URL:  http://geography.uoregon.edu/bartlein/courses/geog607/
(for readings:  username:  geog607  password:  student)

Overview:  This seminar will focus on the Fourth Assessment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), reading it both directly for its scientific or technical content, and in between the lines for the political and sociology-of-science issue that underlie its preparation.

Seminar participants will be responsible for taking charge of one particular theme in the assessment that may span one or volumes (e.g. the role of the terrestrial biosphere in amplifying or damping climate change, or the potential for alternative energy sources for mitigating climate change, or water).  The expected contribution will include a) organization of the discussion of that theme during the course of the seminar, and b) a comprehensive review paper or technical briefing.

Main text: 

• Climate Change 2007:  The Fourth Assessment Report of the IPCC, including

  • The Physical Science Basis, the IPCC Working Group I contribution

  • Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability, the IPCC Working Group II contribution

  • Mitigation of Climate Change, the IPCC Working Group III contribution

  • Synthesis Report

  (Available on-line at http://www.ipcc.ch as .html and Acrobat .pdf files)

Recommended background reading:

• Archer, D. (2006)  Global Warming, Understanding the Forecast.  Blackwell (paper, ISBN-13: 978-1405140393)

• 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/).

Readings for second-week meeting:

Science and Nature Special Reports on the Fourth Assessment:

• "From words to action...." (Nature, 8 Feb 2007)
• "Scientists tell policymakers...." (Science, 9 Feb 2007)
• "Climate takes aim...." (Nature, 12 Apr 2007)
• "Global warming is changing the world...." (Science, 13 Apr 2007)
• "Climate panel offers grounds for optimism...." (Nature, 10 May 2007)
• "IPCC Report lays out options...." (Science, 11 May 2007)

IPCC "10-th Anniversary" Brochure http://www.ipcc.ch/about/about.htm

Collins, W., R. Colman, J. Haywood, M. Manning, and P. W. Mote. 2007. The physical science behind climate change. Scientific American (August (2007)):64-73. [.pdf]

Future meetings:

Oct 3, Oct 10, Oct 17, ..., Oct 31, Nov 7, Nov 14, ... , Nov. 28, possibly Dec 5 (exam week)