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701-1234-00L

Tropospheric Chemistry

VVZ CR n/a

Last Updated: 2026-07-21 00:35:26

Abstract

The course provides an overview of tropospheric chemistry addressing issues from global to urban scale. It provides a basic understanding of processes and discusses recent laboratory studies, field and satellite measurements, and numerical modelling. The topics include photochemistry and aerosols, emissions and deposition, and fundamentals of the atmospheric nitrogen, sulfur and methane cycles.

Objective

Based on the presented material the students are expected to understand the most relevant processes responsible for the anthropogenic disturbances of tropospheric chemical composition. The competence of synthesis of knowledge will be improved by paper reading and student's presentations. These presentations relate to a particular actual problem selected by the candidates.

Content

Starting from the knowledge acquired in lecture 701-0471, the course provides a more profound view on the the chemical and dynamical process governing tropospheric composition and the impacts of air pollutants like aerosol and ozone, at the Earth's surface and the free troposphere. Specific topics covered by the lecture are: laboratory and ambient measurements in polluted and pristine regions, determination of emissions of a variety of compounds, numerical modelling across scales, regional air pollution - aerosol, and photooxidant in relation to precursor emissions, impacts (health, vegetation, climate), the global cycles of tropospheric ozone, CH4, sulfur and nitrogen components.

Resources

Lecture Notes

Lecture presentations are made available on moodle.

Literature

D. Jacob, Introduction to Atmospheric Chemistry http://acmg.seas.harvard.edu/publications/jacobbook Mark Z. Jacobson: Fundamentals of Atmospheric Modelling, Cambridge University Press John Seinfeld and Spyros Pandis, Atmosperic Chemistry and Physics, from air pollution to Climate Change, Wiley, 2006.

General Information