AOSC 434/658R & CHEM 434/678A Air Pollution
Instructors: Ross Salawitch and Tim Canty
Tues-Thurs, 2:00 to 3:15 pm, CSS 2416
Spring 2011: 3 units
Required Text:
Chemistry in Context: Applying Chemistry to Society
6th edition, American Chemical Society
Supplemental Text:
Global Warming: The Complete Briefing (third edition) by John Houghton
The Atmospheric Environment by Michael B. McElroy
Beyond Oil and Gas: The Methanol Economy by George A. Olah, Alain Goeppert, and G. K. Surya Prakash
Atmospheric Pollution by Mark Z. Jacobson
Note: readings will be assigned from each supplemental text. Electronic versions of these readings will be provided in password protected files.
This class focuses on air pollution as it relates to atmospheric chemistry and climate change. We cover global warming, air quality (smog, particulates, heavy metals), and stratospheric ozone depletion, focusing on the role of long lived, well mixed greenhouse gases as well as shorter-lived pollutants, most of which affect both atmospheric ozone and the radiative forcing of Earth’s climate. We teach fundamentals of atmospheric chemistry (spectroscopy, radiative transfer, kinetics, isotopic analysis, and global biogeochemical cycles) and apply these fundamentals to the modern understanding of air quality, ozone depletion, and climate change, using resources such as contemporary satellite observations, recent field campaigns, and “assessments” compiled by international scientific teams. We conclude the course with a series of lectures focused on how society might meet future energy needs of society in a manner that is both economically viable and ecologically sound. The course is taught at a level appropriate for upper class undergraduate physical science majors and first year graduate students.
Pre-requisites: CHEM 131 and MATH 241 or their equivalents (i.e., CHEM 271 or CHEM 276 or advanced physics courses can substitute for MATH 241) or the permission of the instructors.
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Date |
Lecture Topic |
Lecturer |
Required Readings |
Admis. Tickets |
Lecture
Notes |
Problem Sets* |
Additional
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01/25 |
Geological Evolution of Earth's
Atmosphere |
RJS |
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| 01/27 |
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02/01 |
Overview of Global Warming,
Air Quality, & Ozone Depletion |
RJS |
(questions 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.1, & 3.1) (entire document; only 10 pgs J) (questions 1, 2, 3, 10, 15 & 18) |
AT 2 √ |
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Sci American Why is there an ozone hole? Aug 2007
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02/03 |
Fundamentals of Earth’s
Atmosphere |
TC |
AT 3 √ |
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02/08 |
Climates of the Past |
RJS |
Chemistry in Context, pgs 100-110
(pgs 64-71) (questions 6.1, 6.2) |
AT 4 √ |
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02/10 |
Global Carbon Cycle |
RJS |
Note: above links contain reading material for Lectures 5 & 6 |
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IPCC 2007, Section
7.3.4.1 &
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02/15 |
Biogeochemical Cycles of
CH4 and N2O |
RJS |
Note: above links point to same material used for Lecture 5 |
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Revised 14 Feb |
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02/17 |
Radiative Forcing |
TC |
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02/22 |
Modeling Earth’s Climate:
Cloud, Aerosol, & Water Vapor Feedbacks |
TC |
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| 02/23 |
Review Discussion
for First Exam The same review will be held twice: Session I : 6:30 to 7:30 pm Session II: 9:30 to 10:30 pm Review will be in regular class room. |
RJS & TC | Review A √ | ||||
| 02/24 | First Exam: Focus on first 8 lectures and first 2 problem sets (in class, closed book) | ||||||
| 03/01 |
Review of First Exam and Introduction to Atmospheric Chemistry |
RJS |
No reading J |
Student Survey: PDF √ |
Lecture 9 √ | ||
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03/03 |
Introduction to
Photolysis |
RJS |
None
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| 03/08 |
Introduction to Chemical
Kinetics |
RJS |
AT 11 √ |
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03/10 |
Pollution of Earth’s Troposphere: Surface Ozone |
RJS |
(focus on Sections 1.3, 1.4, 1.9, 1.10, 1.11, and 1.12) |
AT 12 √ |
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| 03/15 |
Pollution of Earth’s Troposphere: Acid Rain & Aerosols |
TC |
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AT 13 √ | Lecture13 √ | ||
| 03/17 |
Review of Lectures 9 through 13 |
RJS |
Revised 6 Mar |
Tropospheric Ozone from Space | |||
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Spring Break: enjoy ! |
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03/29 |
Pollution of Earth’s Stratosphere: Mid-Latitude Ozone Depletion |
RJS |
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AT 15 √ |
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(quest.13-17) |
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03/31 |
Pollution of Earth’s Stratosphere: Polar Ozone Depletion |
RJS |
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AT 16 √ |
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(quest. 9-12)
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04/05 |
Pollution of Earth’s Stratosphere: Ozone Recovery and Chemistry/Climate Interactions |
RJS |
(quest. 19 & 20)
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AT 17 √ |
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| 04/07 |
Review Discussion
for Second Exam Note: if we have a second snow day, this review will be moved to the evening of 04/11. |
RJS & TC | Review B √ |
Problem Set 4 due today
√ Revised 5 Apr |
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04/12 |
Second Exam: Focus on lectures 9 to 17 and problem sets 3 and 4 (in class, closed book ... please bring a calculator) |
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04/14 |
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RJS |
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AT 18 √ |
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04/19 |
Review of Second Exam and World Energy Needs, |
RJS |
AT 19 √ |
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Chemistry in Context, Section 4.3 to 4.7 |
