Environmental Chemistry

Environmental Chemistry is a Natural Science course taught by Dula Amarasiriwardena.

This course requires prerequisites. This course requires instructor permission.

Course Description
This course will explore several current environmental topics with strong components in chemistry. We will put special emphasis on environmental concerns in the hydrosphere, soils, and atmosphere. Topics will include chemistry of natural waters, water pollution and wastewater treatment, toxic heavy metals and their complexation properties in soils, and inorganic and organic pollutants in the atmosphere. We will also examine energy use and its environmental consequesces. Considerable time will be spent on learning environmental chemical analysis methods and instrumentation in environmental monitoring. These include inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) in trace metal analysis, infrared techniques in characterization of pollutants, chromatographic methods for separation and identification of contaminants. We will also look at sampling and sample preparation methods, the principles behind the operation of analytical instruments and elemental speciation techniques used in environmental sample analysis. This class is particularly recommended for advanced Division II and III students with interests in environmental issues. We will conduct a discovery project of local environmental interest. Class will run in seminar format. Participation in class, satisfactory work on problem sets, oral presentations of topics of environmental interest, successful completion of laboratory/field work, and project reports are required for evaluation.