Syllabus --- download in PDF format

Class Meeting Times and Location: Mondays and Wednesdays from 9:30 to 10:50 am in Room 610 in the Atmospheric Sciences Building

Instructor:Lyatt Jaeglé
e-mail: jaegle@atmos.washington.edu
Phone: (206) 685-2679
Office: Room 306 in the Atmospheric Sciences Building
 

Class Description
Graduate course providing an introduction to the physical and chemical processes determining the composition of the atmosphere and its implications for climate, ecosystems, and human welfare.  We will look at the science behind several important global environmental problems: Stratospheric ozone depletion, tropospheric ozone and photochemical smog, oxidizing capacity of the atmosphere, and acid rain.

Office hours: After class or stop by my office anytime.

Prerequisites: ATM S 501 or ATM S/CHEM 458 or permission of instructor.

Grading policy:

Homeworks, 50%; Project paper, 35%; Class participation, 15%.

Textbook: Introduction to Atmospheric Chemistry , by D.J. Jacob, Princeton University Press, 1999. lectures will largely follow this textbook.

Other useful textbooks:

Chemistry of the Lower and Upper Atmosphere , by Finlayson-Pitts and Pitts, Academic Press, 1999.

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics: from Air pollution to Climate change , by J.H. Seinfeld and S.N. Pandis, Wiley, 1998.

Atmospheric Chemistry and Global Change, G.P. Brasseur, J.J. Orlando, and G.S. Tyndall (eds.), Oxford University Press, 1999.

Chemistry of the Natural Atmosphere, P. Warneck, Academic Press, 1999.

Atmospheric Change, T.E. Graedel & P.J. Crutzen, Freeman, 1992.

Chemistry of Atmospheres: An Introduction to the Chemistry of the Atmospheres of Earth, the Planets, and their Satellites, R.P. Wayne,  Oxford University Press, 2000.

 

Topics covered:

1) Fundamentals (2 weeks). Atmospheric radiation; Theory of gas-phase reaction rates; Multiphase chemistry; Analysis of reaction mechanisms; Timescales. 

2) Stratospheric chemistry (3 weeks). Stratospheric ozone and the Chapman mechanism; Catalytic loss cycles (HOx, NOy and halogen chemistry); Polar and mid-latitude ozone depletion; Role of aerosol chemistry in the stratosphere.  

3) Tropospheric Chemistry (3 weeks). Oxidizing capacity of the atmosphere; Tropospheric ozone; Tropospheric NOx and hydrocarbons; Air pollution and ozone smog.

4) Aerosols and cloud chemistry (2 weeks). Sources and transformations of tropospheric and stratospheric aerosols; Sulfur chemistry; Aqueous phase chemistry.

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 Last Updated:
03/30/2003

Contact the instructor at: jaegle@atmos.washington.edu