Master

 Course  Experimental  Physics  4  (MKEP4)  

Environmental  Physics  
Werner  Aeschbach-­‐Hertig,  Winter  Term  2013/14  
Lecture:  INF  229,  SR  108/110,  Tue  and  Thu  14-­‐16.  
Exercises:  INF  229,  SR  108/110,  Mo  9-­‐11  (Balschbach,  Pfeilsticker)  
Webpage:  http://www.iup.uni-­‐heidelberg.de/institut/studium/lehre/MKEP4  
 
Description  of  the  Lecture  
 
a)  Formalities  
The   4-­‐SWS   lecture   „Environmental   Physics“   is   designed   as   the   basic   introductory   course   into  
the   field   of   environmental   physics   for   students   of   physics   at   Heidelberg   University.   It  
constitutes  the  formal  prerequisite  for  all  other  courses  in  this  field.  It  forms  one  of  the  core  
courses  in  the  MSc-­‐program  of  the  Department  of  Physics  and  Astronomy  in  Heidelberg.  It  is  
mandatory  for  MSc-­‐students  who  wish  to  specialise  in  environmental  physics.  
The   lecture   is   recommended   for   BSc   candidates   from   their   4th   term   onwards   and   for   MSc  
students   in   their   1st   term.   The   contents   of   the   basic   program   of   the   first   three   bachelor  
semesters   in   experimental   and   theoretical   physics   as   well   as   mathematics   provide   a  
necessary   and   sufficient   basis   to   follow   this   lecture.   The   lecture   is   accompanied   by   2   SWS   of  
exercises.  It  is  rated  at  8  credit  points,  equivalent  to  a  total  workload  of  240  hours.    
The   performance   test   and   basis   for   grading   is   provided   by   a   2-­‐hour   written   exam   at   the   end  
of  the  term.  In  order  to  be  admitted  to  this  test,  active  participation  in  the  exercise  classes  is  
required.  The  students  have  to  achieve  60  %  of  the  possible  points  from  their  homework.  
 
b)  Content  
The   objective   of   the   lecture   is   to   convey   a   fundamental   understanding   of   the   physical  
processes   and   interactions   within   the   Earth   system.   The   properties   and   dynamics   of   the  
major   compartments   of   the   environment,   transport   processes   within   and   between   them,  
and   their   interaction   in   the   climate   system   are   treated.   The   lecture   (28   sessions)   is  
structured  in  seven  main  parts:    
Part  1  (2  sessions)  introduces  the  subject  and  the  basics  about  the  Earth's  fluids.    
Part   2   (8   sessions)   is   a   major   part   of   the   lecture   and   provides   an   introduction   to   the  
dynamics   of   Earth's   large   fluid   systems,   also   known   as   "Geophysical   Fluid   Dynamics".   The  
fundamental  laws  of  fluid  dynamics  and  the  phenomenon  of  turbulence  are  discussed.  
Part   3   (4   sessions)   focuses   on   some   compartments   of   Earth's   environment,   especially   the  
global  circulation  of  atmosphere  and  ocean,  and  the  slow  dynamics  in  porous  media  and  ice.    
Part   4   (6   sessions)   deals   with   transport   from   a   fundamental   point   of   view   as   well   as   with  
specific   examples   such   as   ocean-­‐atmosphere   gas   exchange   and   radiative   transfer.   Further-­‐
more,  the  use  of  isotopes  and  tracers  to  study  transport  and  other  processes  is  discussed.  
Part  5  (4  sessions)  introduces  the  theory  of  complex  systems  and  treats  model  concepts  and  
numerical  methods  that  are  used  in  environmental  physics  to  tackle  the  complexity.    
Part  6  (4  sessions)  discusses  the  synthesis  of  the  dynamics  in  the  various  compartments  of  
Earth   in   the   climate   system.   Modern   topics   of   climate   research   are   presented   and   the  
anthropogenic  impact  on  the  Earth  system  leads  us  to  the  concept  of  the  Anthropocene.    

