General Information
Matt Zorn & Kevin Crosby
DSC 204 x5855 (Crosby) LH 423 x5968 (Zorn)
mzorn@carthage.edu
kcrosby@carthage.edu
Course Prerequisites
PHYS 203 (or equivalent) OR GEOG 201 OR GEOG 261
To fully engage with the material in this course, you will need to be comfortable with calculus-based physics and/or have significant preparation in meteorology or climatology.
Course Description
This course is an interdisciplinary examination of the evolution of earth’s climate within the broader context of planetary climatology. An emphasis will be placed upon the physical processes that determine the state of the earth's atmosphere and surface. Students will learn how the global climate of the earth is maintained through these physical processes, which include the roles of energy and moisture, atmospheric circulation, and atmosphere-ocean interaction. Therefore, topics are geared toward an understanding of the factors that control climate change, such as energy transfer mechanisms, energy balance, hydrologic cycle, atmospheric and oceanic energy transport. This course will also introduce notions of basic atmospheric physics, including thermodynamics, physics of clouds and precipitation, and the role of atmospheric chemistry in global climate change.
Understanding the evolution of earth’s climate requires knowledge of past climates. This will be achieved through consideration of the succession of past ice ages and interglacials. Global warming, perhaps the single most renowned topic of the science to the general public, will be investigated in the context of the physical climate system. The format of the class will be lecture and discussion. Students will make use of several simulation tools to understand basic climate feedback mechanisms, as well as to understand common modeling paradigms.
Students will be asked to critically evaluate claims in the media regarding global climate change by asking: What other independent evidence addresses the claims? Are the claims consistent with both the general principles of climatology and those of atmospheric physics? Finally, the dialogue between the two instructors will be an integral part of the course as we model the different ways that we seek to understand each topic. A physicist’s approach is generally one of abstracting away anything irrelevant or of lesser importance to the problem until a simple model that is amenable to calculation emerges. Meanwhile, a climatologist seeks predictive power in the application of empirical principles coupled with real data. These approaches are quite different and the class will explore the notion that both are essential to a full understanding of complex dynamical systems like the global climate.
This course satisfies the Carthage Symposium graduation requirement.
Course Objectives
Successful students will be able to demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the dynamic interplay between solar insolation, atmospheric and oceanic chemistry and physics, and planetary orbital periodicities. Additionally, students will understand the complexities of the global science debate in concrete terms. Students will be able to provide physical reasoning and evidence to support positions on critical climate questions such as
- What is the scientific consensus on the question of the causes of global climate change?
- What are the questions and issues for which there is no solid scientific consensus?
- What are the key experiments and observations that lead to consensus?
Success in this course will also depend on your ability to a develop a base understanding of climate history and foundational climate measurements, and to apply critical reasoning skills to the interpretation of these measurements.
Requirements
Course work includes homework assignments, projects, exams and papers.
Assignments will include in-class worksheets, tutorials, and group exercises. Late assignments will not be accepted. Because this is a J-term course, missing a day is equivalent to missing a week of a regular term course. We do a week’s worth of material each day, so please do not fall behind! The participation grade includes daily contributions to class discussions as well as brief student-led presentations on items of topical interest in climate science.
Grading and Policies
- Participation/Worksheets 20%
- Homework 25%
- Climate Model and Presentation 35%
- Journal Article Presentations 5%
- Final Exam 15%
Academic Honesty
Students are bound by the terms of the Carthage College Academic Honesty Contract in the Student Handbook. Any act of academic dishonesty is sufficient cause for failure of the course.
Course Calendar
The daily schedule of assignments and readings is available here.
Useful Course Links:
- AIP Climate Links
- Climate Change History
- http://realclimate.org/
- http://forecast.uchicago.edu/
- http://www.climatewarming.org/
- Climate Change 2007: Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
- Climate Change 2001: Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
- WDC for Paleoclimatology Datasets
Textbooks and other supplies
Required Texts:
- Global Warming, David Archer, Blackwell Publishing
- Time Magazine Article on Global Warming
- Handouts and Readings from the course links (above)
Software Used in the Course: