Textbook:

Spiro, T. G. and W. M. Stigliani “Chemistry of the Environment”

2nd Edition (2003), Prentice Hall Publishers

Class Organization:

This course is designed to introduce the advanced chemistry student to the earth and its environment. Chemical principles will be utilized to teach those reactions in gas, liquid and solid phases of the earth's atmosphere, hydrosphere and geosphere. These will be applied to understanding fluxes and exchanges of chemical materials across those interfaces. Thus the scope and nature of the course will be both molecular, as well as global. Noted modern examples will serve as the problem based models (e.g. greenhouse warming, ozone depletion, acid rain, origins of life, environmental nano-particles, hydrothermal biogeochemistry, etc.) for learning and applying the environmental principles.

Prerequisites are those of a chemistry graduate or undergraduate major or minor student (e.g. basic, inorganic, physical, and organic/biochemistry, taken or underway). Equally important is a serious desire of the student to be immersed in the chemical setting of the natural and human impacted earth. The course is open to either advanced undergraduate or graduate students. Advanced junior undergraduate (e.g. Honors) chemistry students may request admission.

Course evaluation will be equally by (1) weekly problem assigned from the text, due the following week in class, (2) two hourly exams (midterm and final), and (3) group problems that will include synthesis of common data sets based popular (local or global) case studies (note examples). These will be presented in writing and orally, in class. All audits must register as listeners and are expected to participate by reading the text and doing the assigned problem sets.

Instructor Office Hours:

The Professor is available in 013 Lamott DuPont Laboratory, Newark by appointment via telephone (302-831-2558) or with his staff assistant (302-831-8253 AM) or via Email at tchurch@udel.edu