Why Aerosols Should Be Studied

     Many people are familiar with aerosols. They are present in hair spray, air freshener, and some shaving creams. But what are they and what do they really do? Aerosols are a mix of tiny particulates of liquids or solids and suspended in air. Natural sources of aerosols are volcanoes, dust storms, forest and grassland fires, living vegetation, and sea spray. Of these natural sources, only living vegetation and sea spray are somewhat harmless.

     Aerosols change the amount of incoming solar radiation and outgoing terrestrial long wave radiation retained in the earth’s system. One example of how aerosols can affect climate is the many volcanic eruptions that have occurred throughout history. Many volcano eruptions can block out the sun and cause climate effects like global cooling and a shift in climate areas, leading to droughts, famine, and sometimes an increase in rain. Scientists believe that aerosols released by burning fossil fuels also contribute to these affects, though not in as great a scale as some of the worst volcanic eruptions in history.

     Aerosols should really be studied more. In addition to climate effects, it also affects health in humans and animals. The effects of inhaling particulate matter that have been studied in humans and animals include asthma, lung cancer, cardiovascular issues, respiratory diseases, birth defects, and premature death. Aerosol pollution is estimated to cause 22,000-52,000 deaths per year in the United States, according to a 2000 survey. If aerosols are harming us in such a negative way, they really must be studied enough to understand them and their effects on the climate.

Why Surface Ozone Should Be Studied

      Most people think of ozone as a good thing. In the Ozone layer, it protects us from harmful radiation. However, when it exists at the surface, it can be quite hazardous to our health. Surface ozone is made when burnt fossil fuels like gasoline give off oxides of nitrogen and volatile organic compounds and then these compounds react with sunlight. One major source of these compounds is car exhausts. Even at low concentrations, ozone can cause eye and respiratory system damage. Sometimes, the damage is bad enough to kill.
     Oxides of nitrogen are molecules made of nitrogen and oxygen that are formed during combustion. They can also be toxic if they react with water to make nitric acid. Volatile Organic Compounds, or VOCs, are organic chemicals that have a high vapor pressure at ordinary, room-temperature conditions.  An example is formaldehyde, a vapor from paint. VOCs include both human-made and naturally occurring chemical compounds. Many VOCs are not hazardous but there are a few that contribute to making surface ozone and thus, they can be quite hazardous. These VOCs can cause eye, nose, and throat irritation; headaches, loss of coordination, nausea; damage to liver, kidney, and central nervous system. Some are even suspected of contributing to cancer in both animals and humans.

     Surface ozone should be studied because it presents a serious threat to our health. Surface ozone is higher in concentrations in areas where there is a big smog problem, which commonly occurs around larger cities. These larger cities contain much of our population and thus many citizens are at risk. Surface ozone should be studied so that we can work to prevent physical damage from exposure. Exposure to ozone and the pollutants that produce it is linked to premature death, asthma, bronchitis, heart attack, and other cardiopulmonary problems. Smoking tobacco is linked to similar problems and we have studied it, so why should we not study surface ozone?

Team Work

Our team was pretty good together. We worked slow, but we got it done. Isaiah didn't really do anything and I was absent when they were measuring the trees so Kati only got the angles done. We had to get the species from another group. Kati worked on the powerpoint and procedure while I did the ArcGIS, excel, and calculations. I finished sooner that Kati so I read a book but she asked me questions about it every now and then. We worked together well (me and Kati) and we got the job done. We didn't necessarily talk about everything we did. We separated our jobs into stuff for each of us but I ended up doing Isaiah's part because he just sat around doing nothing.
If I could improve it, I would have liked Isaiah to do his part so that we could put more effort into the powerpoint. It was an okay powerpoint but Kati had to work on it a lot outside of class so we didnt have a chance to put in much input. It would have been nicer with some animation and some graphs.