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This is the third edition of a famous textbook about the chemistry of the atmosphere.
Chemistry of Atmospheres emphasizes the fundamental principles that underlie
the atmospheric processes here on Earth and elsewhere in the solar system. Wayne
is a well-known atmospheric chemist and he writes for chemists. Like biochemistry
and molecular biology, atmospheric chemistry is a huge subject. I believe Chemistry
of Atmospheres manages a useful overview of atmospheric chemistry in 800
pages. Other authors aim at exhaustive accounts (John H. Seinfeld and Spyros Pandis,
Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 1300 pages) or more selective, sparse
descriptions (Daniel J. Jacob’s Introduction to Atmospheric Chemistry,
250 pages). Wayne’s book strikes a nice balance.
In addition to excellent chapters on homogeneous chemical kinetics and photochemistry,
a careful account of atmospheric transport and heterogeneous chemistry is also
presented. Chemistry of Atmospheres has a long chapter on stratospheric
ozone that demonstrates the complex interplay of O3 chemistry, photophysics,
and transport in the polar ozone holes. The 3rd edition has several expanded sections
on tropospheric organic chemistry as well as air pollution and the effects of
biomass burning. Wayne’s book has several unique chapters that are not found
in any other beginning texts: Ions in the Atmosphere, The Airglow, and Extraterrestrial
Atmospheres. Each chapter is annotated with a set of useful footnotes/comments.
I believe that this monograph will be accessible to anyone with a solid undergraduate
background in physical chemistry.
Chemistry in the 21st century is becoming a huge enterprise. A little over
a hundred years ago, Paul Ehrlich discovered that “All biological processes
are chemical in nature.” By now the joining of biology and chemistry is
well advanced. This same fusion is also underway elsewhere. For example, more
and more efforts to understand the properties of (and to rationally design) materials
or to understand and legislate the earth’s environment bring us to chemistry.
All attempts at a microscopic, fundamental understanding of these hypercomplex
systems lead to atoms and molecules. Chemistry becomes the fulcrum of everything.
Few texts demonstrate this better that Richard Wayne’s Chemistry of
Atmospheres; I strongly recommend it.
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