| CODE | GSC2300 | ||||||||
| TITLE | Atmospheric Physical and Chemical Processes | ||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 02 - Years 2, 3 in Modular Undergraduate Course | ||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 5 | ||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 4 | ||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Geosciences | ||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | Understanding of geophysical processes requires thorough knowledge of the relevant science, notably atmospheric physics and chemistry. The study-unit will provide grounding in relevant aspects of atmospheric (physical and chemical) processes. The main topics (and sub-topics) to be covered in the study-unit are the following: Introduction - Description of the study-unit content - Basics, scales, interactions, stability and feedbacks Atmospheric Energy Budget (in brief) - Blackbody, solar and Earth’s radiation - Earth system energy balance and the greenhouse effect Aerosols (emphasized) - Aerosol characteristics - Aerosol sources, sinks and effects Atmospheric Dynamics (emphasized) - Atmospheric stability - Laws of motion - Local wind systems - General circulation - Ventilation, stagnation, inversions (revisited) and air pollution case histories (excluding air quality modelling) - Wind velocity and turbulence Study-Unit Aims: The main objective of the study-unit is to introduce and give grounding in atmospheric processes. Consequently, the aims of the study-unit are the following: - introduce the students to radiation and its laws, and apply the latter to the Sun-Earth system; - provide a qualitative (and brief) discussion of the Earth's energy budget, and its implications e.g. greenhouse effect; - introduce and familiarize the students with atmospheric aerosols (characteristics, sources, sinks and their effects); - provide a broad discussion of atmospheric dynamics from two perspectives, namely weather formation (the necessary and relevant mathematical expositions will be included) and air quality (excluding modelling) Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - recall and apply the relevant science in understanding atmospheric processes; - demonstrate knowledge of radiation and its laws, the global energy budget and its implications, atmospheric aerosols and atmospheric dynamics, with emphasis on weather formation and, to a lesser extent, air quality; - solve problems related to atmospheric processes 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - demonstrate knowledge of science relevant to atmospheric processes; - appreciate how one area of science can contribute to the understanding of another; - have sufficient theoretical understanding to solve problems of relevance in the geosciences; - appreciate the importance of specific mathematical tools in solving problems in the geosciences. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts: J M Wallace and P V Hobbs. Atmospheric Science: An Introductory Survey (International Geophysics). Academic Press (latest edition) Note: This is the standard undergraduate textbook in atmospheric science. Course Notes: The course convenor (Alfred Micallef) will provide the students with a comprehensive set of course notes. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture and Tutorial | ||||||||
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| LECTURER/S | Alfred Micallef |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2023/4. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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