Name:                                                                          Honor Code:

 

Today we will be looking at air pollution data and learning about some of the major pollutants, how they move through the environment, and their health effects.  Work with a partner and talk over what you are observing, however you will need to turn in your own answers to the questions below.  You should have enough time to complete the assignment during class but if you should need more time you may hand in your completed assignment next Wednesday.

 

Go to the Air Now Air Quality Conditions –Map Archives.  Go to http://www.airnow.gov/ (At the bottom of the box labeled National Overview is a link for “Map Archives”

 

Using the selection boxes below the map select Particles PM2.5 and click the See Map Archives button.  Select the maps for February 14, 2006. 

 

1.  What areas of the country experienced moderate to unhealthy Particle Pollution? 

 

 

 

Click on the key (the shaded bars at the right of the maps) this will take you to a page that explains the map key and provides some facts about particle pollution.

 

2.  What is particle pollution? What in particular is PM 2.5 pollution?

 

 

 

3.  What are the major sources of PM 2.5 pollution?

 

 

 

4.  What health effects does PM 2.5 pollution have?

 

 

 

Let’s find out what the air quality is like today.  Go to the Local Forecasts and Conditions page (on home page link is on the upper right corner) and click on Indiana in the map.  Scroll down to Hammond/Gary. 

 

5.  What is today’s forecast for Hammond/Gary?  

 

 

6.  What are the current conditions?  (click the current conditions link to the right)

 

Ozone is not a big problem here in the winter, but it can be a problem during the summer. 

Go back to the Air Quality Conditions-Map Archives page. Click on Indiana in the map.  On the page that loads, select July 2004, Indiana, and Ozone.  Then click on the See Map Archives button.

 

7.  How does the Air Quality for ozone in our area on the first and second of July compare with that on the third of July? 

 

 

Now click on the map for the Second of July.  As you did with the PM 2.5 maps above click on the key to find out more about Ozone. 

 

8.  How is ground-level ozone formed?

 

 

9.  Under what conditions does ozone reach unhealthy levels?

 

 

10.  What are some of the health effect of ozone pollution?

 

 

Let’s find out what the weather was like on July 2^nd and 3^rd 2004.  Go to the wunderground.com weather history page for Gary Indiana on July 2 at http://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/KGYY/2004/7/2/DailyHistory.html

You can select July 3 from the menu on this page for the comparisons.

 

11.  What was the maximum temperature on these two days?

July 2   Temp:                                       July 3 Temp:    

 

12.  What was the average wind speed for the two days and from what direction was the wind blowing?

July 2   Wind Speed:               Wind Direction:                  July 3 Wind Speed:                 Wind Direction:

 

13.  What is the likely reason for high ozone levels on July 2 and low levels on July 3?

 

 

One of the most important things to understand about air pollution is that pollution released in one place my have impacts in places that are quite distant.  Air pollution does not respect national or other humanly created boundaries and cannot be studied only at the local scale.  Go to the Controlling Power Plant Emissions: Mercury Emissions: The Global Context page on the EPA web site at http://www.epa.gov/mercury/control_emissions/global.htm  Scroll down the page, look at the map and the pie chart and read the surrounding text. 

14.  What area of the world accounts for the greatest amount of annual mercury emissions?

 

15.  What parts of the United States account for the greatest amount of annual mercury emissions?

 

16.  How much of the total emissions from the United States are deposited within the contiguous United States? 

 

 

17.  How much of the total emissions from the United States enter the global cycle?

 

Let’s return to Chesapeake Bay for a moment and consider how air pollutants might be affecting the water quality and the overall health of the bay ecosystem.  You learned in class and in your text that some of the pollution of the bay comes from deposition from the air.  How did this pollution get into the bay?   Go to the Forecast Trajectory Maps page for the Mid-Atlantic from the Air Resources Laboratory at http://www.arl.noaa.gov/ready/traj_midatl.html

 

Click on gif for a Forward trajectory for Today at 10 m above the ground. 

18.  What cities are generating air pollution that might be deposited into the Chesapeake bay watershed?  (Starting point cities are listed on the previous page.  You may need to refer to the map in your textbook to figure out where the watershed boundaries are. This map from Google maps will help you identify the cities.)