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| 04/21 | Impacts of Climate Change | TC | Houghton, pgs 145- 155 |
AT 20 √ |
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04/26 |
Renewable Energy I: Solar, Geothermal, Hydro, & Wind |
RJS |
Section 8.9 and 8.10 (pgs 353-362) |
AT 21 √ |
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04/28 |
Renewable Energy II: Biofuels, Ethanol, Methanol, and Algae |
RJS |
(pg 178-183)
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AT 22 √ |
Problem Set 5 due today √ |
Olah, various pages on Biofuels and Methanol
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05/03 |
Nuclear Energy |
TC |
Olah, Ch 8, pages 111-119 (bottom) Olah, Ch 9, pages 140-154 (top)
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AT 23 √ |
Lecture23 √ |
Chemistry in Context, rest of Ch 7
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| 05/05 | Geo-engineering of Climate | RJS |
AT 24 √ |
Lecture24 √ |
Assigned only to Undergrad Students |
Tilmes et al., 2008 | |
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Mon 05/09 |
Evening Review: Preparation for Final Exam and Presentation of Selected Problem Set #6 Solutions (Undergrads) Regular classroom (CSS 2416) 6:00 to 7:00 pm
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RJS & TC | Review C √ |
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05/10 |
Student Research Projects (Graduate Students) |
Graduate Students |
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Grad Student paper due |
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Mon 05/16 |
Final Exam CSS 2416: 10:30 am to 12:30 pm |
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* Problem sets are due on the date listed
× Denotes the hyperlink, hard-wired ahead of time to make the webmaster's life easier, is empty
√ Denotes the hyperlink is active
The final grades will be based on problems sets (30%),
admission tickets (10%), in-class exams (40%), and final exam (20%). In addition, graduate students are
required to write a research paper (8 pages single spaced) on a topic of their choosing related to the
material covered in class. Graduate students will make a brief oral presentation of
their research paper during the last meeting.
For graduate students, the grade on the paper/presentation will be factored into
their overall grade at a proportion equal to the weight of each
exam.
To encourage completion of the reading assignments prior to class, there is an admission ticket due at the start of each class (with the exception of the first lecture). The admission ticket is a short question (or set of questions) drawn from the readings. Each ticket will be graded in a prompt manner and typically returned at the start of the next class. The lowest three scores will be dropped, and a final overall admission ticket grade will be determined, based on overall percentage of available points achieved. This allows for uniform grading of admission tickets with a variety of assigned points. The overall admission ticket grade counts 10% towards the final course grade.
In many cases, the answer(s) to the admission ticket
question(s) will be worked into the lecture. Hence, the requirement that admission ticket
solutions be turned in at the start of lecture! If you can not
make a lecture, you are welcome to email us your solution prior to class
or have a classmate turn in your solution.
Admission tickets will be posted on this website at least 24 hours prior to the start of each lecture. If an admission ticket for a particular lecture is not posted by 2 pm the day prior to a particular lecture, there will be no admission ticket for that class. Also, if an item other than an admission ticket link appears in the admission ticket column for a particular lecture (i.e., lectures 1, 9, and 13), there will no admission ticket for that class meeting.
We may administer an occasional, in class “pop quiz”. This will be done if it is apparent that a majority of students are not completing the readings prior to class (i.e., if the admission ticket answers seem, in aggregate, to be based on Google searches of key phrases rather than reading of the assigned material). If one or more “pop quiz” is given, the results will be factored into the “admission ticket” portion of the grade.
Please remember to hit the “refresh” button to see the latest version of this website each time you visit, as we intend to update the website file frequently during the course (if the symbol × is changed to the symbol P, this may not be apparent unless the page is refreshed).
Additional readings are provided for many lectures. This material is provided to allow interested students to read further about a particular topic. The material in these additional readings will not form the sole basis of any exam question, nor will this material be of purposeful advantage for the successful completion of the problem sets. The course will be enhanced for those with time to explore the additional readings.
For completion of the Admission Tickets and Problem Sets, you may consult any text or website you desire. While we encourage reliance on the assigned reading and discourage use of search engines for the completion of the Admission Tickets, we also understand the utility of search engines and understand they could provide a useful resource on occasion. Regardless, the material you turn in for Admission Tickets and Problem Sets should reflect your understanding of the material and only your work. We encourage discussion among classmates of general course concepts, but specific details of how to solve particular admission ticket questions and/or problem set questions should not be shared with classmates prior to the assignment being submitted. After problem sets and/or exams have been returned, you are welcome to discuss the material, including details of solutions, with other students. Also, it is fine to prepare for the examinations by discussing class material with other students. We take care to change questions from year to year, in part to keep the material fresh but also to discourage reliance on "files" passed down from prior students.
In other words ... it is not permissible to copy solutions for Admission Tickets and Problem Sets from other students or from "files" for this class maintained by prior students. Indeed, we strongly discourage the maintenance of "files" for this class and we assure everyone that exam questions used this semester will not be a repeat of questions from prior exams.