Geography 40: Global Environmental Change

Jump to syllabus section III: Present and Future Global Change - Week 13

FINAL: Geog 40 final exam: Tue May 16, 8-11am, 150 Goldman School of Public Policy (Hearst @ LeRoy)

Instructor: Professor John Chiang
email: jchiang@atmos.berkeley.edu
office phone: 642-3900
office: 547 McCone Hall
office hours: W 2-4

Class Location: 145 McCone
Class Time: TuTh 9:30-11

Course control number: 36403
Units: 4

GSI: Jim Johnstone
email: jajstone@berkeley.edu
office phone:
office:
office hours: TBA

GSI: Dyuti Sengupta
email: dyuti@berkeley.edu
office phone:
office:
office hours: TBA

Discussion Sections: All sections meet in 135 McCone

101	Monday	3-5
102	Tuesday	1-3
103	Wednesday	8-10
104	Thursday	12-2

** Draft slides (pdf) will be posted at this location the night before the lecture (may be as late as 11pm):
http://www.atmos.berkeley.edu/~jchiang/Geog40/
The naming format will be geog40_3-1_xxxxxx where 3-1 refers to the 1st lecture of week 3, etc.

Outline of syllabus: (Click on a section to jump to that section or scroll down to find all)
I: FUNDAMENTALS (~weeks 1-8): Overview of global change and earth systems science; Introduction to systems; Global energy balance; The atmosphere; The oceans; The solid earth; Carbon cycle; Biosphere.
II: PAST GLOBAL CHANGES (~weeks 9-12): Long-term Earth history; Pleistocene glaciations; Climate changes over the last millennia; Interannual climate variability.
III: PRESENT AND FUTURE GLOBAL CHANGE (~weeks 13-15): Global Warming; Ozone Depletion; Changes to Biodiversity

Course description:
The purpose of this first course in physical geography is to lay out the scientific physical understanding of global changes to the Earth system. The basic premise of Earth System Science is all its components - the atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, cryosphere, and lithosphere - requires treatment an interactive whole in order to understand global environmental change. This involves detailed understanding of the physical nature of each individual component, and how these components interact with each other. Central to this interaction is the cycling of matter and energy between them.

An important part of generating relevant knowledge is documenting the occurrences and understanding the causes of past global changes, as recently as the past few years all the way to the beginnings of the earth. This gives us a baseline for understanding of the potential of the earth system to change, and how these changes manifest themselves in the global environment. They are cases that are used to test our existing scientific understanding, and to generate new knowledge on the dynamics of the earth system.

The ultimate goal is to understand future global changes. The unique feature of today's environment - and presumably the future environment - is the pervasive and global influence of humans. Three specific problems stand out: the rapid rise of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, a greenhouse gas; the precipitous decrease in stratospheric ozone levels in the past few decades; and the increasing loss of biodiversity. How can we understand their consequences, and predict what will happen in the future? For one, these problems may have analogues from Earth history: the geological past may be the key to understanding the future. The scientific study of the Earth System gives us the basis for understanding the global consequences of human-induced change.

Please note: this is a SCIENCE course. It involves understanding concepts in chemistry, mathematics, biology, and physics. However, apart from algebra and some familiarity with the periodic table, there are no prerequisites other than a willingness to learn and understand physical concepts. In previous years, the most successful students of this course were ones that combined diligence with a keen curiosity to understand the physical world.

Two 80-minute lectures a week, and a (required) weekly section with discussion/assignments/computer labs that will help reinforce the material presented in the lectures. Grades will be based on labs, quizzes, midterm, and final; and class/section participation.

