Environmental Physics Laboratory

List of experiments (a selection of them will be available every year):
- "Atmospheric aerosol". Measurements of atmospheric aerosol mass concentration and size distribution: filters preparation, PM10/PM2.5/PM1 gravimetric measurements, sampling by single stage and/or multi stage impactors, assessment of size distribution and number concentration by Optical Particle Counter;
- "Noise measurements". Acoustic measurements in the lab (calibration of a sound level meter, sum of sound levels, spatial decay, weighing curves). Noise measurements in different environments (Leq evaluation, analysis on 1/3 octave band, frequency distributions).
- "Atmospheric Turbulence". Measurements of atmospheric turbulence with an ultra-sonic anemometer and development of codes for data analysis.
- "XRF spectrometry". Elemental concentration measurements by Energy Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence in atmospheric aerosol samples (system calibration for quantitative analysis of aerosol samples collected on filters).
- "alpha-spectrometry". Radon decay products concentration measurements to assess atmospheric aerosol residence time and atmospheric stability conditions (set-up of the system and measurements).
- "Atmospheric aerosol optical properties". Measurements of aerosol absorption properties on filter samples using a polar photometer (system calibration and measurements).
- "Meteorological parameters". Analysis of meteorological parameters datasets aiming at characterising episodes or time trend patterns.
- "Air pollution". Analysis of gaseous pollutants and particulate matter data recorded by the environmental agency monitoring network. Characterization of air pollution episodes, atmospheric processes or time trend patterns
Program's information
- Slides of each lecture and additional materials (e.g. scientific papers or reports) available on the Ariel platform at www.unimi.it
- P. Brimblecombe: "Air Composition and Chemistry", Cambridge Environmental Chemistry series
- J.H. Seinfeld, S.N. Pandis: "Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics", John Wiley & sons
- J. H. Wallace, P.V. Hobbs: "Atmospheric Science", Academic Press
Prerequisites and examination methods with reference to descriptive parameters 1 and 2
Basic knowledge on classical physics and informatics
Suggested preparatory courses
Classical physics (mechanics, thermodynamics, electromagnetic and acoustic waves,..), laboratories of the first two years of the Bachelor in Physics
Teaching methods
Examination methods
Oral exam on the experiments carried out during the course (theory, experimental methodologies and data analysis)
Course Attendance
Mandatory

Course webpage
On the Ariel platform at www.unimi.it

Language
Italian (English in case of foreign students)