May 30, 2025  
Fall 2025 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
Fall 2025 Undergraduate Catalog

ATM 397 - Air Pollution and Global Warming


This course provides a detailed introduction of the formation of gaseous and particulate pollutants and the role they play in affecting global warming. The pollutants discussed include carbon monoxide, sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, ozone, hydrocarbons, particulate matter, and greenhouse gases. The emissions of these gases from natural and industrial sources and the principles used for controlling the latter are described. The chemical and physical transformations of the pollutants in the atmosphere are investigated and the phenomena of urban smog and acid rain are discussed. The impact of these pollutants on the planet¿s climate are outlined. Current proposals of renewable energy supply and combatting temperature increase by geoengineering solutions are examined. This course discusses technical, ethical, and commercial perspectives that have shaped pollution producing industrial processes during historical times and in the present era. The efforts to formulate regulatory control mechanisms to limit the impact of air pollution and to ameliorate global warming are outlined in this class.

3 credits

Prerequisite(s): ENS 119 /PHY 119  or PHY 125  or PHY 131  or PHY 141 ; CHE 129  or CHE 131  or CHE 152 ; MAT 125  or MAT 131  or 141 or AMS 151 ; U3 or U4 standing

SBC: CER