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| Instructor: John Chiang email: jchiang@atmos.berkeley.edu office phone: 642-3900 office: 547 McCone office hours: Tuesdays 2-4 |
Class Location: 145 McCone Class Time: MW, 12:30-2 Course control number: 36547 Units: 4 |
| This course examines how various components of the climate system--the atmosphere, ocean, land, and cryosphere--interact in determining its observed state. Covered topics: observations of the climate system; the earth's energy balance; atmospheric radiative transfer; the surface energy balance; the hydrologic cycle; atmospheric circulation and its relation to the energy balance; the role of the ocean and the cryosphere. Additional topics, as time permits, will cover climate change, natural and anthropogenic; and computer modeling of climate. The goal of this course is for a conceptual basis for understanding of how earth's present climate comes about and how the various components of the climate system (atmosphere, land, ocean, cryosphere) interact to do so. The hope is that the successful student would be able to apply this knowledge to understand how change to the climate system can come about. |
| Course Requirements: 3 hours of lecture per week; several homework assignments, midterm and final. |
| Texts: The course will follow closely the primary text (Hartmann), but I will also draw from other texts and journal literature where useful (I'll give handouts). Primary (required) textbook: Hartmann, DL., Global Physical Climatology. Academic Press, 1994. Helpful (but not required) references: Peixoto JP and AH Oort, “Physics of Climate”, American Institute of Physics, 1992 Wallace, J. M. and P.V. Hobbs. "Atmospheric Science: An Introductory Survey" Academic Press, 1977. Holton, J.R. "An Introduction to Dynamic Meteorology", 3rd edition, Academic Press, San Diego, 1992. |
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SLIDES/NOTES
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HANDOUTS
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READING
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| Week 1 | Introduction; Observations of the climate system | ||
| Monday, August 30 | Introduction (as pdf) | Handout 1 | |
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| Wednesday, September 1 | Observations of the Climate System I (as pdf) |
GPC CH 1 | |
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| Week 2 | |||
| Monday, September 6 | Labor Day - No class | ||
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| Wednesday, September 8 | Observations of the Climate System II (as pdf) |
GPC CH 1 | |
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| Week 3 | |||
| Monday, September 13 |
Observations of the climate system III; and Global energy balance I (as pdf) Link - Atmospheric circulation movie |
GPC Ch2 | |
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| Wednesday, September 15 | Global energy balance II (as pdf) |
Homework 1 - due Wed 9/29 |
GPC Ch2 |
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| Week 4 | |||
| Monday, September 20 | Global Energy Balance III; Radiative transfer & climate I (as pdf) Link - Animations for TOA energy budget (first 3) |
GPC Ch3 | |
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| Wednesday, September 22 | Radiative transfer & climate II (as pdf) Link - Rotational and vibrational mode animations for carbon dioxide and water |
Handout 1 Handout 2 |
GPC Ch3 |
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| Week 5 | |||
| Monday, September 27 | Radiative transfer & climate III (as pdf) |
Handout 1 Handout 2 |
GPC Ch3 |
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| Wednesday, September 29 | Radiative transfer & climate IV (as pdf) |
Homework 2 Due Wed. 10/13 - in class. |
GPC Ch3, omit sec. 3.11; Wallace and Hobbs handout (handout of 9/27) |
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| Week 6 | |||
| Monday, October 4 | Radiative transfer & climate V (as pdf) |
Handout 1 | GPC Ch3, begin Ch4 |
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| Wednesday, October 6 | Surface energy budget I (as pdf) |
Midterm handout | GPC Ch4 -omit subsecs. 4.5.1-2 |
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| Week 7 | |||
| Monday, October 11 | Surface energy budget II (as pdf) |
equations sheet given out in the 2003 midterm | GPC Ch4 -omit subsecs. 4.5.1-2 |
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| Wednesday, October 13 Guest lecturer: Dr. Benjamin Lintner |
Interannual Variability in the Climate System (as pdf) |
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| Week 8 | |||
| Monday, October 18 | See slides for Monday, 10/11 |
Notes for midterm Homework 2 |
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| Wednesday, October 20 | Midterm - in class Please bring ruler and calculator |
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| Week 9 | |||
| Monday, October 25 | Surface energy balance III; Hydrologic cycle I (as pdf) |
Link to movies of surface energy budget - in 1st sect. "Global Energy Balance", U Ore | GPC Ch5 |
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| Wednesday, October 27 | Hydrologic cycle II (as pdf) |
GPC Ch5 -omit subsecs. 5.5.2,5.6.1 |
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| Week 10 | |||
| Monday, November 1 | Atmospheric circulation I (as pdf) |
Handout I | GPC Ch6 |
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| Wednesday, November 3 | Atmospheric circulation II | Today's lecture covered notes in handout from Monday, Nov. 1 Homework 3 - due 11/17 |
GPC Ch6 |
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Final Exam Reminder: The final exam will be on Monday, December 20, 5-8 p.m. in 145 McCone Hall
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| Week 11 | |||
| Monday, November 8 | Atmospheric circulation III (as pdf) |
GPC Ch6 | |
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| Wednesday, November 10 | Atmospheric circulation IV (as pdf) |
GPC Ch6, omit latter half of section 6.4, after equation 6.20 |
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| Week 12 | |||
| Monday, November 15 | Atmospheric circulation V (as pdf) |
Circulation animations shown in today's class | GPC Ch6 |
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| Wednesday, November 17 | Ocean Circulation I (as pdf) |
Gulf Stream movie (scroll to bottom) | GPC Ch7 |
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| Week 13 | |||
| Monday, November 22 | Ocean Circulation II (as pdf) |
Homework 4 - due Wed., 12/8 |
GPC Ch7 |
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| Wednesday, November 24 | Ocean Circulation III (as pdf) |
GPC Ch7 | |
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| Week 14 | |||
| Monday, November 29 | Cryosphere and climate (as pdf) |
The video shown today: A Changing Landscape: Investigating a Warming Arctic by KUAC public television in association with the Center for Global Change and Arctic System Research, University of Alaska Fairbanks." |
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| Wednesday, December 1 | Global Warming I (as pdf) |
Download IPCC report: Click on the 'SPM' tag under the heading 'Climate Change 2001: The Scientific Basis" |
IPCC summary report for policymakers |
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| Week 15 | |||
| Monday, December 6 | Global Warming II (as pdf) |
Download IPCC report | IPCC summary report for policymakers |
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| Wednesday, December 8 | Fall 2003 final Fall 2003 final equations worksheet Final Notes |
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| Week 16 | |||
| Monday, December 13 | |||
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| Friday, December 17 Finals week begins |
Office hours: 3-5:30 p.m. @ 575 McCone | ||
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| Week 17 | |||
| Monday, December 20 | Office hours: 9:30 - noon @ 547 McCone Final Exam: 5-8 p.m. @ 145 McCone |
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