Atmospheric Chemistry

• Acid Rain - rain, or precipitation, with a pH of 5.6 or lower. It is caused by the pollutants sulfur dioxide and nitric oxides.
• Ammonification - a process when an organism excretes waste or dies, the nitrogen in its tissues is in the form of organic nitrogen (e.g. amino acids, DNA)
• Assimilation - the formation of organic nitrogen compounds like amino acids from inorganic nitrogen compounds present in the environment.
• Combustion - or burning, is a high-temperature exothermic redox chemical reaction between a fuel and an oxidant, usually atmospheric oxygen, that produces oxidized, often gaseous products, in a mixture termed as smoke.
• Conduction - the transfer of heat energy through matter from particle to particle; most effective in solids
• Convection - the transfer of heat energy in gases or liquids due to density differences
• Coriolis Effect - an effect whereby a mass moving in a rotating system experiences a force (the Coriolis force) acting perpendicular to the direction of motion and to the axis of rotation.
• Denitrification - the process that converts nitrate to nitrogen gas, thus removing bioavailable nitrogen and returning it to the atmosphere
• Exosphere - a thin, atmosphere-like volume surrounding a planet or natural satellite where molecules are gravitationally bound to that body, but where the density is too low for them to behave as a gas by colliding with each other.
• Humidity - the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere at a given location on Earth’s surface
• Ionosphere - the layer of the earth's atmosphere that contains a high concentration of ions and free electrons and is able to reflect radio waves.
• Latitude - an angle (defined below) which ranges from 0° at the Equator to 90° (North or South) at the poles. Lines of constant latitude, or parallels, run east–west as circles parallel to the equator.
• Longitude - a geographic coordinate that specifies the east–west position of a point on the Earth's surface, or the surface of a celestial body. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees and denoted by the Greek letter lambda.
• Mesosphere - the third layer of the atmosphere, directly above the stratosphere and directly below the thermosphere. In the mesosphere, temperature decreases as altitude increases.
• Nitrification - the process that converts ammonia to nitrite and then to nitrate
• Nitrogen Fixation - the process of converting N2 into biologically available nitrogen
• Ozone - also called trioxygen; an inorganic molecule with the chemical formula O₃; a pale blue gas with a distinctively pungent smell.
• Radiation - waves that directly transport energy through space; brings heat to our planet.
• Smog - fog or haze combined with smoke and other atmospheric pollutants.
• Soot - a black powdery or flaky substance consisting largely of amorphous carbon
• Stratosphere - the second layer of the atmosphere, it is just above the troposphere
• Thermosphere - the layer in the Earth's atmosphere directly above the mesosphere and below the exosphere. Within this layer of the atmosphere, ultraviolet radiation causes photoionization/photodissociation of molecules, creating ions in the ionosphere.
• Troposphere - The lowest layer of the atmosphere, where weather occurs.
• Atmosphere - The gases that surround the Earth and make up the air.
• Decomposing - When plants and animals die, they decompose. This process uses up oxygen and releases carbon dioxide.
• Respiration - animals and plants use up oxygen when they breathe.
• Rusting - This is also called oxidation. When things rust they use up oxygen.
• Dry Deposition - This is when gases and dust particles become acidic. The amount of acidity in the atmosphere that deposits to earth through dry deposition depends on the amount of rainfall an area receives.
• Wet deposition - is what we commonly think of as acid rain. The sulfuric acid and nitric acids fall to the ground mixed in rain, snow, fog, or hail.
• Acidity - The ability of a substance to donate hydrogen ions to a solution.
• Basic (alkaline) pH - A pH greater than 7
• Neutral pH - A pH value of 7
• Acidic pH - A pH less than 7