Brief History of Air Pollution

Christian Seigneur

doi:10.1017/9781108674614.001

1 - Brief History of Air Pollution

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 19 June 2019

Christian Seigneur

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Christian Seigneur: Affiliation:
École des Ponts Paris Tech

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Summary

The Earth’s atmosphere is composed mostly of molecular nitrogen (N2, 78 % of dry air) and molecular oxygen (O2, 21 % of dry air). It holds also a fair amount of water vapor (H2O), which varies greatly in concentration (ranging from negligible in dry regions to a few % in humid regions) and leads to the formation of clouds and fogs in case of supersaturation. The Earth’s atmosphere also contains carbon dioxide (CO2), which has an average concentration of about 0.04 %. H2O and CO2 are gases that absorb infrared (IR) radiation, but let ultraviolet (UV) and visible solar radiation go through. Since they partially absorb IR radiation emitted by the Earth toward space, these species are called “greenhouse gases” (GHG).

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Type: Chapter
Information: Air Pollution
Concepts, Theory, and Applications
, pp. 1 - 5

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108674614.001 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2019

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