1  
Literature  
 
As  this  lecture  is  rather  unique  in  its  combination  of  the  various  fields  of  environmental  
physics,  covering  both  the  basics  of  geophysical  fluid  dynamics  and  climate  science  and  in  
addition  reflecting  the  research  areas  present  at  our  institute  in  Heidelberg,  there  is  no  
single  textbook  that  covers  all  aspects  of  this  lecture.  Another  problem  with  standard  
textbooks  is  that  they  are  either  on  a  rather  high  theoretical  level  (e.g.  in  the  field  of  fluid  
dynamics)  or  on  the  other  hand  often  rather  descriptive.    
Prof.  Kurt  Roth  held  the  lecture  in  2012  and  2013  and  developed  lecture  notes  (Roth,  K.,  
2013,  Environmental  Physics,  lecture  notes,  Heidelberg  University),  which  can  serve  as  a  
good  basis  also  for  the  course  as  it  will  be  held  in  winter  2013/14.  These  lecture  notes  will  be  
provided  to  the  students  in  this  course,  along  with  the  display  material  (slides)  of  the  present  
lecture.  However,  there  will  be  differences  in  style  (incl.  notation)  and  content  between  the  
present  lecture  and  Prof.  Roth's  notes.    
Other  recommended  textbooks  and  online  resources  that  cover  certain  aspects  of  this  
lecture  are  listed  below.  In  the  lecture,  specific  reference  to  some  of  them  will  be  made  at  
appropriate  points.  Especially  recommended  for  some  parts  of  the  lecture  are  the  books  of  
Marshall  and  Plumb  (2008),  Roedel  and  Wagner  (2012),  Stewart  (2003),  and  Mook  (2001).    
 
Recommended  Literature:  
a)  General:    
• Marshall,  J.  and  R.  A.  Plumb:  Atmosphere,  Ocean,  and  Climate  Dynamics.  An  
introductory  Text.  Elsevier  Academic  Press,  2008.  E-­‐Book  see  http://site.ebrary.com.  
ubproxy.ub.uni-­‐heidelberg.de/lib/alltitles/docDetail.action?docID=10378944.    
• Bergmann,  L.  and  C.  Schaefer:  Lehrbuch  der  Experimentalphysik,  Bd.7,  Erde  und  
Planeten.  Walther  de  Gruyter,  2001.    
• Wells,  N.:  The  Atmosphere  and  Ocean.  John  Wiley  &  Sons,  1997.  (introductury  level)  
• Pedlosky,  J.:  Geophysical  Fluid  Dynamics.  Springer  Verlag  ,  1987.  (high  theoretical  level)  
 
b)  Atmosphere  and  Climate:    
• Roedel,  W.  and  T.  Wagner:  Physik  unserer  Umwelt  -­‐  Die  Atmosphäre.  4.  Auflage.  
Springer-­‐Verlag,  2011.  (in  German).  
E-­‐Book  see  http://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-­‐3-­‐642-­‐15729-­‐5/page/1  
• Goosse  H.,  P.Y.  Barriat,  W.  Lefebvre,  M.F.  Loutre  and  V.  Zunz,  2010.  Introduction  to  
climate  dynamics  and  climate  modeling.  Online  textbook  available  at  
http://www.climate.be/textbook.  
• Peixoto,  J.P.  and  A.H.  Oort:  Physics  of  Climate.  American  Institute  of  Physics,  1993.  
• Stocker,  T.,  2009.  Introduction  to  Climate  Modelling.  Lecture  Notes,  Univ.  of  Bern.  
http://www.climate.unibe.ch/main/courses/klimamodellierung_hs09/stocker09climmod.pdf  
 
c)  Ocean:    
• Stewart,  R.  H.,  2003.  Introduction  to  Physical  Oceanography.  Online  textbook,  available  
at:  http://oceanworld.tamu.edu/home/course_book.htm  
 
d)  Isotopes:    
• Mook,  W.G.  (ed.),  2001.  UNESCO/IAEA  Series  on  Environmental  Isotopes  in  the  
Hydrological  Cycle  -­‐  Principles  and  Applications.  6  Volumes.  Available  at:  http://www-­‐
naweb.iaea.org/napc/ih/IHS_resources_publication_hydroCycle_en.html  

2  
 Detailed  Lecture  Program  
 
Part  1:  Introduction  and  Fundamentals  
 
Lecture  1  -­‐  15.10.2013  
Introduction  to  Environmental  Physics  and  the  Earth  System  
• Definition  and  history  of  environmental  physics  
• Big  issues  (climate,  ozone,  water,  soil,  energy,  etc.)  
• Planet  Earth  
• The  Earth  System  and  its  compartments  
 
