Atmospheric Chemistry

3-0-9 units · Graduate

Provides a detailed overview of the chemical transformations that control the abundances of key trace species in the Earth's atmosphere. Emphasizes the effects of human activity on air quality and climate. Topics include photochemistry, kinetics, and thermodynamics important to the chemistry of the atmosphere; stratospheric ozone depletion; oxidation chemistry of the troposphere; photochemical smog; aerosol chemistry; and sources and sinks of greenhouse gases and other climate forcers.

Fall 2013

Topics

Introduction; atmospheric composition
Chemical kinetics 1: Reaction rates
Chemical kinetics 2: Reaction mechanisms
Photochemistry and spectroscopy 1
Photochemistry and spectroscopy 2
Temperature, pressure, radiance
Stratospheric chemistry 1: O X , HO X , NO X
Stratospheric chemistry 2: ClO X , BrO X
Guest lecture: Stratospheric geoengineering
Tropospheric chemistry 1: NO X and HO X
Tropospheric chemistry 2: CO and CH 4
Atmospheric organic chemistry
Reactive (oxidized) nitrogen chemistry
Ozone Pollution
Atmospheric aqueous chemistry
Acid formation in droplets
Atmospheric aerosol 1: Size, physics
Atmospheric aerosol 2: Climate effects
Aerosol chemistry (inorganic)
Aerosol chemistry (organic)
Atmospheric chemistry and climate 1
Atmospheric chemistry and climate 2
Final Project Presentations

Readings

Seinfeld, John H., and Spyros N. Pandis. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics: From Air Pollution to Climate Change. 2nd ed. Wiley-Interscience, 2006. ISBN: 9780471720188. Students may also use the 1st edition; however, the page numbers of assigned readings may differ—students would need to cross-reference with 2nd edition.
Required
Jacob, Daniel. Introduction to Atmospheric Chemistry. Princeton University Press, 1999. ISBN: 9780691001852. [Preview with Google Books ]. This textbook is also available online. ↗
Required
Finlayson-Pitts, Barbara J., and James N. Pitts. Chemistry of the Upper and Lower Atmosphere: Theory, Experiments, and Applications . Academic Press, 1999. ISBN: 9780122570605. [Preview with Google Books ] ↗
Required

Prerequisites & course information

Same subject as 10.817[J] , 12.807[J] Prereq: 5.601 and 5.602 G (Fall) 3-0-9 units

Sources

Course catalogue ↗2026–2027
MIT OpenCourseWare ↗Fall 2013
MIT OCW calendar ↗
MIT OCW syllabus ↗
Historical MIT OpenCourseWare offering. Named reading entries and schedule topics are automatically extracted from the linked source pages.