GEOS 215
Climate Changes
Last Offered Spring 2009
Division III Quantitative/Formal Reasoning
Cross-listed ENVI 215
This course is not offered in the current catalog

Class Details

In recent years, there has been a growing public and scientific interest in the Earth’s climate and its variability. This interest reflects both concern over future climate changes that may result from anthropogenic increases in atmospheric greenhouse gases and growing recognition of the economic impact of “natural” climate variability (for example, El NiƱo events), especially in the developing world. Efforts to understand the Earth’s climate system and predict future climate changes require both study of parameters controlling present day climate and detailed studies of climate changes in the past. In this course, we will review the processes that control the Earth’s climate, like insolation, distribution of heat, ocean circulation, and the greenhouse effect. At the same time, we will review the geological record of climate changes in the past, examining their causes, positive and negative feedback effects, and indicators of the stability or instability of the climate system.
Weekly laboratory exercises will emphasize developing problem solving skills and using quantitative analyses to assess if a given explanation is possible and reasonable. These exercises will include developing and applying numerical models of the carbon cycle and basic radiative balance models.
The Class: Format: lecture/laboratory/discussion, three hours per week
Limit: 20
Expected: 20
Class#: 3307
Grading: yes pass/fail option, yes fifth course option
Requirements/Evaluation: evaluation will be based on weekly problems (25%), two hour exams (50%), and a final project (25%) where students will collect, analyze, and interpret data
Prerequisites: 100-level course in Geoscience, Biology, Chemistry, or Physics or permission of instructor
Enrollment Preferences: Geoscience majors
Distributions: Division III Quantitative/Formal Reasoning
Notes: This course is cross-listed and the prefixes carry the following divisional credit:
GEOS 215 Division III ENVI 215 Division III
Attributes: ENVI Natural World Electives
GEOS Environmental Geosciences Courses
MAST Interdepartmental Electives

Class Grid

Updated 6:45 pm
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  • GEOS 215 - LEC Climate Changes
    GEOS 215 LEC Climate Changes
    Division III Quantitative/Formal Reasoning
    Not offered

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