Patterns of trace gases near sources of global pollution

Journal Article · Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 EDT 1990 · Journal of the Air and Waste Management Association; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1080/10473289.1990.10466760· OSTI ID:5205348

Khalil, M A.K.; Rasmussen, R A ^[1]

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1. Oregon Graduate Inst., Beaverton (USA)

Many trace gases are increasing in the earth's armosphere and may couase global environmental changes in the future. Consequently there has been growing interest in the cycles of the long-lived gases that are likely to contribute the most to global change. At present there are four such gases: methane (CH{sub 4}), nitrous oxide (N{sub 2}0), trichlorofluoromethane (CCl{sub 3}F,F-11), and dichlorodifluoromethane (CCl{sub 2}F{sub 2},F-12). Methane and N{sub 2}O are involved mostly in adding to the greenhouse effect with some role in the stratospheric ozone cycle, and the two main fluorocarbons (F-11 and F-12) are involved in the depletion of the ozone layer with some role in global warming. This paper is about the patterns of these trace gases near regions of global scale pollution. Our purpose is to provide a synthesis of observations from diverse environments and ecosystems of the world and to provide readers with intuitive connections between sources and concentrations. We will consider four types of regions: rice fields in CHina that are a major source of methane, urban areas of the United States and China that are sources of fluorocarbons and other gases, rivers and surrounding wetlands, specifically the Yangtze in China and the Amazon in Brazil, and finally the environment of Boola Boola National Forest in Australia populated by many speices of termites that are a source of methane to the atmosphere. Eventually these patterns can be translated into estimeates of fluxes from the various sources of global pollution.

• OSTI ID: 5205348
• Journal Information: Journal of the Air and Waste Management Association; (United States), Vol. 8; ISSN 1047-3289
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
FREONS
POLLUTION SOURCES
METHANE
NITROUS OXIDE
AUSTRALIA
BRAZIL
CHINA
ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
GLOBAL ASPECTS
OZONE LAYER
TRACE AMOUNTS
USA
ALKANES
ASIA
AUSTRALASIA
CHALCOGENIDES
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
HALOGENATED ALIPHATIC HYDROCARBONS
HYDROCARBONS
LATIN AMERICA
LAYERS
NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
NITROGEN OXIDES
NORTH AMERICA
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC HALOGEN COMPOUNDS
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
SOUTH AMERICA
540120* - Environment
Atmospheric- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport- (1990-)