Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 2
Natural Sources of Nanoparticles
Nicolae Strambeanu, Laurentiu Demetrovici, and Dan Dragos
Abstract This chapter deals with the major natural sources of nanoparticles in the
atmosphere: volcanic eruptions, desert surfaces, dust from cosmic sources located
in the solar system or outside it. Details are given about the composition of very fine
particles according to their type, the successive or parallel chemical transformations
that can occur among them or when they meet the major components of the
atmosphere (nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide). The authors specify possible
ways of evolution from the mineral kingdom to organic substances through
nanoparticles originating from cosmic dust, based on suppositions that are provided
in the literature of the field and accepted based on physical and chemical compu-
tational models.
2.1
Introduction
Earth, cosmic and weather-dependent phenomena on the planet produce particulate
matter that is lifted in air through volcanic eruptions, air currents generated by
storms or strong winds, the disintegration of meteorites entering the atmosphere or
the accumulation of cosmic dust.
Hurricanes cause huge amounts of water to rise in the atmosphere from the
surface of the planetary ocean. On evaporation, water releases both the saline and
spore contents of algae and other unicellular organisms. Due to these complex
phenomena which most of the time occur simultaneously, at different heights and
distances, the atmosphere is constantly filled with nanoparticles that cause various
reactions affecting the biosphere.
