PHYS 278

This course aims at developing an understanding of the physical processes that influence our climate. It is suitable for science students interested by atmospheric sciences, climate and air quality issues.

Topics include: introduction to radiation, atmospheric composition, planetary atmospheres, introduction to molecular spectroscopy and photochemistry, radiation balance - natural variability and anthropogenic effects, greenhouse effect, ozone depletion, clouds, methods of sounding atmospheric constituents, instrumentation, introduction to climate modeling.

The Earth’s climate has been characterized by numerous cycles of fluctuations between colder and warmer periods. The climate has always been directly influenced by the balance between the incoming and outgoing solar radiation. This radiative balance is controlled by the presence in the atmosphere of radiatively active gases. As a consequence, even a small change in the composition of the atmosphere can have drastic temporal and spatial impacts on the climate.

This course aims at developing an understanding of the physical processes that influence our climate. It is established that the quality of the air we breathe and the ecosystem we live in are increasingly dependent on the decisions we take. This course purpose is to lay a scientific foundation for those decisions.

Recommended pre-requisites: MATH111, MATH112, CHEM100 or CHEM120, PHYS 100 or 120

Course introduction
•     Contents
•     A few definitions
•     The IPCC report

Chapter 1: Introduction to the atmosphere
•     Composition
•     Origin of the atmosphere
•     Atmosphere of terrestrial planets
•     The high atmosphere

Chapter 2: Physics of gas
•     Ideal gas law
•     Virtual Temperature
•     Hydrostatic Equation
•     Escape Velocity

Chapter 3: Introduction to radiation
•     Radiation and its physical basis
•     The concepts of radiation intensity and flux
•     Blackbody radiation

Chapter 4: Planetary radiation
•     Planetary Radiation Balance
•     The Sun as a Blackbody
•     Solar and Thermal (Terrestrial) Radiation
•     Radiative Equilibrium on a Planetary Scale

Chapter 5 Variation in the solar constant
•     Solar Constant
•     Seasonal Variation
•     The Solar Cycle

Chapter 6: Solar and Thermal Radiation
•     Solar and Thermal (Terrestrial) Radiation
•     Radiative Equilibrium on a Planetary Scale

Chapter 7: Radiative Transfer in the Atmosphere
•     Radiative Transfer
•     Atmospheric Extinction & Source Processes
•     Schwarzchild’s Equation

Chapter 8: Absorption in the Atmosphere
•     Elements of spectroscopy
•     Molecular Absorption
•     Infrared Line Shapes
•     Scattering

Chapter 9: The Ozone Layer
•     Ozone - An Ultraviolet Shield
•     Stratospheric Ozone Chemistry
•     Polar Ozone Depletion
•     Ozone and Climate
•     Future Evolution of Ozone

Chapter 10: Clouds
•     How Clouds are Formed
•     How Cloud Drops Grow
•     Why We Care About Clouds
•     Clouds and Pollution
•     Cloud Types
•     Inclusion of Clouds in a Radiative Balance Model

Chapter 11: The greenhouse effect
•     Radiative Time Constants
•     Thermal Radiation: Who Are the Major Players?
•     The Earth’s Greenhouse Effect
•     Greenhouse Gases and Global Warming

Chapter 12: Radiative forcing
•     Observed Changes in Temperature
•     Radiative Forcing
•     Global Warming Potentials
•     Human Influence on Climate Change
•     Climate Feedbacks and Uncertainties
•     Climate Model Predictions

Chapter 13: Atmospheric Remote Sounding

There is no course textbook. Lecture slides and supplementary material are posted on this web site.

Much of the course material is covered in the following books.

1. Global Warming: The Complete Briefing, Second (or Third) Edition, J.T. Houghton, Cambridge University Press, 1997. (Basic)

2. Is the Temperature Rising?, S. George Philander, Princeton University Press, 1994. (Basic)

3. Elementary Climate Physics, F.W. Taylor, Oxford University Press, 2005. (Intermediate)

4. Introduction to Atmospheric Physics, D.G. Andrews, Cambridge U. Press, 2000. (Intermediate)

5. A First Course in Atmospheric Radiation, First (or Second) Edition, G.W. Petty, Sundog Publishing, 2004. (Advanced)

6. An Introduction to Atmospheric Radiation, Second Edition, K.N. Liou, Academic Press, 2002. (Advanced)

7. Atmospheric Chemistry and Global Change, Chapter 15, G. P. Brasseur, J. J. Orlando, G. S. Tyndall, Oxford University Press, 1999. (Advanced)

8. Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis, Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2007. Available at http://www.ipcc.ch/ipccreports/ar4-wg1.htm. (Comprehensive review)

Assignments	10%
Term paper/oral presentation	20%
Midterm exam	20%
Final exam	50%

Assignments

Assignments will be given periodically. You will usually have a week to complete each of them and submit your paper.

Midterm and final exam

The exact date for the midterm exam will be decided during the course; the final exam date is set by the university registrar. The mid term and final exams are without books or notes. Only non-programmable calculator is allowed. Students are expected to learn and know the course material.

Term paper and oral presentation

The term paper will be a bibliographical report of about 10 single-spaced pages on a topic related to the atmosphere. It should include an abstract, a table of contents, an introduction and a conclusion as well as a list of references. Acceptable references are scientific articles or review of scientific articles published trough a peer-review process.

Here is an interesting guideline for term papers:

http://www.lhup.edu/~dsimanek/termpapr.htm

Don’t hesitate to use the STFX writing center. It contains many links and tips about essay writing.

http://www.mystfx.ca/resources/writingcentre/

For the bibliography, you can use the StFX library service:

http://library.stfx.ca/help/helpdesk.php

Deadline

Topic	February 2
Abstract and contents	March 2
Paper submission (hard copy and electronic version)	March 16

Students will have to perform an oral presentation of about 10 minutes in front of the class at the end of the term. The schedule for each student will be decided after the “Topic” deadline.

Courses

by Karine Le Bris

PHYS 278: Introduction to Atmopsheric Physics

Overview

Contents

Textbooks

Marking scheme

About the Instructor

Documentation