{"id":811,"date":"2024-11-08T07:00:16","date_gmt":"2024-11-08T07:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/atmosphere.upatras.gr\/undergraduate-studies\/"},"modified":"2026-02-12T07:51:54","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T07:51:54","slug":"undergraduate-studies","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/atmosphere.upatras.gr\/en\/undergraduate-studies\/","title":{"rendered":"Undergraduate Studies"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction to Environmental Physics<\/a><\/h4><\/div>

Structure and composition of the atmosphere:<\/i> vertical distribution of pressure and temperature; division of the atmosphere into layers; mass and thickness of the atmosphere; general forms of the hydrostatic equation.<\/p>\n

Environment & radiation:<\/em> solar radiation; Earth\u2019s thermal radiation; structure and composition of the atmosphere; interaction of radiation with matter; ozone and ultraviolet radiation; the greenhouse effect and climate change; energy balance; elements of weather and climate; mathematical models of weather and climate.<\/p>\n

Atmospheric Pollution:<\/em> chemical compounds and suspended particulate matter; fundamentals of fluid mechanics; diffusion and dispersion of pollutants; turbulence; measurements and models of atmospheric pollution.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

Atmospheric Physics I \u2013 Meteorology<\/a><\/h4><\/div>

Earth\u2019s atmosphere:<\/em> introductory concepts; extent of the atmosphere; composition of the lower atmosphere; solar and terrestrial radiation; atmospheric temperature and pressure; geopotential; simple atmospheric models; water vapour in the atmosphere.<\/p>\n

Atmospheric thermodynamics:<\/em> equation of state; thermodynamic axioms; thermodynamic transformations in the atmosphere; atmospheric statics; stability criteria (lapse rate, potential temperature, energy).<\/p>\n

Cloud physics:<\/em> condensation of water vapour; cloud classification; theories of rainfall formation.<\/p>\n

Atmospheric dynamics:<\/em> forces governing motion; equations of motion; synoptic-scale winds; wind motion in the boundary layer; thermal circulation; general circulation of the atmosphere; surface winds; winds in the troposphere \u2013 Hadley cells; long waves in the troposphere (Rossby waves).<\/p>\n

Weather systems:<\/em> air masses; fronts; depressions and anticyclones; cyclogenesis.<\/p>\n

Climate dynamics:<\/em> climate classification; climate variability; climate equilibrium; climate sensitivity and feedback mechanisms; climate change; climate models.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

Atmospheric Physics II<\/a><\/h4><\/div>

Introductory concepts:<\/em> solar radiation and the composition of Earth\u2019s atmosphere.<\/p>\n

Theory of solar radiation propagation:<\/em> basic concepts; blackbody; absorption\u2013scattering\u2013emission; radiative transfer equation.<\/p>\n

Radiation propagation in the atmosphere:<\/em> molecular absorption and scattering; Rayleigh and Mie scattering; optical properties of aerosols and clouds; multiple scattering phenomena.<\/p>\n

Atmospheric photochemistry:<\/em> basic concepts; photochemistry of stratospheric and tropospheric ozone; photolysis rates of key gases.<\/p>\n

Atmospheric energy balance:<\/em> thermal radiation; energy flux at the surface and at the top of the atmosphere; climate change and future projections.<\/p>\n

Theory of radiation measurements:<\/em> thermal instruments; photodetectors; spectrophotometers; calibration; spectral and angular response of instruments.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

Atmospheric Pollution<\/a><\/h4><\/div>

Key gaseous and particulate pollutants:<\/em> chemical cycles; emission sources; mechanisms of formation and evolution.<\/p>\n

Air pollution management <\/em>: monitoring; control; air quality standards\/limits.<\/p>\n

Air pollution modelling <\/em>: diffusion and dispersion; removal mechanisms; meteorology of air pollution; numerical models. <\/p>\n

Impacts:<\/em> health; climate change.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

Dynamical Systems & Complexity<\/a><\/h4><\/div>

Introduction to dynamical systems:<\/em> autonomous first-order differential equations; critical points; linear stability analysis; existence and uniqueness of solutions; bifurcations.<\/p>\n

Autonomous planar systems:<\/em> linear systems; nonlinear systems; Hamiltonian systems; gradient systems; reversible systems; limit cycles; bifurcations; Poincar\u00e9 maps.<\/p>\n

