Syllabus for ESPM c180/EPS c180: Air Pollution

Instructor: Prof. Allen Goldstein

• Prerequisites
• Course Description
• Assignments and Grading
• Required Textbook
• Useful References
• Course Outline

Prerequisite:

Chemistry (1A, 1B) and physics (8A) or equivalents, or permission of instructor.

Course Description:

This course is an introduction to air pollution and the chemistry of earth's atmosphere. We will address questions including: What is the composition of the atmosphere and how and why is it changing? How quickly are pollutants transported vertically, horizontally across urban air sheds, and across continents and hemispheres? How are pollutants chemically transformed during transport? Specific foci will include: Stratospheric ozone depletion, increasing greenhouse gases, changes in the chemistry of the troposphere, smog.

Assignments and Grading:

• Weekly Homework* 25%
• Midterm Exam 20%
• Term Paper 20%
• Final Exam 35%

* Weekly homework assignments will consists of quantitative and qualitative written problem sets addressing topics covered in the lectures and readings.

Required Textbook:

Introduction to Atmospheric Chemistry, Daniel J. Jacob, Princeton University Press, 1999.

Useful References:

• Atmospheric Pollution: History, science and regulation, Mark Z. Jacobson, Cambridge University Press, 2002.
• Climate Change, The IPCC Scientific Assessment J.T. Houghton et al., eds., Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, UK, 1990.
• Climate Change 1995: The Science of Climate Change J.T. Houghton et al., eds., Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, UK, 1996.
• Climate Change 2001: The Science of Climate Change J.T. Houghton et al., eds., Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, UK, 2000.
• Climate Change 2004: The Science of Climate Change J.T. Houghton et al., eds., Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, UK, 2003.
• Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion: 1994 World Meteorological Organization, Global Ozone Research and Monitoring Project - Report No. 37.
• Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion: 1998 World Meteorological Organization, Global Ozone Research and Monitoring Project - Report No. 44.
• Biogeochemistry, An Analysis of Global Change W.H. Schlesinger, 2^nd ed. 1997.
• Composition, Chemistry, and Climate of the Atmosphere H.B. Singh, ed., 1995.
• Atmospheric Change: An Earth System Perspective T. E. Graedel and P. J. Crutzen, 1993.
• Chemistry of Atmospheres (2^nd Edition), R. P. Wayne, 1991.
• The Physics of Atmospheres J.T. Houghton, 2^nd edition, 1986.
• Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics: From Air Pollution to Climate Change J.H. Seinfeld, S.N. Pandis, 1998.
• Chemistry of the Natural Atmosphere (2nd Edition) P. Warneck, 2000.
• Chemistry of the Upper and Lower Atmosphere B.J. Finlayson -Pitts and J.N. Pitts, Jr., Academic Press, 2000.
• Atmospheric Chemistry and Global Change Edited by G.P. Brasseur, J.J. Orlando, and G.S. Tndall, Oxford University Press, 1999.
• Earth Under Siege: From Air Pollution to Global Change R.P. Turco, Oxford University Press, 1997.

Course Outline:

1. Introduction and Course Overview
2. Composition of Earth’s Atmosphere
1. Temperature Structure and Atmospheric Regions
2. Pressure, Density, and Mixing Ratios
3. Evolution of the Atmosphere
4. Air, Land, Sea Interactions
5. Carbon, Nitrogen, and Oxygen Cycles
3. Atmospheric Dynamics
1. Stability
2. Water (vapor, clouds, rain)
3. Turbulence and Vertical Transport
4. General Circulation
4. Radiation
1. Blackbody, Ultraviolet, Infrared
2. Photochemical Processes
3. Greenhouse Effect
4. Scattering by Aerosols and Clouds
5. Stratospheric Chemistry
1. Ozone Observations
2. Chapman Model
3. Catalytic Loss Cycles
4. Antarctic Ozone Hole
6. Tropospheric Chemistry
1. Sources, Sinks, and Species
2. Hydroxyl Radical
3. Methane Oxidation Cycle
4. Tropospheric Ozone
5. Photochemical Air Pollution
6. Acid Rain
7. Analytical Techniques & Special Topics