Syllabus Information |
Fall 2015
Oct 31,2024 |
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| ENVS 184 - Global Climate Change |
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Associated Term:
Fall 2015
Learning Objectives: Upon successful completion of this course, the student should be able to: 1. Describe the natural and enhanced greenhouse effect and explain how spectra of the Earth, sun and greenhouse gases play roles in the effect. 2. Interpret basic aspects of the Earth’s climate system including Earth-Sun relationship, oceanic and atmospheric circulation, El Niño, plate movements, and supervolcano eruptions. 3. Make detailed observations, gathering and assessing information, formulating hypotheses, and thinking creatively about climate variables and climate changes over time. 4. Predict potential consequences of global warming to ecologic, hydrologic, marine, meteorological, and human systems. 5. Conduct experiments and make measurements of atmospheric variables such as temperature, pressure, relative humidity and calculate or estimate other atmospheric variables from these. 6. Analyze the complexity of the Earth’s climate system and understand many of its feedbacks and the possibility of tipping points. 7. Using a wide range of data sources, compare and contrast the meanings of the terms “global warming” and “global climate change” and critically weigh arguments that global warming is or is not happening now and in the future. 8. Describe and analyze the varied evidence for past climate change and assess the reliability and range of error of these data. 9. Evaluate her or his contribution to climate change and personal role in mitigating that contribution. 10. Describe and interpret the carbon cycle and the role of living things in it, its complexities and feedbacks, and its role in climate change. 11. Apply methods of carbon sequestration and concepts of “carbon neutral” and “carbon offsets” to assess the potential for easing the collective effect of humans on the climate. 12. Analyze the possible consequences of increasing ozone-destroying gases in the atmosphere. Required Materials: Technical Requirements: |
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