Class Meeting Times and Location: Monday-Thursday from 10:30 to 11:20 am  in Johnson 075. Plus Section on Friday from 10:30 to 11:20 or 11:30 to 12:20 in Anderson 008.

An introductory course for nonscience majors on climate and climate change.  The class will be divided in three parts:

• Climate of the present.  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.   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.

Course Goals

(1) Learn about the climate system from modern instrumentation and theory.
(2) Learn about Earth's past climates and the evolution of life, environment, and atmospheric composition as a context for understanding modern climate change.
(3)  Learn the science necessary to understand modern environmental problems, especially from increasing greenhouse gases and ozone depleting chemicals. Enpower students to participate in the debate over how to respond to global warming.

Textbook

"The Earth System" by Lee R. Kump, James F. Kasting, and Robert C. Crane, Prentice Hall, 2004. 
Reading assignments from the text are listed on the schedule. Auxiliary reading materials will be assigned occasionally, see the schedule.

Grading policy

Your grade will be based on the following: 

    Research Project and Poster Symposium 20% 
    Midterms total 25% 
    Comprehensive Final Exam 20% 
    Quizzes and Inclass Assignments 20% 
    Homework Assignments 15%   

Keeping up with reading assignments and reviewing lecture notes will be important for your success in this class.  There will be inclass exercises and discussion almost daily.  Inclass exercises will be graded mainly on effort. Approximately five, closed-book/note quizzes will be given without pior notice on any day of the week.  Your lowest quiz score will not be counted in your grade.  There will be no make-up exams or quizzes except in extreme circumstances, in which case you must contact the instructor in advance of the exam or as soon as possible after a missed quiz. 

Research Project and Poster Symposium

You will form groups of 3 and research some aspect of Earth's climate.  The instructor and TAs will suggest some topics before the second week of class.  Each person in the group must pursue a separate facet of the topic. Your grade on the project will be based on (1) a separate report written by each individual (which will need to be revised if you are taking this as a writing W class) and (2) a group poster presentation at our class poster symposia. Grades will be given to individuals for the report and to the group for the poster. Follow the link on the homepage to read more about the project assignment.

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