Composition and chemistry of the atmosphere: selected publications (1968-2008)

In 1995 IUPAC (International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry) published a units and nomenclature guide for atmospheric chemistry (Schwartz and Warneck 1995). As well, the 1995 Nobel Prize for Chemistry was awarded to Paul Crutzen, Mario Molina and F. Sherwood Rowland "for their work in atmospheric chemistry, particularly concerning the formation and decomposition of ozone". Atmospheric chemistry had come of age, as a field within the discipline of Chemistry. The Publications presented in this thesis cover the period 1968-2008, a period that witnessed the emergence and maturing of atmospheric chemistry as a scientific discipline. There appears to be no recent account of the historical development of atmospheric chemistry (as distinct from air pollution). Therefore, to provide the context for the work in the thesis, the development of knowledge about atmospheric composition and chemistry is briefly summarised in this Introduction. Reviews of the developments of the relevant areas of atmospheric composition and chemistry introduce each chapter.