Air Pollution and Climate Change

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Level: 
Master's
CEU credits: 
2
Academic year: 
2007/2008
Academic year: 
2008/2009
Academic year: 
2009/2010
Academic year: 
2010/2011
Semester: 
Winter
Co-hosting Unit(s) [if applicable]: 
Department of Environmental Sciences and Policy
Academic Program: 
Master of Science in Environmental Sciences and Policy
Master of Science in Environmental Sciences, Policy and Management (MESPOM), Erasmus Mundus
CEU Instructor(s): 
Ruben Mnatsakanian
External instructor(s): 
Jan Karlik
Nadezhda Solovieva
Laszlo Bozo
Learning Outcomes: 
At the end of this course a successful student should be able to 1. Understand the basic chemical processes occurring in each region of the atmosphere and the difference between primary and secondary pollutants; 2. Define the term aerosol, point out the dominant effect of particle diameter on aerosol behavior, explain differences between primary and secondary aerosols, and list effects of aerosols on atmospheric properties and human health; 3. Analyze international environmental governance with respect to the atmosphere, especially considering that the atmosphere is truly a shared resource; 4. Identify and suggest policy alternatives for effective management of air quality on local, regional, continental, and global scales; 5. Explain the nature and possible biotic and abiotic effects of air emissions from transportation, power generation, and industrial sectors, as well as plants and animals; 6. Explain why a clear and correct understanding of atmospheric science is critical for formulating effective air quality policy; 7. Explain the feedback process for air quality mitigation and improvement, including monitoring, scientific study, modeling, policy development, regulation, and enforcement. 8. Explain the difference between major types of models (Eulerian and Gaussian), their advantages and limitations, 9. Understand how models are implemented for policy decisions on European and global level, get knowledge on major existing policy frameworks 10. Understand the basic approaches to reconstruction of past climates, which is essential for understanding of peculiarities of climate change, modeling and projection of climate trends. 11. Analyze the real air quality statistics, understand the limitations of existing monitoring data and ways to overcome them, 12. Work in small group with division of responsibilities, compile group report and present the findings.
Full description: 

The aim of this course is to develop a foundational understanding of atmospheric science, including the nature of air pollution problems on local, regional, continental, and global scales, and the development of air quality regulation. Emphasis will be placed on the fundamental chemical and physical processes operative in the atmosphere, the influence of human activities, and the processes by which air quality regulations and policies are developed. An introduction to air pollution modelling will be made, with the description of major existing types of models and existing policy frameworks based on modelling. Introduction to paleoclimatology will be made with the emphasis on methods of study of past climates. Students will have group assignment based on real data of air pollution in Budapest and report their findings.

The lectures will cover the following topics:


1- 2 Introduction and Characteristics of the Atmosphere: Goals for the course, unit systems,
definitions, gas behaviour, regions of the atmosphere, chemical composition of clean and polluted
atmospheres, thermodynamic and kinetic control of reactions, air quality regulation system

3-4 Air Pollution History and Chemistry of the Lower Atmosphere: Pollution in the classical world,urbanization and combustion-related pollution, London smog, atmospheric lifetime and its influence on reach of a pollutant, health effects of specific pollutants

5-6 Chemistry of the Lower Atmosphere and Urban Photochemical Smog: anthropogenic and natural emission sources,  photochemical reactions in a polluted atmosphere, VOC and NOx sourcestrengths and their influence on effective regulatory policy, development of emission inventories,case studies and examples


7- 8 Aerosols; Acidic Deposition: the differences between primary and secondary aerosols, particle
size and its effects on particle behaviour, chemistry and physics of secondary aerosol formation,
visibility effects, removal mechanisms, health effects; sources of atmospheric acids, effects on
biotic and abiotic systems, emissions reduction and remediation methods


9-10 Indoor Air Pollution; Stratospheric Ozone Depletion: Specific indoor air pollutants, health
effects, and mitigation; location and chemistry of ozone formation and removal in the upper
atmosphere, chloroflurocarbons and their reactivity, discovery of Antarctic ozone depletion, current
understanding of lifetimes and concentrations of ozone-depleting compounds, Montreal Protocol
and its effectiveness


11-12 The Atmosphere and Global Climate Change,  Radiation balance, long-term natural climate and temperature cycles, solar intensity, inferential methods for inferring temperature of past ages, weather records, greenhouse gases, including absorption cross sections, lifetimes, emissions, concentrations, energy and transportation, policy alternatives, economic considerations, sustainability and economic growth


13-14 Introduction to Air Pollution Modelling : Main types of models (Eulerian and Gaussian), their
advantages and limitations, main models used at global, European and local level, use of models in
existing environmental policy frameworks.


15-16 Monitoring and modelling under the new EU air quality directives: Brief history of EU
regulations: in1980-1999-  Directives for main pollutants, at present: EU framework Directive +
Daughter Directives, National Emission Ceilings Directive with legal enforcement, Sectoral emission
legislation (transport, industry, energy …)


17-18 Introduction to paleoclimatology: Principles of environmental palaeoecology; nature of
palaeoecological data; macro- and microfossil records; chronology; dating techniques.

19-20 Importance of paleo-climatic reconstructions: Application of palaeodata in climate and
environmental research; regional expression of 20th century global climate change warming.  ;
application of palaeoecological methods to contemporary environmental issues.