Chemodynamics, Climate Change and Environmental Quality

This course is part of the PhD programme "Science and Management of Climate Change - Climate Modelling and Impact Assessment" and is designed as an interdisciplinary teaching activity aimed at integrating the chemical, thermodynamic, and modelling foundations needed to understand the interactions between the climate system, contaminant behaviour, and environmental quality.
Within the overall structure of the degree programme, the course contributes directly both to the climate modelling area, through the analysis of the physicochemical processes governing the atmosphere, the water cycle, greenhouse gases, and intermedia transport of substances, and to the impact assessment area, through the study of chemodynamics, multimedia modelling, environmental risk assessment, ecological risk assessment, and Environmental Quality Standards (EQS).
The course therefore provides an advanced framework for interpreting the effects of climate change on the distribution, transformation, exposure, and risk of contaminants in ecosystems, with particular emphasis on the link between processes, modelling, and environmental quality assessment. In this sense, it serves as a bridging course between climate science, environmental chemistry, and impact assessment, supporting the development of doctoral research projects with a strong interdisciplinary and applied focus.

Knowledge and understanding.
At the end of the course, PhD students will have acquired advanced knowledge of the fundamentals of general chemistry, environmental chemistry, and thermodynamics as applied to climate change; the structure and functioning of the climate system; the physicochemical mechanisms of the greenhouse effect and the water cycle; the principles of chemodynamics, fugacity, and multimedia environmental modelling; the concepts and procedures of environmental and ecological risk assessment; and the role of EQS within the relevant regulatory framework, with particular reference to the Water Framework Directive.

Ability to apply knowledge and understanding.
PhD students will be able to apply the concepts of equilibrium, partitioning, transport, transformation, and persistence in order to interpret the behaviour of contaminants in different environmental compartments; use conceptual and simplified multimedia models to analyse the environmental distribution of substances; connect climate change scenarios to variations in exposure and chemical-environmental risk; and analyse case studies concerning greenhouse gases, air pollutants, persistent organic pollutants, metals, and microplastics.

Judgment capability.
PhD students will develop the ability to critically assess data, hypotheses, modelling results, and risk assessment procedures, identifying their assumptions, limitations, uncertainties, and scales of applicability. They will also be able to compare monitoring-, modelling-, and weight-of-evidence-based approaches, formulating reasoned judgments on environmental quality and on the relevance of climatic factors in contamination and risk processes.

Communication skills.
PhD students will be able to communicate clearly and rigorously, both orally and in writing, complex scientific content related to the interactions between climate, chemical processes, and environmental quality, using appropriate technical terminology and presenting data, models, interpretations, and applied implications in both academic and technical-institutional contexts.

Learning ability.
PhD students will develop the ability to independently deepen advanced topics in environmental chemistry and climate impact assessment, critically read the international scientific literature, transfer methods and concepts to new case studies, and integrate the course contents into their own doctoral research projects.

Basic knowledge of general chemistry, physical chemistry, thermodynamics, and environmental sciences is required. Preliminary familiarity with the fundamental concepts of climatology, mass balances, transport and transformation of substances in the environment, and introductory elements of environmental modelling is also useful. The ability to read and discuss scientific materials in English is required.

The course introduces the fundamentals of chemistry, environmental chemistry, and thermodynamics as applied to the study of climate change and environmental quality. The first part reviews the main concepts of basic chemistry, including units of measurement, the periodic table, atomic theory, electronic configuration, chemical bonds, intermolecular forces, and the properties of solids, liquids, and gases, together with the principles of thermodynamics, entropy, chemical equilibrium, and kinetics.

The course then addresses the climate system, analysing its components and functioning, with particular attention to the distinction between climate and weather, solar insolation, albedo, climatic feedbacks, ice cover, and heat transfer processes. The greenhouse effect is then examined in depth through the study of the Earth’s energy balance, atmospheric structure, the main greenhouse gases, and the physicochemical mechanisms of radiation absorption, also with reference to the carbon cycle and CO2 removal processes.

A specific module is devoted to the water cycle, considering its structure and physicochemical properties, phase transitions, latent heat, acidity, dissociation, buffer capacity, ocean acidification, solubility, global distribution, and the main hydrological processes, as well as the implications for eutrophication and water quality.

The course continues with the fundamentals of chemodynamics and multimedia modelling, which are essential for understanding the environmental fate of contaminants. Topics include chemical potential, Gibbs free energy, equilibrium, environmental compartments, interfaces, partitioning processes, transport and transformation, mass balance, persistence, residence time, and the concept of fugacity. The main approaches to multimedia environmental modelling are also presented, including fugacity models and the QWASI model, in relation to the regulatory framework and in comparison with environmental monitoring.

In the final part, the course examines the relationship between chemical pollution and climate change, with attention to toxicity, bioavailability, atmospheric and aquatic contaminants, metals, toxic organic substances, microplastics, and POPs, as well as the effects of climate change on the distribution and behaviour of contaminants. Finally, the principles of Environmental Risk Assessment and Ecological Risk Assessment are introduced, with reference to risk assessment for human health and ecosystems, site-specific and weight-of-evidence approaches, the TRIAD framework, and Environmental Quality Standards within the Water Framework Directive.

Material given by the teacher in the Moodle platform

Written exam consisting of 4 open questions to be answered in 2 hours (max 8 points each) to assess the theoretical knowledge acquired by the student on the addressed topics.

written

The instructor is responsible for ensuring the authenticity and originality of all examinations and coursework. In cases of suspected academic misconduct, an additional on-site assessment may be required during the exams, which may differ from the standard format.

The exams will be graded from 0 to 30 cum laude, with a passing threshold of 18 points.
The work will be evaluated on the basis of completeness and clarity of the answers, and on the use of appropriate language and terms.
For the 4 open questions of the written exam, max 8 points each are assigned: 8=excellent; 7=very good; 6=good; 5=sufficient; 4=poor; 3=bad.

For the overall evaluation of the work:
Scores in the range 18-21 range: limited and often superficial knowledge of the topics covered in the classes; unclear and lacking in technical terminology.
Scores in the range 22-25: not always in-depth knowledge of the topics covered in the classes; orderly presentation but with not always correct use of technical terminology;
Scores in the range 26-27: good knowledge of the topics covered in the classes; fair ability to organize information and present it; familiarity with technical terminology;
Scores in the range 28-30: excellent mastery of the topics covered in the classes; ability to prioritize information and correct use of appropriate technical terminology.

Honors will be awarded in the presence of excellent judgment and communication ability, and excellent understanding of the program's topics.

Face to face lectures
Discussion with students on specific topics