AT-331
Arctic Environmental Pollution:
Atmospheric Distribution and Processes (10 ECTS)

	Teaching:	23. April - 06. June 2012
	Language of instruction:	English
	Credit reduction/overlap:	AT-321
	Grade:	Letter grade (A through F)
	Course materials:	Approx. 700 pages of reading from texts, articles and reports
	Course responsible:	Mark Hermanson
	Course costs:	Excursion/cruise costs ~ NOK 1000

Note: This course replaces AT-321 "Fate and Modelling of Pollutants in the Arctic" from spring 2012.

Required previous knowledge/specific course requirements:

Enrollment in a related master’s degree program. Mathematics through algebra; general chemistry; some experience in organic chemistry useful (AT-207 Arctic Environmental Pollution, or equivalent).

Learning outcome:

Students will develop a deep understanding that the Arctic, although remote from most industrial and agricultural activity, contains areas that are contaminated from long-range transport of persistent contaminants. Students will understand how natural substances sometimes act as contaminants in the Arctic due to conditions that exist there. Students will acquire skills using equipment in the field to collect samples relating to atmospheric process affecting snow & ice surfaces, and will develop skills using models to identify properties and source regions of atmospheric contaminants found in the Arctic. Students will develop competence understanding and communicating the unusual and changing atmospheric systems in the Arctic and their relationships to contaminant trends.

Academic content:
The combinations of Arctic ambient atmospheric conditions (long periods of light or dark, cold, dry air, strong wind) affect the chemical reactions affecting persistence (lifetime) and distributions of contaminants. Climate change is expected to play a role, yet unspecified, in this process. Specific topics:

• The real “POPs” defined: persistent, bioaccumulative, toxic (PBT)
• Arctic conditions that affect “P” and “B” in PBT
• General abiotic decomposition processes in the Arctic (oxidation, photolysis)
• Contaminant storage in ice and sediment in the Arctic
• Forecasting and hindcasting movement of contaminants through the Arctic atmosphere:    the application of models
• The role of particles in Arctic atmospheric contaminant distribution
• Contaminant phases of some naturally-occurring substances in the Arctic
• The role of a changing climate in contaminant delivery, storage and release in the Arctic

Teaching methods and activities:
The course lasts approximately 6 weeks, including 30 hours lecture, 10 hours student-led seminars, laboratory work. In addition there is a 5 day cruise.

Compulsory assignment:

(1) Students are required to complete written reports on field, lab, or modeling exercises as assigned.

(2) Students are required to prepare a 5000 - word manuscript (including text, references, figures & tables) on a research topic of their choosing.

(3) Students are required to participate in seminars led by other AT-331 students on a topic relevant to AT-331/831.

Assessment: