2010-2011 Academic Catalog

Dec 21, 2024

2010-2011 Academic Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

IDCE 30263 - The Climate System and Global Environmental Change

Type of Course: Lecture, Discussion

In order to understand and predict the Earth’s current and future climate, it is imperative to know the forces that can drive both natural and anthropogenic climate change. This course will utilize an Earth Systems approach towards climate science, meaning rather than simply cataloging the Earth’s history of climate change, we will focus on understanding the climate system’s response to both external and internal drivers. We will examine the interactions between atmosphere, ice, ocean, land surface, and vegetation, allowing us to touch on the fields of geology, ecology, paleobotany, glaciology, oceanography, meteorology, biogeochemistry, climate modeling, atmospheric chemistry, and hydrology, among others. The goal of the course is to provide the scientific background that is necessary for understanding global environmental change-related issues as well as providing a basis for addressing the critical social and policy questions that cascade from these issues.

Cross Listed: GEOG 263, GEOG 363, GES 263

Instructor: Ms. Frey

When Offered: Offered every year

Faculty: Karen Frey, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Geography