Atmospheric Chemical Compounds

This practical reference examines the structure and properties of the atmosphere, including listings of compounds in clouds, fog, rain, snow, and ice; a listing of compounds detected in the stratosphere; and a compendium of compounds in indoor air. An introduction to carcinogenicity and bioassay of atmospheric compounds is also presented. Readers will find the extensive cross-referencing especially useful--compounds can be located by chemical type, name, CAS registry number, or source.

Chemical Compounds in the Atmosphere deals with the chemistry of organic and inorganic compounds found in the atmosphere, including rare gases and compounds of oxygen and hydrogen, halogenated aromatic compounds, and organometallic compounds. The sources and concentrations of atmospheric trace gases are discussed, along with their chemical reactions and ultimate fates. The compounds are divided into groups on the basis of chemical constituent or chemical structure. Comprised of 10 chapters, this book opens with an overview of atmospheric composition and atmospheric chemistry, followed by a discussion on inorganic compounds present in the troposphere such as rare gases and compounds containing nitrogen, sulfur, and halogens. The next chapters focus on hydrocarbons such as alkanes, alkenes, and alkynes; carbonyl compounds such as ketones and aldehydes; oxygenated and nitrogen- and sulfur-containing organic compounds; organic halogenated compounds such as mercaptans and thiocyanates; and organometallic compounds such as organophosphorus pesticides. The final chapter is a synthesis of data on atmospheric compounds mentioned in this text, with emphasis on their occurrence, sources, oxidation, and lifetimes. The chemistry of acid rain is also considered. This monograph will be of value to those engaged in atmospheric measurements, theoretical and laboratory studies of chemical parameters relevant to the atmosphere, and air quality assessments.

Every day, large quantities of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are emitted into the atmosphere from both anthropogenic and natural sources. The formation of gaseous and particulate secondary products caused by oxidation of VOCs is one of the largest unknowns in the quantitative prediction of the earth’s climate on a regional and global scale, and on the understanding of local air quality. To be able to model and control their impact, it is essential to understand the sources of VOCs, their distribution in the atmosphere and the chemical transformations which remove these compounds from the atmosphere. In recent years techniques for the analysis of organic compounds in the atmosphere have been developed to increase the spectrum of detectable compounds and their detection limits. New methods have been introduced to increase the time resolution of those measurements and to resolve more complex mixtures of organic compounds. Volatile Organic Compounds in the Atmosphere describes the current state of knowledge of the chemistry of VOCs as well as the methods and techniques to analyse gaseous and particulate organic compounds in the atmosphere. The aim is to provide an authoritative review to address the needs of both graduate students and active researchers in the field of atmospheric chemistry research.

An Introduction to Air Chemistry serves as a textbook on air chemistry and covers topics such as chemical principles, sampling and collection, treatment of data, and special methods of analysis. The atmospheric chemistry of sulfur compounds is also discussed, together with nitrogen compounds and ozone, aerosols, and carbon compounds. This book is comprised of nine chapters and begins with a review of the relevant chemical and meteorological principles. The general methods for obtaining and handling air chemical data are then described, followed by a discussion on three classes of chemical compounds that are important in any consideration of trace constituents of the atmosphere, namely, sulfur compounds, carbon compounds, and nitrogen compounds and ozone. Significant atmospheric reactions, the global budgets, and selected methods of analysis for these compounds are considered. The final chapter examines some of the physical characteristics of aerosols. This monograph will be a valuable resource for upper-level undergraduate and graduate-level students of analytical chemistry, meteorology, oceanography, and civil engineering, as well as for laboratory chemists, meteorologists, physical scientists, and technicians.

The human race has altered the chemical composition of the atmosphere, as evidenced by the notorious London smog, photochemical air pollution, acid rain, stratospheric ozone depletion, and elevated greenhouse gas concentrations. The aim of this book series is to present invited summaries of important current research on atmospheric chemistry in a changing world. The summaries range from comprehensive scholarly reviews of major subject areas to more narrowly focused accounts of recent advances by individual research groups. The topics are tied to the important societal issues of air quality, stratospheric ozone depletion, acid deposition, the environmental fate of toxics, and climate change. By gathering these new Advances in one series, we aim to catalyze communication among the many researchers who are studying our changing, contemporary atmosphere.

This revised and updated study is about the atmosphere and humanity's influence on it. Following an analysis of the natural environment, it re-examines the sources of air pollution and its effects, including decline in health, damage to plants and animals, indoor pollution, and acid rain.

Air pollution has historically been viewed as a local or regional scale problem with attention focused on acute episodes such as the sulphur dioxide and smoke smogs of London in the 1950s and 1960s and the photochemical smogs of southern California first recognized by Haagen Smit in the early 1950s. In recent years, however, it has become apparent that human activity has, and still is, changing the chemical composition of the atmosphere on a global scale. The composition of the atmosphere has seen enormous changes due to natural processes since the formation of the planet. Data obtained from air bubbles trapped in polar ice are beginning to reveal information about these changes over the last tens of thousands of years and geochemical models of the evolution of the Earth give us insights into the changes over much longer periods of time. Perhaps the crucial differences between these natural changes and those now being induced by man are their rel ative rates of change. The magnitude of present day fluxes of some com pounds released as air pollutants is in some cases much larger than those arising naturally. In other cases, for example carbon dioxide, the an thropogenic emission rates are small compared with that of the natural cycle, but the kinetics of the system are such that the steady state concent rations of the compounds in the atmosphere are now being perturbed.

Atmospheric Chemistry is a comprehensive treatment of atmospheric chemistry and covers topics ranging from the structure of the atmosphere to the chemistry of the upper atmosphere and the ionosphere. Atmospheric pollutants, hydrocarbon oxidation, and photochemical smog are also discussed, along with the reactions of O8 and singlet O2, the chemistry of SO2 and aerosols, and methods for controlling atmospheric pollution. This book is comprised of 10 chapters and begins with an overview of the composition and chemistry of the atmosphere as well as its physical characteristics and the chemistry of meteors. The next two chapters deal with the chemistry of the upper atmosphere and the ionosphere, with emphasis on neutral oxygen atmosphere, carbon-hydrogen-oxygen cycle, and the D region. The chemistry of atmospheric pollutants is also examined, along with hydrocarbon oxidation and photochemical smog. The remaining chapters focus on the reactions of O8 and singlet O2, the chemistry of SO2 and aerosols, and methods for controlling atmospheric pollution. This monograph should be useful to graduate students and scientists who wish to study atmospheric chemistry.