Atomospheric Aerosols

Atmospheric aerosols play a large role in air pollution in urban areas and in regulating climate. They also play a role in the ongoing debate on global warming potentials of various species. To understand the proper roles of aerosols in the atmosphere, we need data on their physical characterization, their chemistry and appropriate models to project into the future. Apart from general discussions in textbooks, there are not very many monographs devoted to the aspects outlined above. This symposium series book will describe the characteristics of atmospheric aerosols, the chemistry of aerosols, and finally the interplay between aerosol modeling and global climate changes using specific case studies.

The book is organized into three sections: Characterization, Chemistry and Modeling of Atmospheric Aerosols. The characterization section of the book includes three chapters. The chapters include: The role of morphology on aerosol particle reactivity; The chemistry portion of the book covers several interesting topics including secondary aerosols and the chapters include: Surface activity of perfluorinated compounds at the air-water interface; Atmospheric chemistry of urban surface films; Photochemistry of secondary organic aerosol formed from oxidation of monoterpenes; Finally the modeling section of the book includes two very interesting chapters; Understanding climatic effects of aerosols: modeling radiative effects of aerosols; Environmental effects to residential New Orleans following hurricane katrina: indoor sediment, vapor-phase and aerosolized contaminants.

Prof. Valsaraj is the Roddey Distinguished professor and Department Chair in chemical engineering at Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, La. His research interests are atmospheric chemistry, chemical engineering separation process design, environmental chemodynamics and wastewater treatment.

Raghava R. Kommalapati is an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Prairie View A&M University. His research interests include fate and Transport of Contaminants, Remediation of contaminated soils using physical, chemical and biological methods and atmospheric fog interactions. He is a registered Professional Engineer in Texas.

Books by the Same Author Elements of Environmental Engineering: Thermodynamics and Kinetics, Kalliat T. Valsaraj Second Edition, CRC Press/ Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton, FL , (2000), 684 pages [ISBN-1-56670-397-2]. $125.00