Overview

About three years ago Catherine de Berg and I published a short article in Nature in which we attempted to explain why the chemistry of the atmosphere of the Earth is today so completely different from that of our two neighbor­ ing planets, Mars and Venus. Our atmosphere is composed mainly of N2 and O with traces of A, H0, CO , 0 , etc. , while the atmospheres of both 2 2 2 3 Mars and Venus are almost entirely made up of CO , Also, the Earth appears 2 to be the only one ofthe three planets which has oceans ofliquid water on the surface. Since the presence of liquid water on Earth is probably an essential requirement for life to have originated and evolved to its present state, the question of the apparent absence ofliquid water on Mars and Venus suddenly acquires significant proportions. In our paper in Nature, and later in a more detailed discussion of the subject (Planetary Atmospheres, in Exobiology, edited by C. Ponnamperuma, North Holland Publishing Co. ), we tried to describe why we believe that in the early history of the solar system all the terrestrial planets lost the atmospheres of H2 and He which they had acquired from the solar nebula at the time of their formation. These planets, completely devoid of atmos­ pheres, like the Moon today, started accumulating new gases which were exhumed from the interior by the commencement of volcanic activity.

Full Product Details

Author:   S. Rasool
Publisher:   Springer-Verlag New York Inc.
Imprint:   Springer-Verlag New York Inc.
Edition:   Softcover reprint of the original 1st ed. 1973
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 1.80cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.516kg
ISBN:  

9781468419887

ISBN 10:   1468419889
Pages:   335
Publication Date:   19 March 2012
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.

Table of Contents

1 The Role of Natural and Anthropogenic Pollutants in Cloud and Precipitation Formation.- 1. Introduction.- 2. If There Were No Aerosols in the Atmosphere.- 3. The Role of Aerosols in Nucleating Cloud Drops.- 4. The Role of Aerosols in the Formation of Precipitation in Warm Clouds.- 5. The Role of Aerosols in Nucleating Ice Crystals.- 6. The Role of Aerosols in the Formation of Precipitation in Supercooled Clouds.- References.- 2 Particulate Matter in the Lower Atmosphere.- 1. Introduction.- 2. The Troposphere.- 3. The Lower Stratosphere.- References.- 3 Removal Processes of Gaseous and Particulate Pollutants.- 1. Introduction.- 2. The Physical Chemistry of Removal of Trace Gases.- 3. Removal Mechanisms for Aerosols.- 4. Summary and Conclusions.- Acknowledgment.- References.- 4 The Global Sulfur Cycle.- 1. Introduction.- 2. The Nature of the Sulfur Cycle.- 3. The Chemistry of Sulfur in the Global Environment.- 4. Concentrations of Sulfur.- 5. Contents of the Reservoirs.- 6. Transfer Mechanisms and Rates.- 7. The Global Sulfur Cycle.- 8. Discussion.- References.- Bibliography of Sulfur Cycles.- 5 The Chemical Basis for Climate Change.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Lessons to be Learned from the Past.- 3. Approach to a Theory of Climate: Interactions Among Atmospheric Chemistry, Radiation, Radiation, and Dynamics.- 4. Natural and Man-Made Influences on Atmospheric Composition.- Acknowledgment.- References.- 6 The Carbon Dioxide Cycle: Reservoir Models to Depict the Exchange of Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide with the Oceans and Land Plants.- Preface.- I. Formulation and Mathematical Solution of the Model Equations.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Three-Reservoir Atmosphere-Ocean Tandem Model.- 3. Four-Reservoir Tandem Model with Land Biota.- 4. Five-Reservoir Branched Model with Divided Land Biota.- II. Chemical Specification and Numerical Results.- Preface.- 5. Derivation of Transfer Coefficients for the Land Biota.- 6. Derivation of Transfer Coefficients for Air-Sea Exchange.- 7. Derivation of Transfer Coefficients for Exchange Within the Ocean.- 8. Observational Data.- 9. Numerical Results and Discussion.

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