Syllabus contents:
Syllabus
Class Meeting Times and Location: Daily (M-F) from 10:30 to 11:20 am in Room 310C in the Atmospheric Sciences Building
Instructor:Lyatt
Jaeglé
e-mail: jaegle@atmos.washington.edu
Phone: (206) 685-2679
Office: Room 306 in the Atmospheric Sciences
Building
Office hours: Wednesdays 11:30-12:30,
or by appointment
Teaching Assistant: Qing Liang
e-mail: qing@atmos.washington.edu
Phone: (206) 543-9144
Office: Room 329 in the Atmospheric Sciences
Building
Office hours: Tuesdays 2-3 pm and Thrusdays after class (11:30-12:30)
Course Description
This is an introductory course for nonscience majors on climate and climate change. The class will be divided in three parts:
- Climate of the present (weeks 1-4). We will examine the nature of the global climate system and the main processes controlling climate. Topics covered will include the global energy balance, atmospheric circulation, the role of oceans in climate, the carbon cycle, atmospheric composition.
- Climate of the past (weeks 5-7). In this part of the class we will discuss how climate changed in the past on timescales ranging from billions of years to thousands of years.
- Climate of the future: Is the Earth getting warmer? Why? How will climate change over the next 100 years? Should we be concerned? These are some of the current major environmental concerns which we will discuss in class.
"The Earth System" by Lee R. Kump, James F. Kasting, and Robert C. Crane, Prentice Hall, 1999.
The lectures will largely follow the textbook
(see Reader's Guide to the Text).
Each week the students will be required to read material of direct relevance
to the class, but the curious student would do well to read the entire
book. In addition, after each class, lecture notes will posted on
the web. These notes will summarize the main topics covered and provide
additional material not included in the book (such as web links).
None. Open to all undergraduates.
Your grade will be based on exams (two midterms and one final exam), assignments, a research project, and class participation:
Assignments 25%
Research project
25%
Midterms 20%
Comprehensive final
exam 20%
Quizzes, class participation
10%
You are expected to attend lectures and participate in class. There will be no make-up exams except in extreme circumstances, in which case you must contact the instructor in advance of the exam.
Research project and symposium
You will research the details of some aspect of Earth's past or present climate. The instructor will suggest some topics in a separate document. Your grade on the project will be based on (1) a written report (which will need to be revised if you are taking this as a W class) and (2) an oral presentation (~12 min/student) at one of four symposia scheduled for the week of November 11-15 2002.
Assignments
and quizzes
The first four assignments will require
you to answer questions (mostly short answer) drawn from lectures, the
textbook, and online resources. Assignment 5 will be a written critique
of an article in the non-scientific media about some aspect of climate
change. We will select a few to be presented orally as a basis for
class discussion.
Assignments are due in class at 10:30 on the day indicated. Late assignments will not be accepted without advance arrangement.
Online quizzes will be given throughout the quarter. Quizzes are due by 10:30 AM on the indicated date. Be sure to regularly check the assignments/quizzes section.
Extra Credit
There will be a number of extra credit
opportunities during the course of the quarter. Some will be in the form
of extra credit questions on quizzes, homework assignments and exams, others
will be based on attending a seminar related to "Climate and Climate Change",
and writing a short paragraph describing what the seminar was about.
We will post dates of some seminars you might find interesting.
Last
Updated:
09/28/2002