Lecture  2  -­‐  17.10.2013  
Introduction  to  Earth's  Fluids,  Flow  and  Transport  
• Description  of  fluids  and  flow  
• Properties  of  the  Earth's  Fluids,  equations  of  state  
• Stratification  of  the  oceans  and  the  atmosphere  
• Hydrostatic  pressure  profiles  
• Molecular  basis  of  diffusion,  Fick's  laws  
• Advection  and  convection,  advection-­‐diffusion  equation  
 
 
Part  2:  Geophysical  Fluid  Dynamics  
 
Lecture  3  -­‐  22.10.2013  
Introduction  to  Fluid  Mechanics  
• Definitions  and  concepts    
• Euler  and  Lagrange  representations  
• Conservation  laws,  continuity,  incompressible  flow  
• Forces  in  an  ideal  fluid,  Euler  equation  
 
Lecture  4  -­‐  24.10.2013  
Geophysical  Fluid  Dynamics  
• Friction,  Navier-­‐Stokes  equation  
• Earth  as  a  rotating  reference  frame  
• Forces  in  a  rotating  system,  Navier-­‐Stokes  in  GFD  
• Strategies  to  analyse  the  N-­‐S  equation  
• Dimensionless  formulation/numbers  
 
Lecture  5  -­‐  29.10.2013  
Geophysical  Fluid  Dynamics  in  1  Dimension  
• 1D  dynamics:  Buoyancy  and  stability,  Brunt-­‐Väisälä  frequency  
• Temperature  profile  of  the  atmosphere  (and  ocean)  
• Stability  and  potential  temperature  in  water  and  the  atmosphere  
• Couette  flow,  flow  in  a  tube  
 
 
 

3  
Lecture  6  -­‐  31.10.2013    
Geophysical  Fluid  Dynamics  in  2  Dimensions  
• 2D  dynamics:  Inertial  oscillations  
• Geostrophic  approximation    
• Circulation  patterns  in  geostrophic  flow  
• Thermal  wind  
 
Lecture  7  -­‐  5.11.2013  
Rotating  Flow:  Vorticity  
• Definition  of  vorticity  (absolute,  relative,  planetary)  
• Vorticity  equation,  potential  vorticity    
• Consequences  of  vorticity  conservation  
 
Lecture  8-­‐  7.11.2013  
Turbulence    
• The  phenomenon  of  turbulence    
• Turbulence  criterion:  Reynolds  number  
• Reynolds  decomposition  
• Turbulent  kinetic  energy  and  the  turbulence  spectrum    
• Kolmogorov  theory  
 
Lecture  9  -­‐  12.11.2013  
Turbulent  Friction  
• Autocorrelation  functions  
• Taylor  theorem  
• Reynolds  decomposition  
• Reynolds  stress,  eddy  viscosity  
 
Lecture  10  -­‐  14.11.2013  
Boundary  Layers  
• Flow  near  boundaries  
• Characterisation  of  boundary  layers,  friction  at  the  boundary  
• Logarithmic  velocity  profile  
• Ekman  layers  in  atmosphere  and  ocean  
 
 
Part  3:  Compartments  of  the  Environment  
 
Lecture  11  -­‐  19.11.2013  
Global  Circulation  of  the  Atmosphere  
• Temperature  gradients  as  drivers  of  the  circulation  
• Hadley  circulation  
• Rossby  waves  
• Distribution  of  highs,  lows  and  winds  
• Atmospheric  transport  mechanisms  and  mixing  times  
 
 

4  
Lecture  12  -­‐  21.11.2013  
Global  Circulation  of  the  Ocean  
• Geography  and  stratification  of  the  ocean  
• Wind-­‐driven  circulation  
• Thermohaline  circulation  
 
Lecture  13  –  26.11.2013  
Porous  Media  (Soil  and  Groundwater)  
• Porous  media,  porosity,  aquifer  types  
• Hydraulic  head,  matric  potential  
• Groundwater  flow:  Hagen-­‐Poiseuille,  Darcy  
• Hydraulic  conductivity  
• Soil  physics:  Capillary  tension,  Richards-­‐equation  
 
Lecture  14  -­‐  28.11.2013  
The  Cryosphere  
• The  cryosphere  and  its  role  in  the  climate  system  
• Recent  changes  in  the  cryosphere  
• Structure  and  mass  balance  of  glaciers  
• Ice  flow  physics,  Glen's  law  
• Kinematics  of  ice  flow  and  age  distribution  
 
