Knowra Photochemical smog Photochemical smog Photochemical smog is air pollution formed when sunlight drives reactions among nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds, producing ozone and other oxidants.
Tropospheric ozone : Ozone in the lower atmosphere, formed mainly through sunlight-driven reactions involving nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds. It is a major harmful product of the reactions that create photochemical smog.
Los Angeles smog : A severe urban air-pollution problem associated with sunlight-driven reactions in the Los Angeles basin. It provided the classic setting in which photochemical smog was identified.
Air quality index : A scale that communicates how outdoor air pollution may affect health. It translates ozone and particle measurements during smog episodes into public guidance.
Ozone health effects : The respiratory and other health effects caused by breathing ground-level ozone. Ozone formed in photochemical smog can inflame airways and worsen lung disease.
Industrial smog : Air pollution dominated by sulfur dioxide, smoke, and particles from coal combustion, often under cool, humid conditions. Its sulfur-rich, combustion-driven chemistry differs from photochemical smog.
Nitrogen oxides : Reactive gases, chiefly nitric oxide and nitrogen dioxide, produced by combustion and other processes. They participate in the sunlight-driven reaction cycle that generates ozone.
Arie Jan Haagen-Smit : A Dutch-American chemist who identified the role of sunlight-driven reactions in Los Angeles smog. His experiments established that smog formed through atmospheric chemistry, not simply direct emissions.
Ground-level ozone monitoring : The measurement of ozone concentrations near Earth's surface using regulatory or research instruments. Ozone measurements track a central indicator of photochemical smog.
Asthma : A chronic respiratory disease involving variable airway inflammation and narrowing. Ozone and other smog pollutants can trigger symptoms and exacerbate asthma.
Particulate matter : A mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets suspended in air. Particles can accompany photochemical smog, but they are not the defining chemical product.
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