Three-dimensional autonomous systems and chaos:<\/em> linear and nonlinear systems; the Lorenz equations; strange attractors; chaos; phase-space reconstruction.<\/p>\n

Discrete dynamical systems:<\/em> linear and nonlinear systems; fixed points; stability; cobweb diagrams; periodic solutions; period-doubling sequences; triangular map; logistic map; Feigenbaum constants.<\/p>\n

Complexity:<\/em> complex iterative maps; fractals; graphs.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

Renewable Energy Laboratories<\/a><\/h4><\/div>

Flat-plate solar collector study:<\/em> calculation of optical efficiency and losses.<\/p>\n

Photovoltaic cell study:<\/em> measurement of the I\u2013V characteristic; measurement and calculation of key electrical parameters; study of PV behaviour as a function of irradiance and temperature; measurement of spectral response using a monochromator. <\/p>\n

Solar radiation measurements:<\/em> pyranometer\/radiometer; spectral distribution filters; electronic solar-radiation integrators; concentration of solar radiation using Fresnel lenses; focal length; measurement of radiation concentration ratio; applications. <\/p>\n

Variation of thermal resistance of building materials<\/em> with thickness: calculation of wall material thermal conductivity and indoor heat transfer coefficient; use of a dedicated simulator. <\/p>\n

Measurement of wind speed and direction<\/em> and production of related plots.<\/p>\n

Measurement of PV module parameters under sunshine conditions:<\/em> charging batteries for stand-alone systems; effect of temperature on efficiency.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

Mathematical Analysis<\/a><\/h4><\/div>

Numbers. Functions of one independent variable. Limits and continuity. Differentiation. Applications of derivatives in function analysis. Series. Indefinite and definite integrals. Applications. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

Vector Analysis<\/a><\/h4><\/div>

Differential calculus of multivariable functions: <\/em>vector algebra; vector-valued functions; scalar fields \u2013 directional derivative \u2013 gradient; vector fields \u2013 divergence \u2013 curl; maxima and minima.<\/p>\n

Integral calculus of multivariate functions:<\/em> double integrals; triple integrals; line integrals; surface integrals; Green\u2019s, Stokes\u2019 and Gauss\u2019 theorems.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

Ordinary Differential Equations<\/a><\/h4><\/div>

Basic concepts of differential equations (DEs). Existence and uniqueness of solutions to a first-order DE. First-order differential equations. Integrating factor. Linear DEs of order n. Laplace transform and applications. Selected cases of differential equations. Euler equations. Series method. Systems of differential equations. Difference equations.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

Undergraduate Thesis<\/h4><\/div>

Undergraduate thesis projects are assigned provided that:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. students <\/span>already meet<\/u> the following prerequisites<\/span>:\n
      \n
    1. they have chosen the \u201cEnergy & Environment\u201d track<\/li>\n
    2. they have passed the examinations in the following courses:\n
        \n
      1. Mathematics (1st<\/sup> and 2nd<\/sup> semester)<\/li>\n
      2. Computer Programming (1st<\/sup> and 2nd<\/sup> semester)<\/li>\n
      3. Mechanics \u2013 Fluid Mechanics (1st <\/sup>semester)<\/li>\n
      4. Thermodynamics \u2013 Waves \u2013 Optics (2nd<\/sup> semester)<\/li>\n
      5. Introduction to Probability Theory and Statistics (3rd<\/sup> semester)<\/li>\n
      6. Introduction to Environmental Physics (5th<\/sup> semester)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
      7. they have an adequate command of English enabling them to read and understand scientific textbooks and articles.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
          \n
        1. there are available thesis topics within the following areas:\n
            \n
          1. Data quality control \u2013 data analysis \u2013 homogenization \u2013 analysis of stable isotopes in the atmosphere.<\/li>\n
          2. Solar radiation \u2013 clouds \u2013 aerosols\/air quality.<\/li>\n
          3. Weather and climate forecasting \u2013 applications \u2013 impacts.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"100-width.php","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-811","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/atmosphere.upatras.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/811","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/atmosphere.upatras.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/atmosphere.upatras.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atmosphere.upatras.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atmosphere.upatras.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=811"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/atmosphere.upatras.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/811\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":816,"href":"https:\/\/atmosphere.upatras.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/811\/revisions\/816"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/atmosphere.upatras.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=811"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}