and cataracts
*What is the ozone layer? Where is
the ozone layer? Where is the
stratosphere?
*How did it get depleted? What
does it do for us?
*How would this affect human
health?
Indoor Air Quality
indicators: examine how contaminants such as radon, carbon monoxide, mold,
volatile organic compounds, allergens, and particulates affect indoor air quality
*Air Pollutant/contaminant – release of damaging materials into
the atmosphere or air.
- radon – floor level gas causing lung cancer.
- carbon monoxide – odourless gas that deprives cells of oxygen by
binding with hemoglobin in the blood.
- mold/allergens – dander, pollen, and allergens made possible by
moisture indoors (keep humidity below 50%) – cough, sneezing,
congestion, respiratory, eye irritation
- volatile organic compounds – carbon-containing chemicals fumes
such as methane, propane, benzene, and butane found in cleaning
products – can cause cancer and can react to produce ozone in the
troposphere.
*Are
you at risk?
- particulates – soot, dust, tiny bits of metals, damage lungs and
http://www.lung.ca/protect-protegez/pollutionaffect breathing
pollution/indoor-interieur/home-chezvous_e.php
Outdoor Air Quality
indicators: identify how contaminants in the troposhere such as ozone, particulates,
carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, lead, and sulphur dioxide can affect human
health and impact the environment.
*Where is the troposphere
again?
*Ozone Carbon Monoxide Nitrogen dioxide Lead – can last for a long
time and travel through
air and get into
groundwater – causes
neurological problems
dominantly in children.
Government Impact
indicators: recognize the impact of government regulations such as the Air Quality
Health Index (AQHI) and the National Ambient Air Quality Objectives ( NAAQOs), on
minimizing risks to environmental and human health.
*AQHI - www.airhealth.ca/
*NAAQO -
http://www.ec.gc.ca/default.asp?lang=En
&n=56D4043B-1&news=A4B2C28A-2DFB4BF4-8777-ADF29B4360BD
Particulate matter?
Pollutants
Old Standards New Standards
2015
2020
PM2.5 Annual 10 µg/m³
8.8 µg/m³
PM2.5 for 24- 30 µg/m³
28 µg/m³
27 µg/m³
hour
Ozone for 8- 65 parts per
63 parts per
62 parts per
hour
billion
billion
billion
Assessing Air Quality
indicators: design and carry out a process for collecting and analyzing data to assess
air quality.
*How can we create a process to find out
our air quality?
*Perform experiment.
Reducing Contaminants
indicators: examine scientific principles of technologies such as air scrubbers,
baghouse filters, electrostatic precipitators, and catalytic converters that have been
developed to reduce contaminants in motor vehicle and industrial emissions.
*In small groups you will be given one of the following
technologies to research (use your phones):
Air Scrubber
Baghouse Filter
Electrostatic Precipitator
Catalytic Converter
Then answer the following:
What is it? What is it used with? When was it developed?
What contaminant does it reduce (and what would this contaminants
normally cause)?
How does it reduce contaminants?
Improving air quality
indicators: investigate processes designed to manage and improve indoor air quality
in residential, commercial, and industrial buildings and structures in order to
minimize damage to human health.
*In small groups you will be given one of the following
locations and asked to research processes that manage and
improve air quality within them (use your phones):
Residential
Commercial
Industrial
Then answer the following:
What is it? What is it used with? When was it developed?
What contaminant does it reduce (and what would this contaminants
normally cause)?
How does it reduce contaminants?
Human Population Density vs Air Quality
indicators: Develop a generalization about the relationship between human population
density and air quality
Graphing – create a graph using the information below, then
combine the graphs on excel showing whether or not there is
any correlation between human population
Prediction?
Based on this Canada is more likely to have better or worse air
quality?
Human Population Density vs Air Quality
indicators: Develop a generalization about the relationship between human population
density and air quality
Graphing –
create a
graph using
the
information
below, then
combine the
graphs on
excel
showing
whether or
not there is
any
correlation
between
CLIMATE CHANGE
*Part 2 -
ES20-AS2 – Analyze current and
potential future effect of global climate change on
Earth and humans, including the need for adaptation
and mitigation strategies
Anthropogenic Effects on the
Environment
indicators: provide examples on how environmental science contributes to human
understanding of the anthropogenic effects on the environment.
Anthropogenic Effect Reading skill – when have we heard “anthro”
before?
Brainstorm – how might environmental science aid
in our understanding of humanity's impact (think
about what we've discussed thus far in Part 1).
Increasing Global Temperatures
indicators: explore, on a variety of spatial and temporal scales, major physical, biological,
and social indicators of increasing global temperatures.
Does our world naturally heat and cool?
TED Talk – evidence for and against global warming.
Unifying against Climate Change
indicators: examine the role of policies, summits, models, and organizations, such as the
Canadian Centre for Climate Modeling and Analysis (CCCma), Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC), and Prairie Adaptation Research Collaborative (PARC), in obtaining a
high degree of consensus among scientists regarding anthropogenic climate change.
Do 15.3 – Montreal Protocol, Clean Air Act
Techniques to Create Climate Models
indicators: recognize how techniques such as satellite imagery, ice core samples, and
dendrology are used to build climate models that predict future effects of climate changes
with varying degrees of probability and reliability.
Satellite Imagery
Ice Core Samples
Dendrology
Climate Change in SK
indicators: explain the economic impact of climate change on agriculture, energy, forestry,
transportation, and/or tourism in Saskatchewan.
Satellite Imagery
Ice Core Samples
Dendrology
Mitigating Climate Change
indicators: examine how policy makers use scientific information, including climate model
predictions, to develop adaptation and mitigation strategies to respond to the effects of
climate change.
Satellite Imagery
Ice Core Samples
Dendrology
Climate Change Indications Worldwide
indicators: recognize differences in vulnerability to climate change impacts and rates of
change at northern versus equatorial latitiudes, specifically recognizing the Arctic as an
indicator region, and the impact on traditional lifestyles.
Satellite Imagery
Ice Core Samples
Dendrology
Climate Change Indications Worldwide
indicators: Hypothesize how life on Earth might respond to changing global climate given
different scenarios change such as sea level rise, extreme weather events, water shortages,
increased spread of disease, and flooding.
Compose a three-part paragraph illustrating a
climate change-caused event and how you believe
humanity would respond to it. Provide an educated
idea on how we may overcome it or how we would
fall victim to it.