If you were to sit and think back over the course of the day and recall how many times you listened to a weather forecast and how many of the day's activities were planned around your knowledge of the forecast, you might be amazed to find out just how much you depend on knowing the day's weather. In our hurried lifestyles it is easy to take for granted the amount of time, effort, and technology that is invested each day to forecast the weather. That process each day begins with five basic measurements -- temperature, humidity, pressure, and the speed and direction of the winds. But our dependence does not stop with the weather. We are also becoming more and more dependent on our knowledge of the quality of the air.
Our ability to determine air quality relies heavily upon where pollutants are transported, how fast they travel, what influences their motion in the atmosphere, and where and how will they eventually be deposited. Calculating and describing motion in the atmosphere begins with an understanding of temperature, pressure, humidity, and wind, all of which are discussed in this session. Additional understanding of how pollutants travel comes from parameters we calculate based on these measurements.
Once we can model and predict the activity of the atmosphere, we can better determine how it will affect the presence of pollutants. For instance, if we can determine when a layer of air is either stable or unstable, we can more accurately predict what will happen to any pollutants residing in that layer of air. We can predict where and when concentrations will be at their worst and where and when they will dissipate. The more knowledge we have of the behavior of the atmosphere, the more effectively we can control the quality of its composition.
The
Shodor
Education Foundation, Inc.