Abstract: The principal oxidants in the lower atmosphere are ozone (O 3 ) and two by-products of O 3 photodissociation, the hydroxyl radical (OH) and hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ). A number of critical atmospheric chemical problems depend on the earth's "oxidizing capacity," which is essentially the global burden of these oxidants. There is limited direct evidence for changes in the earth's oxidizing capacity since recent preindustrial times when, because of industrial and population growth, increasing amounts of O 3 precursor trace gases (carbon monoxide...
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Topics: 
Atmospheric sciences
Environmental chemistry
Climatology