EHS
225: COURSE SYLLABUS
ATMOSPHERIC
TRANSPORT AND TRANSFORMATIONS
OF
AIRBORNE CHEMICALS
Dr.
Winer
Winter—2004
Date
Topic
1/8
Introduction: Course Structure and Overview/Historical Perspective;
Role of Atmospheric Transformations; “Health” Implications; The Air
Pollution System; Definition of Terms; Classification of Air Pollutants; The
Lifetime and Fate Framework; The Major Air Pollution Problems; Models vs
Experiments: Illustration: The Death of the American SST;
1/10
The “Politics” of Air Pollution.
Illustrations: Englehard’s Ozone “Catalyst”; 1997 AQMP for South
Coast Air Basin (SoCAB); The Ethanol Lobby—Will We Repeat the MTBE Mistake?
1/15
Transport—Hemispheric and Global Mixing; Horizontal and Vertical
Transport Times; Concentration Units; Chemical Composition of the Clean and
Polluted Troposphere; Sources, Fluxes and Budgets; Nitrogen, Sulfur, Halogen
and Carbon Compounds.
1/17
Atmospheric Particulate Matter; Particle Size and Chemical Composition;
Particle Residence Times; Gas-to-Particle Conversion; Impacts on Visibility
and Human Health. Illustration:
Mortality due to Fine Particles.
1/22
Emissions: Criteria Pollutants. Mobile
vs Stationary Sources Illustration: South Coast Air Basin; Case Study:
Erroneous Mobile Source Emission Inventories; History of Mobile Source Control
Program; New Vehicle Emission Standards; On-Road Emission Factors; Models vs
Measurements Revisited: Illustration: California’s Smog Check Program.
1/24
Emissions: Airborne Toxic Chemicals.
Dimensionality of Emissions; PAH. Illustration: Dioxins from Hazardous
and Municipal Solid Waste Incinerators; Tanner Process; Toxic Air Contaminant
Identification List; Regulatory Action. Case
Study: Can Bhopal Happen Here?
1/29
Emissions: Indoor Air Pollutants. Sick Building Syndrome; Importance of
Human Time- Activity Patterns; Emissions from Combustion Sources, Tobacco
Smoke, Building Materials, Asbestos, Radon, Consumer Products, Penetration of
Outdoor Air. Role of Exposure
Assessment. Illustrations: RIOPA Study/School Bus Study. Illustration: Reduced
Benzene Exposure in the SoCAB—Application of the Regional Human Exposure (REHEX)
Model.
1/31
Transport: Fundamentals of Meteorology and Pollutant Transport;
Adiabatic Lapse Rate; Fronts and Depressions; Orographic Effects; Land and Sea
Breezes: Illustration: SoCaB.
2/5
Transport: Temperature Inversions—Summer vs. Winter; Case Study:
South Coast Air Basin: Inversions, Role of Topography and Up-Slope Flow, Air
Parcel Transport, Basin Residence Times, Multi-Day Episodes and Carry-over.
2/7
Photochemistry in the Atmosphere: Equations and Properties; Quantum
Yields; Beer-Lambert Law; Major Photodissociating Species; Sun’s
Relationship to Earth; Solar Flux; Spectral Distribution of Solar and
Terrestrial Radiation; Zenith Angle; Air Mass; Albedo; Calculating Photolysis
and Actinic Flux; Effects of Latitude; Season and Time of Day.
2/12
Atmospheric Transformations: Chemistry of the Clean Troposphere:
Methane Oxidation; Chemical Cycles Involving Odd Hydrogen, Odd Oxygen and
Oxides of Nitrogen. Air Pollution
Chemistry—Inorganic Reactions; The NOx-Ozone Cycle; Formation of Radical
Intermediates; Termination Reactions.
2/14
Kinetics and Mechanisms of Hydrocarbon Photooxidation Reactions in
Urban Atmospheres: Reactions of OH Radicals with Organic Compounds;
Ozone-Olefin Reactions; Illustration: Discovery of the NO3 Radical; NO3
Radical Reactions.
2/19
Atmospheric Lifetimes and Fates of Airborne Chemicals: Chemical
Reaction Pathways;; Physical Removal Processes: Dry Deposition of Gases and
Particles; Wet Deposition
2/21
Mid-Term Exam
2/26
Derivation of Atmospheric Lifetimes; Lifetimes vs Transport Distance.
Illustration: Carbon Dioxide Lifetime. Control Strategies for Photochemical
Smog: Ilustration: VOC vs NOx Control; Role of Biogenic VOCs; Urban Heat
Islands; Air Quality Trends. Illustration: SoCAB vs Houston.
Case Study: Is Methanol a “Clean” Fuel?
Case Study: Are Electric or Hybrid Vehicles “Clean;” Technical
Fixes Gone Wrong; Illustration: MTBE and Reformulated Gasolines.
2/28
The Greenhouse Effect; Planetary Temperatures; Infrared Window;
Accumulation of Greenhouse Gases; Trends in Atmospheric Concentrations;
Radiative Forcing; Relative Contribution of GHGs: Carbon Dioxide; Methane;
Nitrous Oxide; Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs); HCFCs; HFCs; Halocarbon Global
Warming Potential; Feedback Mechanisms.
3/5
Global Climate Change: Evidence of Warming; Illustrations: Worldwide
Retreat of Glaciers, Shrinking Ice Packs, Sea Level Rise, Atmospheric
Temperatures; Predictions of Models; Potential Impacts of Global Warming.
Illustration: Impacts on Health Health.
3/7
Stratospheric Chemistry and Ozone Depletion: Catalytic Cycles;
Homogeneous Gas Phase Chemistry; Role of Heterogeneous Chemistry in Antarctic
Ozone Hole; Ozone Depletion Potentials;
3/12
Strategies for Mitigating Accumulation of CFCs/HCFCs and GHGs: Treaties
and Replacement Policies for CFCs and GHGs; Trends in Stratospheric Ozone;
Case Study: Global Warming Politics—The Clinton “Inaction” Plan; Will
there be a Smoking Gun or Bodies in the Street?
3/14
Acid Deposition. Long Range Transport and Atmosperic Chemistry; San
Bernadino National Forest/Mojave Desert; Sterility of Northeast Lakes; Forest
Damage; Relative Control of NOx and SOx.
3/19
Final Exam: 3-6 PM