Required Text:
The Earth System, by L.R. Kump, J.F. Kasting, and R.G. Crane, 2nd edition, 2004 [aka TES]

Other recommended texts:
Earth's Climate: Past and Future, by W. Ruddiman [aka ECPF]
Elemental Geosystems, by Christopherson, 4th edition [aka EG]

Other readings will be distributed in class or online
The texts will be on reserve in the Earth Sciences Library, ground floor, McCone Hall

Grading: (provisional - subject to change)
Quizzes - 10%
Labs - 30%
Midterm - 25%
Final Exam - 35%

Important dates:
Midterm: in class, Tuesday March 7, 2006
Final: TBA

Date

Subject

Handouts

Required Reading
TES= Kump Kasting and Crane
Recommended Reading

I: FUNDAMENTALS
Overview of global change and earth systems science; Introduction to systems; Global energy balance; The atmosphere; The oceans; The solid earth; Carbon cycle; Biosphere.

Week 1

Overview; introduction to systems

Lab

No lab this week

(T) 1/17

Introduction and overview

Syllabus

TES Ch1

(Th) 1/19

Daisyworld: a simple climate system

TES Ch2

Week 2

Global Energy Balance

Lab

Temperature

(T) 1/24

The sun, blackbody radiation, and planetary energy balance

TES Ch3

(Th) 1/26

Greenhouse effect, Greenhouse gases, and Seasons

TES Ch3 41-48,
and TES p 67-68

Week 3

The Atmosphere

Lab

Solar radiation and greenhouse effect

(T) 1/31

Latent and sensible heat flux; Role of clouds in the energy balance; Vertical structure of the atmosphere

TES p44-46, 48-50, and box on p57 (gas laws)

EG p47-53

(Th) 2/2

Ideal gas law and hydrostatic balance; Atmospheric motions: pressure gradients, coriolis effect, and geostrophy

TES Ch4 p55-66

EG Ch4

Links of interest: Atmospheric circulation movie (from NCAR):: http://www.vets.ucar.edu/vg/CCM3T170/index.shtml
Coriolis effect demo (from U Illinois):: http://ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/(Gh)/guides/mtr/fw/crls.rxml

Week 4

The atmosphere, continued

Lab

(T) 2/7

General circulation of the atmosphere

TES Ch4

ECPF p32-39

(Th) 2/9

General circulation; role of 'continentality'; Effect of seasons; Atmospheric energy transports; and hydrological cycle

TES Ch4

EG p154-161 (on fronts and midlatitude cyclones)
ECPF p32-39

Week 5

The ocean

Lab

The Atmosphere, cont'd....
Three animations to view:

atmospheric circulation

global winds

jet streams

(T) 2/14

Geography of oceans; property of seawater; vertical structure of the ocean; wind-driven circulation

TES Ch5

EG p398-401, ECPF p39-44

(Th) 2/16

Wind driven circulation, thermohaline circulation; life in the oceans

TES Ch5, and TES p153-158, p173-175

EG p127-129

Week 6

Solid Earth

Lab

The Ocean

(T) 2/21

earth's interior; and plate tectonics

TES Ch7, p117-132

EG 286-303, and p252-255

(Th) 2/23

Plate tectonics; rock cycle

TES Ch7 p133-146

EG p257-275, 301-312 (volcanism), 319-325 (weathering)

Geog 40 Midterm Spring 2004

Week 7

Carbon Cycle

Lab

Solid Earth

(T) 2/28

Terrestrial and Marine organic carbon cycle

Handout

TES Ch8

ECPF pp. 91-99

(Th) 3/2

Inorganic carbon cycle

Handout

TES Ch8

ECPF p91-98

Week 8

Biosphere

Lab

Carbon cycle

(T) 3/7

Midterm exam - in class

(Th) 3/9

Biota and Ecosystems

TES Ch 9

EG Ch 16

II: PAST GLOBAL CHANGES
Long-term Earth history; Pleistocene glaciations; Climate changes over the last millennia; Interannual climate variability.

Week 9

Long term earth history

Lab

(T) 3/14

Rise of earth, life, atmosphere, and oxygen

TES Ch 10 and 11

(Th) 3/16

Major events in Earth's long term climate history

midterm key
Economist article

TES Ch 12, 13

ECPF Ch 6,7

Week 10