Richard P. Wayne is Dr Lee's Reader in Chemistry at Christ Church, Oxford, and Professor of Chemistry at the
University of Oxford.
Summary
Atmospheric chemistry has been the focus of much research activity in recent years, and there is now heightened
public awareness of the environmental issues in which it plays a part.
In a clear, readable style, this important book looks at the insights and interpretations afforded by the research,
and places in context the exciting, dramatic, and sometimes disturbing findings.
Like its highly successful predecessor, this new edition lays down the principles of atmospheric chemistry and
provides the necessary background for more detailed study. The text has been thoroughly revised and expanded throughout
to take into account recent advances in atmospheric science that include a host of new atmospheric measurements,
extended laboratory experiments, ever more sophisticated models, and ingenious interpretations of the phenomena.
Heterogeneous processes are now known to be of great significance in the chemistry of the Earth's atmosphere, and
new sections of the book discuss the influence of such processes on both the stratosphere and the troposphere.
A major eruption, that of Mount Pinatubo, has highlighted how volcanoes can influence 'natural' atmospheric chemistry,
and the opportunity is taken to examine the effects of the gases and particles produced in such eruptions. The
startling discovery of the 'Antarctic ozone hole' has now been matched by observations of similar ozone losses
in the Arctic; both phenomena are explored in more depth than before, and the whole question of trends in stratospheric
ozone concentrations is updated. New topics in tropospheric chemistry that are discussed in this edition for the
first time include the atmospheric chemistry of biogenic hydrocarbons, of aromatic compounds, and of halogens and
halogen-containing species.
Several aspects have been added to the examination of air pollution, including the effects of biomass burning.
Rapid changes in the composition of the Earth's atmosphere, apparently a result of man's activities, are apparently
even having an effect on global climate, and recent assessments of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
are presented in this context. Air transport continues to expand, and the influence of aircraft on atmospheric
chemistry and, indeed, on climate has excited interest that is explained here. Moving away from Earth, information
gathered by the Voyager, Galileo, and other space missions, which have provided a new understanding of the atmosphere
of the planets other than our own, is also discussed and brought up to date.
This book does not attempt to suggest answers to the environmental problems facing us, but it lays the foundations
for the study of atmospheric chemistry on which rational decisions will need to be based. A multidisciplinary approach
is taken throughout in order to highlight the interplay between the atmosphere of a planet and other parts of the
environment. This feature makes the book full of interest for chemists, physicists, biologists, and other scientists
alike, and accessible to all of them. Readers will find the book an excellent introduction to an exciting topic,
and a fascinating source of information about a part of science that is proving to be of key importance.
Has a multidisciplinary approach: chemistry, physics, geology, biology
Detailed enough to be very useful for the specialist, yet readable and understandable by the non-specialist
Contains descriptions of the latest advances in measurements, interpretation, and modelling
Explains the behaviour of the natural atmosphere, and also comprehensively covers all the main issues in atmospheric
pollution and anthropogenic modification of atmosphere
The atmospheres of planets other than Earth are well covered
Table of Contents
1. Chemical composition: a preliminary survey
1.1. Earth's atmosphere in perspective
1.2. Land, sea, and air
1.3. Particles, aerosols, and clouds
1.4. Ozone
1.5. Cyclic processes
2.2.1. Solar and planetary radiation
