An approximate lecture schedule is given below:

• Lecture #1
  • The Atmosphere
  • Introduction
  • the biosphere and chemical cycling
  • atmospheric structure
  • pressure profile
• Lecture #2
  • temperature profile
  • radiative energy balance
  • surface coordinates and zenith angles
• Lecture #3
  • global atmospheric circulation
  • chemical composition of the atmospher
  • carbon, nitrogen, sulfur cycles
  • review of kinetics
• Lecture #4
  • solar irradiance
  • photochemical rates and quantum yields
  • chemistry of the thermosphere
  • chemistry of the stratosphere
    • the ozone layer
    • Chapman mechanism
• Lecture #5
  • catalytic O₃ destruction cycles
  • impact of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)
• Lecture #6
  • ozone hole formation
  • chemistry of the troposphere
    • O₃ and OH formation mechanisms
    • photochemical hydrocarbon oxidation
• Lecture #7
  • OH chemistry
  • NO₃ chemistry
  • photochemical smog
  • effect of VOC and NO_x on O₃ formation
• Lecture #8
  • biogenic VOC chemistry
  • introduction to aerosols
  • liquid aerosol formation
    • supersaturation
    • Kelvin effect
• Lecture #9
  • nucleation
  • Kohler theory
  • Henry's Law and trace gas partitioning
• Lecture #10
  • CO₂-water equilibrium
  • acid rain phenomenon
  • trace gas equilibria
  • pollution and remediation strategies
• Lecture #11
  • atmospheric aerosol
    • sources, sizes, and chemical composition
    • formation and growth mechanisms
    • loss mechanisms
• Lecture #12
  • heterogeneous atmospheric chemistry
    • gas kinetic and diffusion limited regimes
    • adsorption isotherms
    • aerosols as sinks and sources for trace gases
• Lecture #13
  • aerosol optical properties
    • light scattering
      • Rayleigh scattering
      • Mie scattering
      • geometric optics
    • extinction by background/volcanic aerosols
• Lecture #14
  • global climate
    • radiative energy balance
    • greenhouse gas effect
    • radiative forcing and climate sensitivity
    • historical trends
• Lecture #15
  • aerosol forcing
  • future climate change
  • The Hydropshere
  • global water reservoirs
• Lecture #16
  • EXAM #1
• Lecture #17
  • ocean and lake structure and composition
  • properties of water
    • seasonal overturn
    • acid-base properties
• Lecture #18
  • redox chemistry
  • speciation diagrams
    • effects of ionic strength
    • estuary
• Lecture #19
  • two-dimensional stability diagrams
    • electron activity
    • redox and acid/base properties of natural waters
    • pe-pH diagram for metals and sulfur species
• Lecture #20
  • gas-water interactions
    • CO₂(g) dissolution
  • CO₂(g) equilibrium with CaCO₃(s)
    • ocean pH
    • climatic effects and feedback
• Lecture #21
  • buffer effects
    • alkalinity
    • buffer capacity of natural waters
  • organic material in the hydrosphere
    • DOC and humic material
    • characteristics of humic material
      • composition and structure
    • chemical interactions of humic material
• Lecture #22
  • photochemistry in surface waters
    • chromophoric species
    • pathways and lifetimes
  • metals in the hydrosphere
    • complex formation and chelation effects
    • speciation
• Lecture #23
  • Hg and EDTA examples
  • dissolution and deposition processes
    • silica solubility
    • chemical weathering
      • global geochemical cycles
• Lecture #24
  • colloids and surface chemistry
    • colloid characterization
    • surface functional groups
      • effect of pH
    • surface charge
• Lecture #25
  • colloid stability
    • effects of ionic strength and pH
  • surface properties at high ionic strength
  • adsorption onto colloids
    • Langmuir and alternative isotherms
• Lecture #26
  • octanol-water partition coefficients
  • clay colloids
    • structure
    • cation exchange capacity
  • colloid photochemistry
    • semiconductor colloids
• Lecture #27
  • biotic processes
    • microorganism classification
      • oxidative pathways
    • biotic processes in the carbon-cycle
    • biotic processes in the nitrogen-cycle
      • fixation, ammonification, nitrification, denitrification
• Lecture #28
  • EXAM #2
• Lecture #29
  • The Lithosphere
  • composition and structure of the lithosphere
    • minerals and elements
  • weathering processes
    • physical
    • chemical
  • clays
    • structure and chemistry
• Lecture #30
  • organic matter in soil
    • classification of organic matter
    • composition and formation
    • physical properties of soil
    • chemical properties of soil
• Final Project Due