Want to create interactive content? It’s easy in Genially!
Earth Science 100 Rybolt
Kinsey Rybolt
Created on October 21, 2024
Start designing with a free template
Discover more than 1500 professional designs like these:
Transcript
The Reality of Air Pollution
Invisible Threat:
Hypothesis:
Air pollution disrupts the environment by altering atmospheric conditions, harming ecosystems, and accelerating climate change, ultimately leading to a cascade of ecological imbalances.
Definition:
Air pollution is contamination of the indoor or outdoor environment by any chemical, physical or biological agent that modifies the natural characteristics of the atmosphere.
Biodiversity Loss: Poor air quality canput stress in ecosystems, making it harder for some plants and animals to survive, which can reduce the variety of life in areas.
Eutrophication: Air pollution adds to much nitrogen to water, leading to alot of algae growth. This takes away oxygen in the water, which is bad for fish and other animals.
Climate Change: Some air pollutants, like ground level ozone, make the earth warmer, while others, like aerosols, can cool it by reflecting sunlight. This affects weather patterns and climate.
Air Pollution: Pollutants like sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides can cause acid rain, harming soil and aquatic habitats. Increased acidity negativly affects sensitive plants and alters water quality, impacting the animals and plants in lakes and rivers.
How Air Pollution Disrupts The Environment
Accidental Fires & Damage: During an emergency, fires and accidents can release harmful pollutants into the air. Broken pipes or tanks can leak chemicals, letting out toxic fumes. In cities, these fumes can easily get inside homes, and fires also release gases like carbon dioxide, making the air quality worse.
Molds & other Risks: During an earthquake, broken water pipes can cause dampness, which can lead to mold growth. Mold releases spores that can harm your lungs. A 2010 study in New Zealand found that air pollution levels were much higher than safe limits after the earthquake.
Dust & Particalates: Earthquakes cause air pollution mainly through dust. The shaking loosens dust from buildings, homes, and the ground, keeping it in the air for days. Even inside homes, the tremors can stir up settled dust, so it's important to keep things clean.
Shaken Atmosphere
Mercury, released mainly from industrial sources like coal burning, is toxic to aquatic life. It settles into water and can build up in the food chain.
Air pollutants like sulfur dioxide (SO₂), nitrogen oxides (NOₓ), and carbon dioxide (CO₂) mix with moisture to form acids, which fall as acid rain or snow. This lowers the pH of soil and water, causing acidification.
How Air Pollution Affects Earth's Water Systems
Factories, cars, and farms adds too much nitrogen to water. This causes algae to grow, using up oxygen and blocking sunlight for underwater plants. This harms the ecosystem and can create "dead zones" where fish and other animals can't live.
Air pollution, like dust and tiny particles, can change how clouds form and how rain falls. This can lead to extreme weather, like droughts or floods, affecting the water we rely on for plants, animals, and people.
Pollution like carbon dioxide , methane, and black carbon makes the Earth warmer. This melts glaciers and snow, which are important sources of freshwater, and causes more water to evaporate, making fresh water harder to find.
Long-Term Consequences of Air Pollution on Earth
Global Biogeochemical Cycles: Air pollution disrupts global biogeochemical cycles, particularly nitrogen and carbon. Nitrogen deposition causes nutrient imbalances and eutrophication, while excess CO2 leads to ocean acidification, weakening the oceans' role in regulating climate.
Impact on Marine Life and Ecosystems: Airborne pollutants like mercury, lead, and chemicals can enter the ocean, harming marine life and accumulating in the food web. They disrupt hormone systems, impair reproduction, and pose health risks to both marine animals and humans.
Harmful Effects on Coral Reefs: Air pollution harms coral reefs by raising temperatures, causing coral bleaching, and settling harmful particles and chemicals on reefs. This disrupts photosynthesis, weakens corals, and makes them more susceptible to disease.
Changes in Ocean Circulation: Air pollutants like aerosols and soot can alter climate and weather, disrupting ocean circulation. This affects temperature, ocean currents, and the distribution of nutrients and oxygen, impacting marine biodiversity and productivity.
Eutrophication and Algal Blooms: Air pollution causes nutrient overload in oceans, mainly from nitrogen in vehicle exhaust and industrial emissions. This leads to algal blooms, which can cause low oxygen "dead zones" and release toxins harmful to marine life and humans.
Ocean Acidification: CO2 from pollution makes the ocean more acidic. This makes it harder for sea animals like corals and shellfish to build their shells. It harms ocean life and the food chain.
Air Pollution Impact the Natural Processes of Earth's Oceans and Ocean Systems
Troposphere: The layer closest to Earth, is affected by pollution from things like car exhaust, factory smoke, and chemicals. These pollutants cause smog, acid rain, and harm to health and plants. Gases like carbon dioxide and methane trap heat, making the planet warmer.
Stratosphere: This is the ozone layer, which protects us from harmful UV rays. Chemicals like CFCs have damaged the ozone, letting more rays reach Earth.
Mesosphere and Thermosphere: Air pollution has less direct impact on the mesosphere and thermosphere, but pollutants can still affect atmospheric circulation and chemical reactions. Greenhouse gases in the troposphere can also influence patterns that impact these higher layers.
Air Pollutions Impact on the Atmosphere
Cleaner Transportation: Switching to electric cars, using public transit or biking, and improving gas mileage in vehicles can all reduce harmful emissions and cut down on pollution.
Greener Cities: Planting more trees and creating parks can absorb pollution and improve air quality, while better city design, focused on walking and public transport, reduces car dependency.
Renewable Energy:Combining solar and wind power with energy storage and smart grids reduces pollution and makes clean energy more reliable. Storing renewable energy and using it efficiently ensures a steady, sustainable power supply.
Better Waste Management:Stopping open burning of trash and promoting recycling and composting can reduce harmful smoke and pollution by preventing waste from being burned or buried.
Education: Teaching people about the health risks of pollution and encouraging good habits, like using less plastic and saving energy, can help reduce exposure and decrease pollution.
Viable Solutions to Air Pollution
Why: Monitoring pollution levels allows for informed decision-making and immediate action when pollution reaches harmful levels.
Action: Governments should implement real-time air quality monitoring networks and use this data to create policies that target the most polluted areas, such as issuing alerts or enforcing temporary measures like car-free days.
Stronger Air Quality Monitoring & Policies
Conclusion
The evidence shows that air pollution seriously harms the environment by changing weather, damaging ecosystems, and speeding up climate change. Pollution like car emissions and factory smoke causes temperature increases and more extreme weather, which hurts plants, animals, and the soil. It also releases harmful gases like carbon dioxide and methane, which trap heat in the atmosphere and cause more severe weather.To fix this, we need to use cleaner energy, reduce waste, and promote cleaner transportation.