2.2.2. Radiation trapping: the 'greenhouse effect'
2.2.3. Models of radiation trapping and transfer
2.2.4. Trapping in real atmospheres
2.2.5. Unstable greenhouses: Venus, Earth, and Mars compared
2.2.6. Diurnal and seasonal variations
2.3. Temperature profiles
2.3.1. Troposphere, stratosphere, and mesosphere
2.3.2. Thermosphere, exosphere, and escape
2.3.3. Vertical transport
2.4. Winds
2.5. Condensation and nucleation
2.6. Light scattering
3. Photochemistry and kinetics applied to atmospheres
4.3.1. Reaction scheme
4.3.2. Chapman layers
4.3.3. Comparison of experiment and theory
4.4. Influence of trace constituents
4.4.1. Catalytic cycles
4.4.2. Null cycles, holding cycles, and reservoirs
4.4.3. Natural source sand sinks of catalytic species
4.4.4. Heterogeneous chemistry
4.4.5. Summary of homogeneous chemistry
4.4.6. Comparison of experiment and theory
4.5. Perturbations of the stratosphere
4.5.1. Solar proton events
4.5.2. Solar ultraviolet irradiance
4.5.3. Quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO)
4.5.4. El Nino
4.5.5. Volcanoes
4.6. Man's impact on the stratosphere
4.6.1. Consequences of ozone perturbation
4.6.2. Aircraft
4.6.3. Rockets and the space shttle
4.6.4. Halocarbons: basic chemistry
4.6.5. Halocarbons: loading and ozone depletion potentials
4.6.6. Halocarbons: control, legislation, and alternatives
4.6.7. Halocarbons: future ozone depletions
4.6.8. Nitrous oxide (N2O): agriculture
4.6.9. Combined influences: gases, particles, and climate
4.7. Polar ozone holes
4.7.1. Discovery of abnormal depletion
4.7.2. Special features of polar meteorology
4.7.3. Anomalous chemical composition
4.7.4. Polar stratospheric clouds
4.7.5. Perturbed chemistry
4.7.6. Origin of chlorine compounds; dynamics
4.7.7. The Arctic stratosphere
4.7.8. Implications of polar phenomena
4.8. Ozone variations and trends
5. The Earth's troposphere
5.1. Introduction
5.2. Sources, sinks, and transport
5.2.1. Dry and wet deposition
5.2.2. The boundary layer
5.2.3. Transport in the troposphere
5.3. Oxidation and transformation
5.3.1. Photochemical chain initiation
5.3.2. Oxidation steps
5.3.3. Tropospheric ozone production
5.3.4. The importance of NOx
5.3.5. The reaction OH + CO
5.3.6. The nitrate readical
5.3.7. Reactions with ozone
5.4. Biogenic volatile organic compounds
5.4.1. Methane
5.4.2. Non-methane hydrocarbons and other compounds
5.5. Aromatic compounds
5.6. Compounds of sulfur
5.7. Natural halogen-containing species
5.8. Heterogeneous processes and cloud chemistry
5.9. Models, observations, and comparisons
5.9.1. Tropospheric models
5.9.2. Tropospheric measurements of trace species
5.9.3. Comparison of measurements and model predictiosn
5.10.1. Clean and polluted air
5.10.2. Effects of pollution
5.10.3. Primary and secondary pollutants
5.10.4. Sulphur dioxide chemistry
5.10.5. Smoke and sulphur pollution
5.10.6. Acid rain
5.10.7. Photochemical ozone and smog
5.10.8. Degradation of HFCs and HCFCs
5.10.9. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)
5.10.10. Biomass burning
6. Ions in the atmosphere
6.1. Electrical charges in the atmosphere
6.1.1. Aurora
6.1.2. Geomagnetic fluctuations
6.1.3. Radio propagation
6.2. Ion chemistry in the atmosphere
6.3. Ionization mechanisms
6.4. Chemistry of specific regions
8.4. Jupiter and Saturn
8.5. Titan, Io, Europa, and Callisto
8.6. Uranus, Neptune, Triton, and Pluto
8.7. Comets
9. Evolution and change in atmospheres and climates
9.1. Sources of atmospheric constituents
9.1.1. Origin and development of atmospheres
9.1.2. Interstellar clouds and their chemistry
9.2. Noble gases and nitrogen in planetary atmospheres
9.2.1. Inner planets
9.2.2. Titan
9.3. Isotopic enrichment
9.4. Evolution of Earth's atmosphere
9.5. Climates in the past
9.6. Climates of the future
9.6.1. Radiatively active gases and particles in the atmosphere
9.6.2. Radiative forcing
9.6.3. Feedbacks and models
9.6.4. Detection of twentieth-century climate change
9.6.5. Projected changes in concentrations forcing and climate
9.6.6. Aircraft
9.6.7. Impacts of climate change
9.6.8. Legislation and policy
