Abstract
The intent of this paper is to present, from a meteorologist’s viewpoint, a brief review of the processes responsible for transforming and removing pollutants from the atmosphere. Such processes include dry deposition, precipitation scavenging, and chemical and physical transformations; and to facilitate the meteorology-oriented nature of this presentation, we shall discuss them here within the framework of the familiar equations of mass continuity. For conservation of pollutant mass in the gas phase (in air, that is), these equations are
(A = component index = 1, 2, ..., N; y signifies “gas phase” where the time rate of change of airborne pollutant concentration is related to the divergence and source-sink terms in the conventional manner. Here we are interested primarily in rAy and wA, which we shall call the “gas-phase reaction*” and “interphase transport” terms, respectively, rAy accounts for all chemical and physical reaction that occurs in the gas phase, and wA depicts the loss of material by the gas phase via transport to the aqueous phase, (i.e., rain, snow, fog, ...). One should note here the consistency of units of rAy and wA, which are mass/volume • time.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Anthes, R. A., N. Seaman, J. Sobel, and T. T. Warner, 1974: Select Research Group in Air Pollution Meteorology, Second Annual Progress Report: Volume I, CAES, Penn State University, 271 pp.
Beadle, R. W., and R. G. Semonin, 1974: Precipitation Scavenging Symposium 1974, ERDA Publication in Press.
Benson, S. W., 1968: Thermochemical Kinetics New York, Wiley, 223 pp.
Benson, S. W., 1960: Foundations of Chemical Kinetics New York, McGraw-Hill, 566 pp.
Calvert, J. G.: Interactions of Air Pollutants, 1973: Health Effects of Air Pollutants U. S. Senate Comm. on Public Works, Ser. 93–15.
Calvert, J. G., and J. N. Pitts, 1966: Photochemistry New York, Wiley, 899 pp.
Carnahan, B., H. A. Luther, and J. 0. Wilkes, 1969: Applied Numerical Methods New York, Wiley 604 pp.
Dana, M. T., J. M. Hales, W. G. N. Slinn, and M. A Wolf: Natural Precipitation Washout of Sulfur Compounds from Plumes, 1973: Final Report to EPA Meteorology Laboratory, 201 pp.
Davis, W. E.: An Estimate of In-Cloud Scavenging of A Tracer Injected into Two Frontal Storms, 1975: Submitted for publication to J.G.R.
Demerjian, K. L., J. A. Kerr, and J. G. Calvert, 1974: The Mechanism of Photochemical Smog Formation in Adv. in Env. Sci. Tech., Vol. 4, J. A. Pitts and R. L. Metcalf, ed., New York, Wiley, 382 pp.
Denbigh, K. G., 1965: Chemical Reactor Theory New York, Cambridge, 343 pp.
Desjardins, R. L.: A Study of Carbon Dioxide and Sensible Heat Fluxes using the Eddy Correlation Technique, 1972: Ph.D. Thesis, Cornell University.
Dingle, A. N. and Y. Lee: An Analysis of In-Cloud Scavenging, 1973: JAM, 1295–1302.
Donaldson, C. D., and G. R. Hilst, 1972: Effect of Inhomogeneous Mixing on Atmospheric Photochemical Reactions, Env. Sci. Tech., 6, 812–816.
Drake, R. L., 1974: An Algorithm for Computing Aerosol Genesis and Transformation in the Atmosphere, PNL Annual Report for 1974 to USAEC/DBER BNWL 1950 PT 3, 287 pp.
Droppo, J. G., and J. M. Hales: Profile Methods of Dry Deposition Modeling, 1975: Dry Deposition and Resuspension Symposium 1974, ERDA publication, in press.
Engelmann, R. L., 1968: The Calculation of Precipitation Scavenging, in Meteorology and Atomic Energy 1968, D. H. Slade, ed., USAEC Publication, 445 pp.
Engelmann, R. J., 1970: Scavenging Prediction Using Ratios of Concentrations in Air and Precipitation, in Precipitation Scavenging 1970, R. J. Engelmann and W. G. N. Slinn, ed., USAEC Symp. Ser. 22, 499 pp.
Engelmann, R. J.: Scavenging Prediction Using Ratios of Concentration in Air and Precipitation, 1971: JAM, 10, 493–497.
Engelmann, R. J., and G. W. Sehmel, 1974: Dry Deposition and Resuspension Symposium 1974, ERDA Publication, in press.
Friedlander, S. K., 1961: Theoretical Consideratiohs for the Particle Size Spectrum of Stratospheric Aerosol, J. Meteorol., 18, 753 pp.
Frost, A. A., and R. G. Pearson, Kinetics and Mechanism New York, Wiley, 573 pp.
