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Air Pollution Modeling and Chemistry
Last Updated: 2026-06-03 00:08:08
Abstract
Air pollutants cause negative effects on humans, wildlife and buildings. To control and reduce the impact of air pollutants, their transfer from sources to receptors needs to be known. This transfer includes transport within the atmospheric boundary layer, chemical transformation reactions and phase-transfer processes from gases to particles.
Objective
The students understand the fundamental principles of atmospheric transport, dispersion and chemistry of pollutants on the local to regional scale and their transfer gas to particle phases (secondary aerosols). This includes the knowledge of important atmospheric reactions, sources and sinks. The obtained understanding enables the students to apply computational tools to predict the transport and transformation of chemicals at the local to regional scale.
Content
- Structure of the Atmosphere - Thermodynamics of the atmosphere - Atmospheric stability - Atmospheric boundary layer and turbulence - Dispersion in the atmospheric boundary layer - Numerical models of atmospheric dispersion - Gas phase reaction kinetics - Tropospheric chemistry and ozone formation - Chemistry box models - Volatile organic pollutants (VOCs) and semi-volatile organic pollutants (SVOCs) - Aerosol modelling - Air pollution source apportionment - Inverse modelling of emissions
Resources
Lecture Notes
Continued updates of:-Slides and handouts-Home assignments and sample solutions-R package and code for some of the home assignments-MATLAB codes-Key journal articles as discussed during lecture
Literature
Atmospheric chemistry Jacobson, M.Z., 2012. Air Pollution and Global Warming: History, Science and Solutions, 405 pp., Cambridge University Press. Finlayson-Pitts, B. J. and Pitts, J. N., 2000. Chemistry of the upper and lower atmosphere, 969 pp., Academic Press, San Diego. Seinfeld, J. H. and Pandis, S. N., 2012. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics: From Air Pollution to Climate Change, 3 ed., 1203 pp., Wiley. Sportisse Bruno, 2010. Fundamentals in Air Pollution From Processes to Modelling. R M Harrison, R E Hester, Xavier Querol, 2016. Airborne Particulate Matter: Sources, Atmospheric Processes and Health. Environmental organic chemistry and mass transfer Schwarzenbach, R.P., Gschwend, P. M., Imboden, D. M., 2002. Environmental Organic Chemistry, 1328 pp, Wiley & sons, New York Mackay D., Multimedia environmental models : the fugacity approach; Boca Raton, Fla. : Lewis Publishers; 2001; 2nd ed Atmospheric dynamics and boundary layer Stull, R. B., 1988. An Introduction to Boundary Layer Meteorology, 666 pp., Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht. Etling, D., 2008. Theoretische Meteorologie Eine Einfuhrung, 3 ed., 376 pp., Springer. Atmospheric modelling Jacobson, M. Z., 2005. Fundamentals of atmospheric modeling, 2 ed., 813 pp., Cambridge University Press. Introduction to R Dalgaard, P., 2002. Introductory statistics with R, 267 pp., Springer, New York
General Information
- Language
- English
- Levels
- MSC
- Frequency
- Yearly recurring
Examination
- Type
- session examination
- Mode
- written 120 minutes
- Aids
- "Closed-book": none"Open-book": lecture notes, homework solutions, books and a calculator (communication-disabled)
Course Components
| Type | Title | Time & Place | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| lecture with exercise | Air Pollution Modeling and Chemistry | No time listed | 2 h weekly |
Offered In
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Elective Modules (For all majors.)
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EM: Air Quality Control (Elective Module for Majors "Resource Management", "River and Hydraulic Engineering" "Urban Water Management" and "Water Resources Management".)
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