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Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
[COPD]
Any of several pulmonary diseases, especially emphysema, in which chronic airway obstruction causes respiratory abnormalities, including shortness of breath. TERM 2
Thermosphere
DEFINITION 2 extends outward to space; warms upward; Space Station here TERM 3
Mesosphere
DEFINITION 3 extends to around 85 km; cools upward; meteors burn up here TERM 4
Stratosphere
DEFINITION 4 extends to around 50 km; warms upward; good ozone layer TERM 5
Troposphere
DEFINITION 5 extends from surface to around 6-20 km; cools upward; much of weather & air pollution (bad ozone) is here
Composition of
Atmosphere
Nitrogen - 78% Oxygen - 21% Aragon - 0.9% CO2 - 0.03% Water vapor -0 - 4% TERM 7
Sulfur
Dioxide
DEFINITION 7 (SO2) - colorless, odorless; can be converted into particulate sulfate (SO4) and removed from the atmosphere by deposition; also forms sulfuric acid and acid rain; originates from burning of fossil fuels, especially coal, the refining of petroleum, the production of paper, cement and aluminum; causes COPD, damages plants, buildings, monuments, paint TERM 8
Hydrogen Sulfide
DEFINITION 8 (H2S) - highly toxic gas to plants and humans, corrosive, rotten-egg odor; produced naturally by geysers, swamps, bogs and from human sources such as industrial plants. TERM 9
Nitrogen Oxide
DEFINITION 9 (NOx) - nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is a light yellow-brown to reddish brown gas, irritating odor, toxic & corrosive; converts to particulates (NO3) and nitric acid; major contributor to smog; produced by burning coal and oil; irritates mucous membranes, increases susceptibility to infections, suppresses plant growth. TERM 10
Ozone
DEFINITION 10 (O3) - colorless, slightly sweet odor, a secondary pollutant produced by the interaction of sunlight with primary pollutants such as NO2; in the lower atmosphere it is harmful to plants & an irritant to human eyes and respiratory tissues; more about the ozone hole in the upper atmosphere later.
Sulfurous Smog
(London- Type) - gray air produced by burning coal or oil that give off sulfur oxides and particulates. TERM 17
Photochemical Smog
DEFINITION 17 (Los Angeles-Type) - yellow to reddish-brown air produced by the interaction of solar radiation with nitrogen oxides and organic hydrocarbons which come from autos, and burning of coal and oil. TERM 18
Air Quality Index
DEFINITION 18 measures the concentrations of 5 major pollutants: particulates, SO2, CO, O3, & NO2 and reports them on a scale of 0 to 500. TERM 19
IPCC- Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change
DEFINITION 19 Scientific intergovernmental panel established by the World Meteorological Organization and United Nations Environment Programme to evaluate the risk of climate change resulting from human activities. Shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with Al Gore. TERM 20
Ozone Hole
DEFINITION 20 In 1985 scientists discovered a thinning of the stratospheric ozone layer over Antarctica with a corresponding increase in CFCs. The Ozone Hole expands during the Southern Hemispheres spring and summer and contracts in its winter.
Land-use planning
the suitability of land for urbanization, timber management, and agriculture is often determined by the soil TERM 22
Soil
DEFINITION 22 The solid earth material that has been altered by physical, chemical, and organic processes such that it can support rooted plant life. TERM 23
Soil Development
DEFINITION 23 Soils develop from the physical and chemical weathering of preexisting materials (parent material) such as bedrock, loose sediments from rivers or glaciers, even older soils. The process can take thousands of years to produce a foot of new soil so they are essentially nonrenewable resources. TERM 24
A Horizon
DEFINITION 24 sandy, organic-rich, black to brown, intense biological and chemical weathering dissolve soluble minerals, carrying ions (Na, K, Ca, Fe) and clay downward. TERM 25
O Horizon
DEFINITION 25 consists of plant litter and other organics that overlie the A Horizon.
Red Clay Piedmont Soil
drains poorly so plants do poorly, however its rich in nutrients TERM 32
Problems & Uses of
Soil
DEFINITION 32
- Soil Erosion 2.Expansive Soils 3.Soil Pollution 4.Desertification TERM 33
Dust Bowl Days
DEFINITION 33 A consequence of drought and poor farming practices that removed the prairie's original grass cover. TERM 34
Contour tillage
DEFINITION 34 disking, plowing, etc. done parallel to land contours TERM 35
Strip Cropping
DEFINITION 35 alternating crops in rows that are harvested at different times
Grassed Waterways
growing vegetation along drainages TERM 37
Minimum/No Tillage
DEFINITION 37 minimizing plowing, just disk but requires more herbicides & pesticides TERM 38
Desertification
DEFINITION 38 The conversion of land from some productive state to that more resembling a desert. Driving forces include: Overgrazing Deforestation Adverse soil erosion Poor drainage of irrigated land Overdraft of water supply Natural climate change
