Details of ID4212 (Spring 2020)

Level: 4 Type: Theory Credits: 4.0

Course CodeCourse NameInstructor(s)
ID4212 Principles of Atmospheric Science _ Not Yet Decided _

Syllabus
The atmospheric system: early evolution, vertical structure, lapse rate and stability, scale height, geopotential, boundary layer dynamics. Atmospheric transport: geostrophic flow, general circulation, turbulence, vertical mixing, spatial and temporal scales of transport. Concepts of tropospheric chemistry: fundamentals of spectroscopy, photochemistry and kinetics, the oxidation capacity of the atmosphere, chemical lifetimes of trace species in the atmosphere. Gas-phase tropospheric chemistry: the NOx and NOy families, daytime and nighttime behaviour, basic photochemical cycles of NO2, NO and O3, atmospheric chemistry of CO, the tropospheric O3 budget and the role of VOC-CO-NOx, PAN and photochemical smog, SO2 and acid rain. Atmospheric aerosols: the size distribution function, the mass, number, surface area and volume distributions, urban/rural/marine/remote aerosols, primary and secondary sources, scavenging, residence times and long-range transport, optical properties. Global climate change: radiative forcing fundamentals, the role of aerosols and well-mixed gases, forcing estimates, uncertainties, model-data intercomparisons, policy frameworks, the 2C challenge. Local and regional air quality: historical perspectives, emission sources (local/regional/global scales), criteria and non-criteria pollutants, the role of aerosol chemical composition, major aerosol constituents, source tracers, case studies. Air pollution-related health risks: acute and chronic effects, health risk assessment (hazard quotients, hazard indices, inhalation cancer risk). Air quality legislation: international and national frameworks, emission controls, ambient limits, air quality indices, public perception, a case study of India, NAAQS. New directions: emerging areas in atmospheric science research.

References
1. Chemistry of the Upper and Lower Atmosphere, 2nd Edition, 2000, by Barbara J. Finlayson-Pitts and James N. Pitts, Jr, Academic Press.
2. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics: From Air Pollution to Climate Change, 3rd Edition, 2016, by John H. Seinfeld and Spyros N. Pandis, Wiley.
3. Introduction to Atmospheric Chemistry, 1st Edition, 1999, by Daniel J. Jacob, Princeton University Press.

Course Credit Options

Sl. No.ProgrammeSemester NoCourse Choice
1 IP 2 Not Allowed
2 IP 4 Not Allowed
3 IP 6 Not Allowed
4 MR 2 Not Allowed
5 MR 4 Not Allowed
6 MS 8 Not Allowed
7 RS 1 Not Allowed
8 RS 2 Not Allowed