Global Change
Meteorology/Agronomy/Env. Science/Env. Studies 404/504
Spring 2012, MWF 11:00-11:50 p.m.
Room 1022 Agronomy
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Instructor |
Teaching
Assistant |

(Image courtesy of http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov)
Course Description
Current understanding of how climate evolves under natural and human
influences. Global energy balance, structure and circulation of the
atmosphere and oceans, role of land and snow/ice processes, climate
variability, climate modeling, implications of climate change for
natural and human systems, policy and ethical issues of climate change.
Course Objectives
To understand
Structure of Course
Some meetings during the semester may be devoted to a seminar-style
format where we will critique current journal articles in various relevant topics or
do other types of class exercises. In some cases, a laptop or other
internet-ready device may be useful.
This course is administered through Blackboard
Learn. You will need to use
it for a variety of course ativities (lectures, some discussions, some
computations, quizzes, etc.)
Quizzes
Quizzes are administered through Blackboard Learn. Sample quizzes are available for download ahead of time. Watch for notices from me.
You may find it useful to look at the quiz first before attempting to take it online.
Seminar
The in-class seminar meetings will require participation a written report and participation in discussion by break-out groups and, on occasion, a written report. You should read the further details for seminar reports. Attendance is required for seminar meetings and other in-class exercises.Major, overriding concepts (not specific details) from each assigned seminar paper are fair game for exam questions.
Discussion Groups
Online discussion and classroom exercises will use assigned discussion groups. You can download the discussion group list. I will notify you. Groups are designed to provide a mix of the backgrounds of students in the class, but also be small enough that everyone should feel they have opportunity to contribute.Class Exercises
Online Dialogue
The discussion will use Blackboard's tools to organize it. The online discussion focuses on a particular topics of interest in climate change. Further information on how to contribute to the dialogue and grading criteria appear here.For 504 (graduate-level) students: some of the online dialogue will require a written report in addition to participation in online discussion by break-out groups. You should read the further details for online dialogue reports. The online discussion and other online activities contribute to your grade.
Major, overriding concepts (not specific details) from each assigned seminar paper are fair game for exam questions.
Exams
Exams will be administered to on campus (or nearby students) through the Iowa State College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Online Testing Center.If you are too far from campus to use the LAS Online Testing Center, you must make provisions to have a qualified proctor administer your exam! Please do this early in the semester to avoid problems with trying to rush approvals. You should read the information on Proctor Validation Services under all the categories on that page. Note that the proctor must fill out an On-Line Proctor Agreement Form.
Term Papers
Note the first deadline: January 30, for paper topics.
Grading
404 (Undergraduate level)
| Quizzes | 20 % |
| Seminar Participation and Reports | 20 % |
| Mid-term Exam | 25 % |
| Final | 35 % |
504 (Graduate level)
| Quizzes | 10 % |
| Seminar Participation & Critiques | 15 % |
| Mid-Term Exam | 20 % |
| Final | 35 % |
| Term Paper & Oral Presentation | 20 % |
I communicate frequently with the class by email.
The email address I have for all students is their @iastate.edu address. Students who prefer to use some other email address should follow these instructions to automatically forward your iastate.edu email to another system.
When sending email to me, please start the SUBJECT line with the words "Global Change". This will help me greatly in finding your emails to me.
Pre-recorded Lectures
I use pre-recorded lectures for the core of the course material. To view and listen to them, you simply need to click on the link for the lecture identified as pre-recorded lectures in the course schedule, so long as you have an appropriate browser with the Macromedia Flash Player extension included. Typically, this extension is already in your browser, but if it is not, you will be asked if you want it downloaded and installed on your machine. Basically, Windows and Macintosh OS X machines are ok. Linux machines should work, but success is not guaranteed.I would like to know about whatever problems you encounter, so please send me an email on those, even if you fix the problem yourself.
For best visual clarity, you should make your browser window as large as possible. If you are listening to the lectures with others around you, out of courtesy, please use headphones.
Students Needing Disability Accommodation
Iowa State University complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. Please address any special needs or special accommodations with me at the beginning of the semester or as soon as you become aware of your needs. Those seeking accommodations based on disabilities should obtain a Student Academic Accommodations Request (SAAR) form from the Disabilities Resources (DR) office (515-294-6624), located on the main floor of the Student Services Building, Room 1076.
Acknowledgment
This offering of Mteor/Agron/EnvSci/EnvSt 404/505 is a major revision of the version taught for several years by Prof. Gene Takle. Despite these changes, the overall goals and inspiration for the course stems from the earlier developments by Prof. Takle, whose efforts are much appreciated.
W. Gutowski's Away Schedule
I will have to be out of town at times during the semester for various program and project meetings. In all cases, I should have access to email during at least part of the time I am away. Please keep in mind that I may not be in the same time zone, so replies may be slow. Since nearly all of the course is available and followed on line, through Blackboard and the class web page, I hope my travel will not be much of a disruption.
