Regional and global air pollution effects
Overall Course Objectives
The goal of the course is that the student obtains a scientific understanding of the fate of anthropogenic emissions to the atmosphere and its effects on the regional and global scale. There will be focus on climatic, biological, and ecosystem effects. The effects will be evaluated with respect to global variation of air pollutants and ecosystem types. Air pollution effects will also be evaluated in combination with the environment such as climatic parameters, climate change and ultraviolet radiation. There will also be emphasis on the current knowledge level and how these results have been obtained in highly controlled laboratory experiments and in less controlled field based manipulation experiments.
See course description in Danish
Learning Objectives
- Identify air pollution sources and air pollutants relevant on the regional and global level.
- Describe the transport processes and the conversion of the pollutants and their seasonal variations
- Analyse how different types of air pollutants affect plant and ecosystems over spatial scales.
- Apply tools and simple mathematical models for quantifying air pollution uptake and effects (e.g. critical level and loads) and for prediction of plant response and ecosystem responses.
- Evaluate possible interactions between air pollution effects and climate change.
- Evaluate and compare the strength and weaknesses of highly controlled laboratory experiments and field based manipulation experiments.
- Setup criteria for impact assessment in in plant based food production systems.
- Evaluate effects in relation to international pollution control limits
- Evaluate the processes of political and professional regulation of air pollution at the regional level
- Evaluate the processes of political and professional regulation of greenhouse gases at a global level
- Understand possible techniques for reducing greenhouse gas emissions
Course Content
With respect to air pollution sources, transportation of air pollutants and atmospheric conversions, these topics will be presented on an advanced level that is relevant for understanding regional and global air pollution effects. These effects includes deposition of airborne pollutants in ecosystems, plant uptake, acidification and eutrophication of terrestrial ecosystems, plant food security and production, biological monitoring, formation of greenhouse gasses, interaction with environmental parameters, climate change and ecosystem response feedback to the atmosphere, effects on ozone layer depletion and air pollution and climate change interaction effects.
A mandatory practical exercise is included: Laboratory experiment with plant air pollution exposure (ozone).
Teaching Method
Lectures, theoretical and practical exercises
Faculty
Limited number of seats
Maximum: 60.
Please be aware that this course has a limited number of seats available. If there are too many applicants, a pool will be created for the remainder of the qualified applicants, and they will be selected at random. You will be informed 8 days before the start of the course, whether you have been allocated a spot.