Geography 4/532:  Climatological Aspects of Global Change
Fall 2006, 12:00-1:20pm, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 301 Condon Hall (CRN: 17162 (432) 17163 (532))

Instructor:  Patrick J. Bartlein, 154 Condon Hall, x6-4967, bartlein@uoregon.edu, office hours:  2:00-3:30pm Thurs.
 
URL:  http://geography.uoregon.edu/bartlein/courses/geog432/
 

Overview:  This course will focus on the concepts and procedures that underlie projecting the variations of the Earth’s climate system over the next few decades to centuries.  We will rely mainly on the projections undertaken by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in preparing the Third Assessment Report.
 

Prerequisites:  Geog. 321 (Climatology) or Geog. 322 (Geomorphology) or 323 (Biogeography), but all  are recommended.

 

Grading:  Undergraduates:  Two exams (45% each), the first in-class, and the second take-home, and an annotated collection of ten Internet URLs that feature global change-related material (10%).  Graduates:  Two exams (30% each), the first in-class, and the second take-home, an annotated collection of Internet URLs that feature global change-related material (10%), annotated bibliography focusing on a global climate-change issue (30%)..
 

Texts: 

  • Houghton, J.T. (2004) Global Warming, The Complete Briefing, Cambridge Univ. Press (paper, ISBN 0521528747).

  • Climate Change 2001:  The Scientific Basis, IPCC Working Group I Third Assessment Report, available on-line at http://www.ipcc.ch as .html and Acrobat .pdf files.  Also on reserve at the Science Library.

  • Weart, S.R  (2004) The Discovery of Global Warming, Harvard Univ. Press (paper,  ISBN 0674016378, also available online at http://www.aip.org/history/climate/).

Date

Lecture

Topic -- See individual lecture pages for readings

9-25 (Tu)

1

Overview:  Global warming, the IPCC, and the AR4

  

9-27 (Th)

2

The climate system

  

10-2 (Tu)

3

Climate history

  

10-4 (Th)

4

Changes in atmospheric composition and radiative forcing

  

10-9 (Tu)

5

Observed changes in the atmosphere and at the Earth's surface

  

10-11 (Th)

6

Observed changes in snow, ice, and land cover

  

10-16 (Tu)

7

Observed changes in the ocean and in sea level

  

10-18 (Th)

8

Paleoclimatology and data-model comparisons

  

10-23 (Tu)

9

To be announced

  

10-25 (Th)

 

Exam

  

10-30 (Tu)

 10

Climate-biosphere coupling

  

11-1 (Th)

11

Climate models and their evaluation

  

11-6 (Tu)

12

Detection, understanding and attribution of climate change

  

11-8 (Th)

13

Global climate projections - I

  

11-13 (Tu)

14

Global climate projections - II

  

11-15 (Th)

15

Regional climate projections

  

11-20 (Tu)

16

Impacts

  

11-27 (Tu)

17

The US Climate Change Science Program

  

11-29 (Th)

18

What's next?

  
12-4 (T)   Take-home exam due--5pm  

 
 

Expected effort:  Lectures will meet for 1.5 hours each, twice a week.  Tracking down and describing the URLs that must be contributed should take about and hour per week.  In addition to the usual reading and study, it will be beneficial to spend a little time each day to follow the day-to-day variation of the weather and progression of the season in a regular fashion.
 

Other topics:  The visual inspection and interpretation of the maps and images will be important, but accommodation for alternative methods of course-material access may be possible--please see me as soon as possible.  Collaboration on the exercises may be useful, but answers should be written individually. Other academic dishonesty policies will be enforced. (see, for discussion):  http://studentlife.uoregon.edu/judicial/conduct/sai.htm).