1.085/12.336: Air Pollution and Atmospheric Chemistry
Prereq: 18.03
U (Fall)
Units: 3-0-9
Provides a working knowledge of basic air quality issues, with emphasis on a multidisciplinary approach to investigating the sources and effects of pollution. Topics include emission sources; atmospheric chemistry and removal processes; meteorological phenomena and their impact on pollution transport at local to global scales; air pollution control technologies; health effects; and regulatory standards. Discusses regional and global issues, such as acid rain, ozone depletion and air quality connections to climate change.
Instructor: Colette Heald
12.104 Geochemistry of the Earth and Planets
Prereq: Calculus II (GIR)
U (Fall)
Units: 3-1-8
Focuses on the processes that create chemical variability in the solid and fluid Earth, the moon, and meteorites. Includes nucleosynthesis, cosmochemistry, and basic geochemical concepts. Thermodynamics and phase equilibria are introduced and applied to problems of melting solid planetary interiors and the evolution of the Earth’s hydrosphere. Radiogenic and stable isotopic systems are used to document the timing of planetary formation and differentiation, formation, and evolution of volcanoes and continental crust, and to understand interactions between the solid and fluid Earth.
Instructor: Shuhei Ono
12.306 Atmospheric Physics and Chemistry
Prereq: 5.61, 18.075, or permission of instructor
U (Spring)
Units: 3-0-9
Introduction to the physics and chemistry of the atmosphere including experience with computer codes. Aerosols and theories of their formation, evolution, and removal. Gas and aerosol transport from urban to continental scales. Coupled models of radiation, transport, and chemistry. Solution of inverse problems to deduce emissions and removal rates. Emissions control technology and costs. Applications to air pollution and climate. Students taking the graduate version complete different assignments.
Instructor: Ron Prinn
12.335 Experimental Atmospheric Chemistry
Prereq: Chemistry (GIR)
U (Fall)
Units: 2-4-6
Introduces the atmospheric chemistry involved in climate change, air pollution, and ozone depletion using a combination of interactive laboratory and field studies and simple computer models. Uses instruments for trace gas and aerosol measurements and methods for inferring fundamental information from these measurements. Provides instruction and practice in written and oral communication. Students taking the graduate version complete different assignments.
Instructors: Ron Prinn, Shuhei Ono and Dan Cziczo
12.340: Global Warming Science
Prereq: Physics I (GIR),Calculus I (GIR), or permission of instructor; Coreq: 5.60
U (Spring)
Units: 3-0-9
Provides students with a scientific foundation of anthropogenic climate change and an introduction to climate models. Focuses on fundamental physical processes that shape climate (e.g. solar variability, orbital mechanics, greenhouse gases, atmospheric and oceanic circulation, and volcanic and soil aerosols) and on evidence for past and present climate change. Discusses material consequences of climate change, including sea level change, variations in precipitation, vegetation, storminess, and the incidence of disease. Examines the science behind mitigation and adaptation proposals.
Instructor: Kerry Emanuel, Sarah Seager, Dan Cziczo
12.385: Environmental Science and Society
Prereq: 12.806, 12.807, or permission of instructor
U (Fall, new in 2012, meet with 12.885)
Units: 3-0-9
Stresses integration of central scientific concepts in environmental science and their connections to societal actions. Places emphasis on identifying and intercomparing the scientific foundation of environmental problems and proposals for their solution. Through lectures, independent study, group discussions, and periodic research reports, students produce an in-depth overview and critique of case studies in environmental problems and human actions. Illuminates commonalities and differences between past and present successes and impediments in dealing with environmental decisions. Potential topics include ozone depletion, global warming, acid rain, and smog. Students taking the graduate version complete different assignments.
Instructor: Susan Solomon
12.387 People and the Planet: Environmental Governance and Science
Prereq: None
U (Fall, odd years)
Units: 3-0-6
Introduces governance and science aspects of complex environmental problems and approaches to solutions. Introduces quantitative analyses and methodological tools to analyze environmental issues that have human and natural components. Demonstrates concepts through a series of in-depth case studies of environmental governance and science problems. Students develop writing, quantitative modeling, and analytical skills in assessing environmental systems problems and developing solutions. Through experiential activities, such as modeling and policy exercises, students engage with the challenges and possibilities of governance in complex, interacting systems, including biogeophysical processes and societal and stakeholder interactions.
Instructor: Noelle Selin