 
Part  4:  Transport  
 
Lecture  15  –  3.12.2013  
Non-­‐equilibrium  Thermodynamics  
• Introduction  to  thermodynamics    
• Non-­‐equilibrium  thermodynamics  
• Generalised  forces  and  fluxes  
• Thermal  diffusion  
 
Lecture  16  –  5.12.2013  
Diffusion  (Molecular  and  Turbulent)  and  Dispersion  
• Random  walk  
• Physics  of  suspended  particles  
• Settling  velocity,  mobility,  diffusion  
• Turbulent  diffusion  
• Dispersion  
 
Lecture  17  –  10.12.2013  
Gas  and  Heat  Transfer  between  Air  and  Water  
• Heat  exchange,  ocean  heat  content  
• Gas  solubility  (Henry's  law)  
• Gas  exchange:  Stagnant  laminar  film  model  
• Transfer  velocity:  Dependence  on  diffusion,  Schmidt-­‐no.,  wind  
• Evaporation  

5  
Lecture  18  –  12.12.2013  
Radiative  Transfer  
• From  simple  radiation  balance  to  line-­‐by-­‐line  calculations  
• Fundamentals  of  radiation  (radiative  transfer)  
• Absorption,  Beer-­‐Lambert  law,  line  shapes  
• Scattering  (Rayleigh,  Mie),  Emission  (Planck)  
• Radiative  transfer  equation  
• Two  stream  model  
 
Lecture  19  –  17.12.2013  
Fundamentals  of  Isotope  Methods  
• Stable  and  radioactive  isotopes  (abundance,  origin,  definitions)  
• Fractionation:  Physical  origin  
• Equilibrium  and  kinetic  fractionation  
• Interlude:  Chemical  reaction  kinetics  
• Water-­‐vapour  equilibrium  fractionation  
• The  Rayleigh  process  
 
Lecture  20  –  19.12.2013  
Isotopes  and  Tracers  in  Environmental  Physics  
• (Environmental)  isotopes  and  tracers  
• Stable  isotopes  in  the  water  cycle  
• The  stable  isotope  palaeothermometer  
• Radioisotopes  as  tracers  and  dating  tools  
 
 
Part  5:  Complex  Systems  and  Modeling  
 
Lecture  21  –  7.1.2014  
Complex  Systems  
• Deterministic  chaos    
• Self-­‐organised  criticality  
• Pattern  formation  
 
Lecture  22  –  9.1.2014  
Model  Concepts,  Box  Models  
• Types  of  models,  motivation  for  models    
• Environmental  system  analysis:  Box  models  
• Linear  1-­‐box  model:  Constant  and  variable  input  
 
Lecture  23  –  14.1.2014  
Complex  Box  Models  
• Lumped-­‐parameter  models,  transit  time  distribution  
• Higher  order  linear  models  
• Example:  Carbon  cycle  box  models  
• Non-­‐linear  models:  Characteristics  of  solutions  
 
 

6  
Lecture  24  –  16.1.2014  
Continuous  Models,  Numerical  and  Inversion  Techniques  
• Continuous  models:  Discretisation  and  numerical  solution  
• Inverse  problems,  parameter  estimation:  Introduction  
• Linear  and  non-­‐linear  inverse  problems  
• Uncertainties  of  data  and  parameters  
• Prior  knowledge:  Bayesian  approach  
 
 
Part  6:  Climate  System  and  Synthesis  
 
Lecture  25  –  21.1.2014  
Global  Energy  Balance  
• Radiation  balance  of  the  Earth  
• Simple  models  of  the  greenhouse  effect  
• CO2  observations  and  overview  of  the  global  carbon  cycle  
 
Lecture  26  –  23.1.2014  
Climate  Sensitivity,  Feedbacks,  and  Predictions  
• Anthropogenic  climate  forcing  
• Climate  sensitivity  and  feedbacks  
• Heat  capacity  and  response  time  
• Climate  predictions  
 
Lecture  27  –  28.1.2014  
Climate  Variability  and  Palaeoclimate  Reconstruction  
• Natural  modes  of  (short-­‐term)  climate  variability  
• Archives  and  proxies  for  palaeoclimate  reconstruction  
• Long-­‐term  climate  variability  
 
Lecture  28  –  30.1.2014  
The  Anthropocene  
• Coupling  of  physical  and  socio-­‐cultural  sphere  
• The  concept  of  the  Anthropocene  
 
 
 
Exam  week:  3.  –  7.  2.  2014  
 
 
 

7