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| Instructor: Professor Robert Rhew email: rrhew@atmos.berkeley.edu office phone: 643-3579 office: 539 McCone office hours: Tuesday 4-5, Friday 11-12 |
Class Location: 141 McCone Class Time: Monday, Wednesday, Friday, 10-11 Course control number: 36445 Units: 4 |
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| GSI: Beth Watson email: bethw@berkeley.edu office phone: 643-1834 office: 193 McCone office hours: TH 9:30-11:30 GSI: Liam Reidy email: lreidy@berkeley.edu office phone: 643-1834 office: 197 McCone office hours: Tuesday 11-1 |
Discussion Sections: All sections meet in 135 McCone
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| Course description and goals: Earth System Science is an interdisciplinary field that describes the cycling of energy and matter between the different spheres (atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, cryosphere, and lithosphere) of the earth system. The goals of this introductory Earth System Science course are 1) to achieve a scientific understanding of important problems in global environmental change and 2) to learn how to analyze a complex system using scientific methods. The course will cover: 1) The fundamentals of the earth system (the way the world works) 2) Past changes in the Earth system (big events in earth history) 3) Present changes in the Earth system (current trends and the human effect) Specific topics include an introduction to climate, atmospheric circulation, ocean circulation and chemistry, ice ages, extreme climate events, global warming, stratospheric ozone depletion, and air pollution. |
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| Required Text: The Earth System (KKC), by L.R. Kump, J.F. Kasting, and R.G. Crane, 2nd edition, 2004. The text is on reserve in the Earth Sciences Library, ground floor, McCone Hall We will occasionally make available articles to ve reviewed in lab section. Additional Texts (Recommended Reading): Elemental Geosystems (EG), 4th editon, 2004. Is the Temperature Rising? The Uncertain Science of Global Warming, by S. George Philander, Princeton University Press, 2000. The texts are on reserve in the Earth Sciences Library, ground floor, McCone Hall |
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Grading:
2 midterms during the semester and one final, quizzes and assignments during lab.
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| Syllabus:
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CLICK ON A LECTURE SUBJECT TO BE LINKED TO THAT LECTURE'S PRESENTATION
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Date
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Subject
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Reading
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| Week 1: TOOLS FOR COMPLEX SYSTEMS -No lab sections this week. | ||
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(M) 8/25
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Introduction and overview | KKC Chapter 1 |
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(W) 8/27
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Earth systems and box models | KKC Chapter 2 |
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(F) 8/29
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Daisyworld and electromagnetic radiation | |
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Week 2: THE SUN
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(M) 9/1
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Labor Day Holiday (no class) | |
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(W) 9/3
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Blackbody radiation and global energy balance | KKC Chapter 3 |
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(F) 9/5
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Atmospheric composition/greenhouse gases | |
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Week 3: THE ATMOSPHERE
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(M) 9/8
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Clouds, solar insolation, global energy balance (again) Quicktime Movie: Seasons |
KKC Chapter 4 |
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(W) 9/10
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General circulation of the atmosphere | |
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(F) 9/12
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Coriolis Force, regional winds | KKC Chapter 5 |
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Week 4: THE OCEANS
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(M) 9/15
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Ocean Circulation – Surface currents | |
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(W) 9/17
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Ocean Circulation – Thermohaline | |
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(F) 9/19
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Ocean biology/ Biological Pump | |
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Week 5: OCEANS AND MIDTERM #1
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(M) 9/22
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Review midterm #1 | |
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(W) 9/24
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MIDTERM #1 (note: this new date) | |
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(F) 9/26
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Debate on climate change Questions on Nova's Production, "What's Up With The Weather?" |
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Week 6: THE SOLID EARTH
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(M) 9/29
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Earthquakes | KKC Chapter 7 |
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(W) 10/1
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Plate tectonics | |
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(F) 10/3
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Geology and Carbon Reservoirs **lab session: review midterm #1 |
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Week 7: THE BIOSPHERE
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(M) 10/6
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Organic Carbon Cycle | KKC Chapter 8 |
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(W) 10/8
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Inorganic Carbon Cycle | |
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(F) 10/10
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Ecosystems and Biodiversity Article assignment due |
KKC Chapter 9 |
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Week 8: LONG-TERM CLIMATE CHANGE
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(M) 10/13
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Rise of Life and Oxygen | KKC Chapter 11 |
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(W) 10/15
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Geologic time and snowball earth | KKC Chapter 12 |
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(F) 10/17
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A Brief History of Earth **lab session: visit UC Botanical Gardens! |
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Week 9: PLEISTOCENE GLACIATIONS: 2.5 million years - 10,000 years ago
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(M) 10/20
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Mass Extinctions and the Fossil Record | KKC Chapter 13 |
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(W) 10/22
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Pleistocene I: geologic evidence | KKC Chapter 14 |
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(F) 10/24
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Pleistocene II: Milankovitch cycles | |
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Week 10: MIDTERM #2 (on Friday)
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(M) 10/27
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Pleistocene III: Feedbacks | KKC Chapter 15 |
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(W) 10/29
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Pleistocene IV: Carbon cycle feedbacks | |
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(F) 10/31
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MIDTERM #2 | |
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Week 11: SHORT TERM CLIMATE VARIABILITY and GLOBAL WARMING
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(M) 11/3
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Holocene I: Younger Dryas | KKC Chapter 15 |
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(W) 11/5
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Holocene II: Climatic Optimum, Medieval Warm Period, Little Ice Age | |
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(F) 11/7
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Oxygen isotopes in ice cores **Lab session: review midterm #2 |
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Week 12: El Niño and GLOBAL WARMING
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(M) 11/10
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(W) 11/12
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Human imprint on atmosphere | KKC Chapter 16 |
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(F) 11/14
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Radiative forcing of greenhouse gases | |
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Week 13: STRATOSPHERIC OZONE DEPLETION
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(M) 11/17
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Forecasting future climate | KKC Chapter 17 |
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(W) 11/19
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IPCC and the skeptics | |
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(F) 11/21
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Stratospheric ozone depletion Optional Paper Assignment |
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Week 14: TROPOSPHERIC OZONE AND ACID RAIN
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(M) 11/24
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Stratospheric ozone depletion | |
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(W) 11/26
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Antarctic ozone hole | |
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(F) 11/28
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Thanksgiving holiday (no class) | |
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Week 15: BIODIVERSITY
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(M) 12/1
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Modern biodiversity loss | KKC Chapter 18 |
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(W) 12/3
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Lecture 40 - Oceans and biodiversity | |
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(F) 12/5
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last day of classes; Summary | |
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Week 16: FINAL EXAMS - Dec 8-12
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| Selected Midterm Answers | ||
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(W) 12/10
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Final Exam 8-11 a.m., location: C230 Cheit Hall | |