Atmospheric Sciences 321 Winter 2007
Course Outline
This course will be focused on the following topics and questions.
1. The Climate System. What determines the surface temperature of the Earth? What is the Greenhouse Effect? What is really meant by ‘Global Warming’?
2. Energy Transfer and Energy Balance. How is energy transferred from the Sun to the atmosphere, through the atmosphere, and between the earth’s surface and the atmosphere? Simple models of the energy balance that yield estimates of the temperature distribution in the atmosphere and at the Earth’s surface.
3. Water and Climate. What are the roles of clouds and of atmospheric water vapor in climate? What determines the distribution of moisture at and near the Earth’s surface?
4. Atmospheric and Oceanic Circulations. Why does climate vary so much from place to place? How do changes in circulation patterns (such as El Nino) affect climate far away? What could cause a major disruption of oceanic circulations and might that cause a major climate shift?
5. The Climate Record. How has Earth’s climate changed in the past and how do we know? Is the present period unique in Earth’s climate history?
6. Climate Feedbacks. What is a feedback? What are the most important climate feedbacks and how do they impact projections of future climates?
7. Nonanthropogenic Climate Change. What makes climate change in time in the absence of human activity?
8. Human-induced Climate Change: Projections of Future Climates. How do we know humans are having measurable impacts on climate? How is climate predicted to change over the next few decades? How much should we believe these predictions?
Course Schedule and Reading Assignments from Text.
(To be supplemented by additional reading handed out by
instructor.)
|
Week |
Date |
Topic |
Chapter GPC |
|
1 |
1/3 |
Introduction and Global Energy Balance |
1, 2 |
|
2 |
1/8
|
Radiative-Convective Equilibrium |
3 |
|
3 |
1/15* |
Surface Energy Balance |
4 |
|
4 |
1/22 |
Hydrological Cycle and Climate |
5 |
|
5 |
1/29 |
Atmospheric Circulations |
6 |
|
6 |
2/5 |
Oceanic Circulations |
7 |
|
7 |
2/12 |
The Climate Record |
8 |
|
8 |
2/19* |
Nonanthropogenic Climate Change |
9, 11 |
|
9 |
2/26 |
Twentieth Century Climate: Climate Models |
12 |
|
10 |
3/5 |
Predictions for Twenty First Century: Review |
|
|
* No class Martin Luther King Day (1/15) and Presidents' Day (2/19) |
|||