Principles of Environmental Chemistry

Contents: Preface. 1. Our earth: formation and chemistry. 2. The environment. 3. The earths atmosphere. 4. Global warming and climate change. 5. Chemistry of troposphere. 6. Chemistry of the stratosphere. 7. Water pollution. Bibliography. Index.

The atmosphere contains about 1.3 into 1014 tons of free oxygen. The lithosphere carries even 5.5. into 1016 tons of bound oxygen more than a hundred times more than the atmosphere. Its main part is bound as carbonates silicates sulfates and other oxides. The Earth\'s atmosphere consists of five layers held around the planet by the force of gravity. As you move upwards through the layers atmospheric pressure decreases rapidly with height and the air temperature also changes. It is these more complicated changes in temperature which are used to divide the atmosphere into the layers namely exosphere thermosphere, thermosphere and stratosphere. (jacket)