My travel schedule:
Course Schedule
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Module |
Date |
Topic |
Source |
Other Materials |
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1 |
9 January 2012 |
Introductions |
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Assigned reading:Schmidt & Wolfe - Preface, p. xi-xii; Introduction, p. 1-3 | |
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1 |
11-13 January 2012 |
Overview of Climate Change Science Pre-recorded lecture: Summary for Policy Makers Pre-recorded lecture: Uncertainty Guidance |
IPCC Working Group-I |
Background (from earlier GC courses)
Assigned reading: S&W - Introduction, p. 7-9 |
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16 January |
ML King Day |
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1 |
18 January 2012 |
Historical Overview |
IPCC WG-I Chapter 1 |
Historical overview from the American Institute of Physics | |
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1 |
20 January 2012 |
IPCC WG-I Chapter 2 |
Assigned reading: S&W - Commonly Used
Terms, p. 10-15
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2 |
23-27 January 2012
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Observed Climate: Surface & Atmosphere Animations in the lecture: |
IPCC WG-I Chapter 3 |
Assigned reading: S&W - 19-27.
Animations of climatic fields (courtesy of Geography Dept., Univ. Oregon) |
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30 January 2012 |
30 January |
504 term paper topic due | ||
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2 |
30 January 2012
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Observed Climate: Snow, ice, permafrost
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IPCC WG-I Chapter 4 |
Assigned reading: S&W - 27-34
Assigned reading: Box 4.1 in IPCC AR4 WG-I - Chapter 4 (page 367) |
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2 |
1 February 2012 |
Observed Climate: Oceans & Sea Level |
IPCC WG-I Chapter 5 |
Assigned reading: Box 5.1 in Chapter 5 (page 397) |
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2 |
3 February 2012 |
IPCC WG-I Chapter 6 |
Assigned reading: S&W - p.135-148 Assigned reading: Box 6.3 in Chapter 6 (page 461) |
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2 |
6 February 2012 |
Readings for online discussion: |
Letter co-signed by W. Gutowski to governor, legislature & presidential candidates (November 2011): |
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3 |
8-10 February 2012 |
Biogeochemistry & Climate
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IPCC WG-I Chapter 7 |
Assigned reading: S&W - p.148-155 Assigned reading:Box 7.4 in Chapter 7 (page 540) |
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3 |
13-15 February 2012 |
IPCC WG-I Chapter 8 |
Assigned reading: S&W - p.73-80 Assigned reading:Box 8.1 in Chapter 8 (page 632) |
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3 |
17 February 2012 |
IPCC WG-I Chapter 8 |
Assigned reading: S&W - p.195-199 | ||
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20-24 February 2012 |
MID-TERM EXAM
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IPCC WG-I Chapters 1-8 |
Mid-term questions and answers available after the exam period. | |
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3 |
22-27 February 2012 |
IPCC WG-I Chapter 9 |
Assigned reading: FAQ 9.1 (page 696) and FAQ 9.2 (pages 703-703) in Chapter 9 (page 632) |
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4 |
29 February - |
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IPCC WG-I Chapter 10 |
Assigned reading: S&W - p.199-209 Assigned reading: SRES Emissions Scenarios and FAQs 10.1 (page 783), 10.2 (page 818) and 10.3 (pages 824-825) |
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5 March |
504 term paper outline due | |||
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4 |
7-9 March 2012 |
IPCC WG-I Chapter 11 |
Assigned reading: S&W - p.95-111 | ||
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12-16 March |
Spring Break |
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4 |
19 March 2012 |
IPCC WG-I Chapter 11 |
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5 |
21-26 March 2012 |
Impacts: Water Resources |
IPCC WG-II Chapter 3 |
Assigned reading: Box 3.1 (page 195) and Box 3.2 (page 197) in WG-II, Chapter 3 |
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5 |
28-30 March 2012 |
Impacts: Ecosystems |
IPCC WG-II Chapter 4 |
- |
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5 |
30 March 2012 |
Readings for online discussion: |
- | ||
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5 |
2 April 2012 |
Impacts: Human Health |
IPCC WG-II Chapter 8 |
Assigned reading: Box 8.4 (page 403) and Box 8.5 (page 413) in WG-II, Chapter 8 |
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2 April |
504 term paper due for peer review | |||
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5 |
4-6 April 2012 |
Impacts: Agriculture
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- |
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5 |
9 April 2012 |
Impacts: Coastal Systems |
IPCC WG-II Chapter 6 |
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6 |
9 April 2012 |
Readings for online discussion: |
Kalnay slides on population issues. |
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9 April |
504 term paper peer reviews due | |||
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6 |
11-16 April 2012 |
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7 |
18 April 2012 |
Development of a Climate Change Assessment: An
Example - old version
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U.S. Climate Change Science Program (CCSP) Synthesis and Assessment Report 3-3 |
Supplementary Documents NOAA news release and companion brochure |
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7 |
20 April 2012 |
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23 April |
504 term paper: Final versions due | |||
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23-27 April 2012 |
Term paper presentations by Global Change 504 students.
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30 April - |
Final Exam
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Additional Sources of Information:
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(Images courtesy of USGS EROS Data Center: Himalayas, Deforestation in Bolivia, Namibian Desert)