The Deccan Traps of India are evidence of how volcanic activity over a vast scale can release large enough amounts of carbon dioxide to cause global warming (Rycroft, 1993). Therefore depending on the scale of volcanic activity, volcanic activity can contribute to both a global warming and global cooling scenario. Volcanic eruptions can cause adverse environmental effects. This includes the destruction of plant and animal life, the production of greenhouse gases which can contribute to global warming and the production of ash and several harmful air particulates that can cause large scale climatic cooling. Volcanic eruptions release volcanic plumes which contain SO2 and fine ash.
VOLCANOES AND THE EARTH SYSTEM EFFECTS OF VOLCANIC GASES Most of the gases in the atmosphere originally come from the Earth's interior. Gases within magma are dissolved because of high pressures beneath the earth's surface, but reduced pressure at the surface allows dissolved gases to expand and escape. When a volcano erupts, gases such as sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide, chlorine, argon, sulfur, carbon monoxide, fluorine, and water vapor escape into the atmosphere. Although many of the gases emitted during a volcanic eruption can be helpful to the earth, a lot of the gases can be disruptive to the earth system. Quite possibly the only gas that is generally better for the atmosphere than the rest of the gases is water vapor.
The next major component is carbon dioxide (CO2). Additional variable components are water vapor, aerosols, and ozone (O3). Both water vapor and CO2 act like a greenhouse by conserving the heat emitted from the Earth. Aerosols are solid and liquid particles that float in the atmosphere and can either reflect or absorb the sun’s radiation. Two examples of an aerosol are man made pollution or ash from a volcanic eruption.
The absorption of solar radiation by the nitrogen dioxide results in the formation of ozone (O3). Ozone reacts with many different hydrocarbons to produce a brownish-yellow gaseous cloud which may contain numerous chemical compounds, the combination of which, we call photochemical smog. Both types of smog can greatly reduce visibility. Even more importantly, they pose a serious threat to our health. They form as a result of extremely high concentrations of pollutants that are trapped near the surface by a temperature
Sulfur dioxide emissions and the subsequent formation of sulfuric acid can also be responsible for the attack on limestone and marble at large distances from the source. The worldwide increase in the burning of coal and oil since the late 1940s has led to ever increasing concentrations of carbon dioxide. The resulting "greenhouse effect", which allows solar energy to enter the atmosphere but reduces the remission of infrared radiation from the earth, could
The Reactions of Chlorofluorocarbon One of the key reaction of the CFCs is: CCl3F → CCl2F. + Cl. In this reaction one Cl atom dissociate from CCl3F in presence of light. CFC or chlorofluorocarbon goes under dissociate reaction in ultraviolet radiation and produce dichlorodifluoromethane, a chlorine radical which is highly reactive: The chlorine free radicals take the ozone from the atmosphere and produce highly reactive ClO and oxygen. In the second layer of earth’s atmosphere, also known as stratosphere the ozone continuously undergoes in formation and decomposition.
It helps to solve the problem of global warming. The waste we produce come in the form of bottles, boxes, cans, refuse, furniture, clothing, paper products, packaging waste, glass, aluminum, plastic, metals and paperboard. It take so many years if we just throw them away to spoil on its own and to destroy. During the disposal process, this waste releases poisonous gases and chemicals into the environment. When the non-biodegradable products in our waste are burned, they often emit gases that deplete the ozone layer in the atmosphere, which in turn allows more ultraviolet radiation to reach our living atmosphere, giving rise to global warming and rising sea levels.
Sulfur gases enter the atmosphere from natural sources in both the ocean and land. Sea spray delivers sulfates into the atmosphere. Volcanoes release both hydrogen sulfide and sulfur oxides. When evaporated water condenses, the nitric oxides and sulfur dioxides attach to the water molecules and then fall with the precipitation. Acid rain would not completely go away if pollution from humans stopped, but it wou... ... middle of paper ... ...ent.
An Antarctic ozone hole now forms from September to November each year, caused by man-made pollutants that destroy ozone in the atmosphere. The hole has been getting progressively larger. The culprits are chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), once used as coolants. The chlorine atoms from CFCs react with ozone and destroy it. Sunlight splits off chlorine from CFCs, and the chlorine-ozone reaction takes place most readily on the surface of ice crystals.
The most common natural cause of acid rain are volcanoes. When the volcano explodes, it sends ash up into the atmosphere which mix with the air particles. This is a natural cause of acid rain. Some man made causes of acid rain are fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are made up of sulfur... ... middle of paper ... ...d it.