Aerosol, anthropogenic

Schiitz, L. (1980). Long range transport of desert dust with special emphasis on the Sahara. In Aerosols Anthropogenic and Natural, Sources and Transport (T. J. Kneip and P. J. Lioy, eds.), Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 338, 515-532. 

Here B is the world average burden of anthropogenic sulfate aerosol in a column of air, in grams per square meter. The optical depth is then used in the Beer Law (which describes the transmission of light through the entire vertical column of the atmosphere). The law yields I/Iq = where I is the intensity of transmitted radiation, Iq is the incident intensity outside the atmosphere and e is the base of natural logarithms. In the simplest case, where the optical depth is much less than 1, (5 is the fraction of light lost from the solar beam because of... 

This global average burden of anthropogenic sulfate aerosol can be estimated by considering the entire atmospheric volume as a box. Because the lifetime of sulfate aerosol is short, the sum of all sulfate sources, Q, and its lifetime in the box, f, along with the area of the earth, determine B ... 

Fig. 17-7 Calculated geographical distribution of the direct climate forcing (W/m ) by one anthropogenic aerosol component, sulfates, from pre-industrial periods to ca. 1990. (Reprinted with permission from IPCC, 1995.)...

Indeed, the most important factor that affects the future estimates of climate is the (anthropogenic) emissions of greenhouse gases and all kind of aerosols. The amount of these products released into the atmosphere depends upon the socio-economical and technological development of humankind. Thus, different hypotheses about these evolutions are assumed, resulting in several emission scenarios. The scenarios used in the IPCC AR4 derive from a Special Report on Emission Scenarios (SRES) published earlier [2]. All these scenarios can be grouped in four families (storylines) that are named Al, A2, Bl, and B2. 

Atmospheric aerosols have a direct impact on earth s radiation balance, fog formation and cloud physics, and visibility degradation as well as human health effect[l]. Both natural and anthropogenic sources contribute to the formation of ambient aerosol, which are composed mostly of sulfates, nitrates and ammoniums in either pure or mixed forms[2]. These inorganic salt aerosols are hygroscopic by nature and exhibit the properties of deliquescence and efflorescence in humid air. That is, relative humidity(RH) history and chemical composition determine whether atmospheric aerosols are liquid or solid. Aerosol physical state affects climate and environmental phenomena such as radiative transfer, visibility, and heterogeneous chemistry. Here we present a mathematical model that considers the relative humidity history and chemical composition dependence of deliquescence and efflorescence for describing the dynamic and transport behavior of ambient aerosols[3]. 

Aerosol spray cans were invented in 1929, and perfection of a reliable valve and development of disposable cans took place in the 1940s. Shortly thereafter, aerosol became a household word. Like many other modem conveniences, however, the aerosol spray can has drawbacks as well as advantages. Because the particles in an aerosol are extremely tiny, they are quite mobile. They last for a long time in the atmosphere and can affect the climate, as already described. They can penetrate deep into our lungs and cause adverse health effects. Thus, anthropogenic aerosols have both global and local side effects. Despite increasing scientific studies, these effects are not yet fttlly understood. 

As a rule, simulations consider emissions of heavy metals from anthropogenic and natural sources, transport in the atmosphere and deposition to the underlying surface (Figure 6). It is assumed that lead and cadmium are transported in the atmosphere only as a part of aerosol particles. Besides, chemical transformations of these metals do not change removal properties of their particles-carriers. On the contrary, mercury enters the atmosphere in different physical and chemical forms and undergoes numerous transformations during its pathway in the atmosphere (Ilyn et al., 2002 2004 Ilyin and Travnikov, 2003). 

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