Gear, C. W., 1971: The Automatic Integration of Ordinary Differential Equations, Comm. of the ACM, 14, 176–190.
Gifford, F. A., 1968: An Outline of Theories of Diffusion in the Lower Layers of the Atmosphere, in Meteorology and Atomic Energy 1968 D. H. Slade, ed., USAEC publication, 445 pp.
Hales, J. M., 1972: Fundamentals of the Thoery of Gas Scavenging by Rain, Atm. Envi., 6, 635–659.
Hales, J. M. and T. W. Horst: A Flux Meter for Direct Field Measurement of Deposition and Resuspension Rates, 1974: BNWL Annual Report to ERDA BNWL 1850 Pt 3, 176–178.
Hales, J. M., M. A. Wolf, and M. T. Dana: A Linear Model for Predicting the Washout of Pollutant Gases from Industrial Plumes, 1973: AIChE Journal 19, 292–297.
Hane, C. E., 1974: Precipitation Scavenging in a Squall Line: Numerical Experimentation, in PNL Annual Report for 1974 to USAEC/DBER BNWL 1950 Pt 3, 287 pp.
Hidy, G. M., and J. R. Brock, 1972: Topics in Current Aerosol Research, Int. Rev. in Aerosol Phys. Chem., Vol 3 Oxford, Pergamon, 371 pp.
Hougen, O. A., 1961: Engineering Aspects of Solid Catalysis, Ind. and Eng. Chem., 53, 509–528 pp.
Kaing, C. S., P. Hamill, and G. H. Walker, 1974: Removal Processes of Atmospheric Aerosols and Gases Involving Nucleation Mechanisms, in Precipitation Scavenging Symposium 1974, R. W. Beadle and R. G. Semonin, ed., ERDA publication, in press.
Laidler, K. J., 1966: Chemical Kinetics New York, McGraw-Hill, 566 pp;
Leighton, P. A., 1961: Photochemistry of Air Pollution New York, Academic, 245 pp.
Levenspiel, O., 1964: Chemical Reaction Engineering New York, Wiley, 530 pp.
MacCready, P.B.: Integrating Vertical Flux Instruments, 1974: Report Prepared for NOAA Environmental Research Laboratories, 47 pp.
Mason, B. J., 1957: The Physics of Clouds London Oxford Univ. Press, 673 pp.
Pitts, J. N., 1969: Photochemical Air Pollution: Singlet Molecular Oxygen as an Environmental Oxidant, in Adv. Env. Sci. Tech., Vol 1, J. N. Pitts and R. L. Metcalf, Eds., New York, Wiley, 356 pp.
Reynolds, S. D., P. N. Roth, and J. H. Seinfeld, 1973: Mathematical Modeling of Photochemical Air Pollution, Atm. Envi., 7, 1033–1061.
Sehmel, G. A., and W. H. Hodgson, 1974: Predicted Dry Deposition Velocities, in Dry Deposition and Resuspension Symposium, 1974, R. J. Engelmann and G. A. Sehmel, Eds., ERDA Publication, in Press.
Slinn, W. G. N., 1974: Precipitation Scavenging: Some Problems, Approximate Solutions, and Suggestions for Further Research, in Precipita-tion Scavenging 1974, R. W. Beadle and R. G. Semonin, Eds., ERDA Publication, in press.
Slinn W. G. N., 197?: Chapter of Precipitation Scavenging, in Meteorology, Pollution and Power Production ERDA Publication, in preparation.
Smoluchowski, M., 1917: Mathematical Theory of the Kinetics of the Coagulation of Colloidal Solutions, Z. Physik. Chem., 92, 129–168.
van der Hoven, I., 1968: Deposition of Particles and Gases, in Meteorology and Atomic Energy, 1968 D. H. Slade, Ed., USAEC Publication, 455 p.
van Krevelen, D. W.: Macro- and Micro-Kinetics, 1958: Chem. E. Sci., 8, 45–52 p.
Wendell, L. L., 1975: Current ERDA Research at Pacific Northwest Laboratories.
Whitby, K. T., R. B. Husar, and B. Y. H. Liu, 1972: The Aerosol Size Distribution of Los Angeles Smog, in Aerosols and Atmospheric Chemistry, G. M. Hidy, Ed., London, Academic, 348 pp.
Zebel, G., 1966: Coagulatinn of Aerosols in Aerosol Science C. N. Davies, Ed., London, Academic, 468 pp.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1982 American Meteorological Society
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Halest, J.M. (1982). Atmospheric Transformations of Pollutants. In: Lectures on Air Pollution and Environmental Impact Analyses. American Meteorological Society, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-935704-23-2_7
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-935704-23-2_7
Publisher Name: American Meteorological Society, Boston, MA
Online ISBN: 978-1-935704-23-2
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive