Environmental Science, 10th Edition (Cunningham)

Chapter 16: Air Pollution

GE Exercise: Sudbury, Ontario

<a onClick="window.open('/olcweb/cgi/pluginpop.cgi?it=jpg::::/sites/dl/free/8888888555/484165/google.jpg','popWin', 'width=210,height=178,resizable,scrollbars');" href="#"><img valign="absmiddle" height="16" width="16" border="0" src="/olcweb/styles/shared/linkicons/image.gif"> (34.0K)</a>

Take a virtual field trip with Google Earth!
Google Earth is a free, online application that uses satellite imagery to allow the user to zoom across the globe in a realistic, virtual environment. Downloading Google Earth is free at http://www.earth.google.com.

An overview manual is available by clicking here... Google Earth Overview (342.0K)

To continue:
- Make sure you have the Google Earth software installed and running.
- Copy the following latitude and longitude and paste into the "Fly to" field under the Search tab.
- Hit "Enter" for Google Earth to take you to the specified coordinates, then come back here and read the following overview.

Latitude/Longitude: 46.4807, -81.0564

Overview: Sudbury, Ontario, p. 363

As your textbook describes, Sudbury is the site of the International Nickel Company (INCO) copper/nickel smelter. Starting in 1886, the corporate ancestors of INCO began smelting sulfide ore at this location. Sulfur dioxide released during the roasting of ore destroyed vegetation and turned the naturally pink granite bedrock black over a wide area during a century of smelting (see figure 16.22 in the textbook). In the 1950s, supertall smoke stacks—380 m tall, the tallest in Canada—were added to disperse air pollutants. The acidic plume could be traced all the way to Europe during this era. In the 1970s, scrubbers were added that removed 90 percent of the sulfur. The vegetation around Sudbury has started to recover (see figure 16.23, which was taken near the east shore of Lake Ramsey), but the rock surfaces remain black where they're exposed to the air. In this aerial view on Google Earth you can see the factory with its superstack (emitting smoke—note its shadow) tailings ponds (green because of the copper content) and blackened rock nearby.

The town of Sudbury is immediately east of the smelter. Although the resolution is poor as you get farther away from the city, you can see a ring of dark green of normal forest if you go far enough out into the countryside. Notice how this differs from the bare rock and scrubby vegetation closer to the smelter.

1
How far from the smelter do you need to go to find dark, native forest?
A)Between 1 and 2 km to find green, normal forest
B)Between 5 and 10 km to find green, normal forest
C)Between 10 and 20 km to find green, normal forest
D)Between 20 and 30 km to find green, normal forest
E)Over 40 km to find green, normal forest
2
Which way was the wind blowing when the image was taken? (Hint: Check the smoke plume.)
A)From the northeast
B)From the southeast
C)From the northwest
D)From the northeast
E)Wind direction cannot be inferred from a static image.
3
What time of day was the GE image made? (Hint: Look at the smokestack shadow.)
A)Pre-dawn
B)Mid-morning
C)Noon
D)Late afternoon
E)Evening
Environemental Science Cover
Glencoe Online Learning CenterScience HomeProduct InfoSite MapContact Us

The McGraw-Hill CompaniesGlencoe

Please read our Terms of Use and Privacy Notice before you explore our Web site. To report a technical problem with this Web site, please contact the Web Producer.