THIS PAGE UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Global Change

Meteorology/Agronomy/Env. Science/Env. Studies 404/504

Spring 2008, MWF 11:00-11:50 p.m.

Instructor
William J. Gutowski, Jr.
3021 Agronomy
gutowski@iastate.edu

(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:

The class meets 3 times a week. Lectures will introduce topics for the majority of the semester.

Three meetings during the semester will be devoted to a seminar-style format where we will discuss current journal articles in various relevant topics. Graduate (504-level) students will be required to hand in a 1-2 page written critique of each paper. Undergraduate (404-level) students will be required to hand in (at the start of the seminar class)

  1. a brief paragraph describing the major questions posed in the paper, the methods used to address the questions and the major conclusions
  2. a question to address in the class discussion
Major, overriding concepts (not specific details) from each paper are fair game for exam questions.

Readings:

  • Chapters relating to each week's topic will be assigned from the Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. You can download relevant chapters from this link. Some chapters are rather long; the lectures will highlight the key points you need to learn.
  • Journal articles to be discussed in class will be linked to this web page.
  • Other relevant materials will be linked as appropriate.

    Term Papers:

    Students enrolled in the graduate-level version course (Mteor/Agron/EnSci/EnvS 504) will be required to write a 10-12 page term paper and submit an outline for topic approval. Students in the 504 course are required to pick their topics and to present their findings orally during the last week of classes. Relevant milestones for term papers appear in the course schedule below. Please read the further details for term papers.

    Note the first deadline: Feb. 1, for paper topics.

    Grading:

    404 (Undergraduate level)

    Quizzes 20 %
    Seminar Participation 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 %

    Quizzes

    Quizzes are administered through WebCT. You can download copies of the quizzes as they become available:

    You may find it useful to look at the quiz first before attempting to take it online.

    Pre-recorded Lectures:

    I may use pre-recorded lectures for some topics for times when I am out of town. Note that material covered on these lectures can appear on tests. I will of course answer questions you may have about the material presented in these lectures.

    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.

    Tentative Schedule:

    Date

    Topic

    Source

    Supplementary Materials

    14 January

    Introductions

    -

    		-

    16, 18 January

    Overview of Climate Change Science

  • (Lecture: SPM - ppt)
  • (Lecture: Uncertainty - ppt)

    • IPCC Working Group-I

  • Summary for Policy Makers
  • Uncertainty Guidance
    		• Background (from earlier GC courses)

    21 January

    ML King Day - no classes

    		    

    23 January

    Historical Overview

    IPCC WG-I Chapter 1

    Historical overview from the American Institute of Physics

    25 January

    Atmospheric Composition and Radiative Forcing

    IPCC WG-I Chapter 2

    -

    28, 30 January

    Observed Climate: Surface & Atmosphere

    Animations in the lecture:

  • Surface air temperature annual cycle
  • Precipitatation annual cycle

    • IPCC WG-I Chapter 3

    Animations of climatic fields (courtesy of Geography Dept., Univ. Oregon)

    1 February

    504 term paper topic due

    		 

    		 

    1 February

    Observed Climate: Snow, ice, permafrost

    IPCC WG-I Chapter 4

    -

    4 February

    Observed Climate: Oceans & Sea Level

    IPCC WG-I Chapter 5

    -

    6 February

    Paleoclimate

    IPCC WG-I Chapter 6

    -

    8 February

    Seminar - Papers to be reviewed:

  • Essay: Stewart Brand in Nature (2007)
  • News & Views: Philip W. Boyd in Nature Climate Change
  • Chisolm et al. in Science (2001).

    •  

    Questions raised from the class

    11, 13 February

    		 Biogeochemistry & Climate

    IPCC WG-I Chapter 7

    -

    14 February
    7:00 pm, MU Sun Room

    		Tanya Atwater lecture: "Tales of the Ice Age"  

    		 

    15 February

    Climate Models
    Pre-recorded lecture: Part 1 of Chapter 8

    IPCC WG-I Chapter 8

    -

    18, 20, 22 February

    Climate Models (continued)
    Pre-recorded lecture: Part 2 of Chapter 8
    Pre-recorded lecture: Part 3 of Chapter 8

    IPCC WG-I Chapter 8

    -

    25 February

    Attribution of Changes

    IPCC WG-I Chapter 9

    -

    27 February

    MID-TERM EXAM

    IPCC WG-I Chapters 1-8

    -

    29 February

    Attribution of Changes (cont'd)

    IPCC WG-I Chapter 9

    -

    3, 5, 7 March

    Projected Future Changes
    Pre-recorded lecture: Part 1 of Chapter 10
    Pre-recorded lecture: Part 2 of Chapter 10
    Pre-recorded lecture: Part 3 of Chapter 10

    IPCC WG-I Chapter 10

    Assigned reading: SRES Emissions Scenarios

    7 March

    504 term paper outline due

    		 

    		 

    10, 12, 14 March

    Regional Changes

    IPCC WG-I Chapter 11

    -

    17-21 March

    Spring Break - no classes

    		    

    24 March

    Regional Changes (continued)

    IPCC WG-I Chapter 11

    -

    26, 28 March

    I am away 26 and 28 March. There will be guest lectures by

  • Gene Takle (ppt file) and
  • Ray Arritt (ppt file)

    •  

    -

    31 March

    Seminar - Papers to be reviewed:

  • Hassol in EOS (2008)
  • Akasofu in EOS (2008)
  • Boykoff and Boykoff in Global Environmental Change (2004)

    •  

    Questions raised from the class

    2, 4 April

    Impacts: Water Resources

    IPCC WG-II Chapter 3

    -

    4 April

    504 term paper due for peer review

    		 

    		 

    7, 9 April

    Impacts: Ecosystems

    IPCC WG-II Chapter 4

    -

    11 April

    Impacts: Human Health

    IPCC WG-II Chapter 8

    -

    11 April

    504 term paper peer reviews due

    		 

    		 

    14 April

    Seminar - Papers to be reviewed:

  • Harte in Population and Environment (2007)
  • Potts in Population and Enviroment (2007)

    •  

    Questions raised from the class

    16 April

    Impacts: Coastal Systems

    IPCC WG-II Chapter 6

    -

    16, 18 April
    6 p.m.
    MU Sun Room

    		Bjorn Lomborg lecture

    		 

    Some thoughts on the lecture

    21 April

    Skeptics

    IPCC WG-II Chapter ?

    -

    22 April
    8:00 pm
    MU Sun Room

    		Kerry Emanuel lecture: "Is Global Warming Affecting Hurricanes?"  

    		 

    23, 25 April

    Skeptics (continued)

    IPCC WG-III

    -

    25 April

    504 term paper: Final versions due

    		 

    		 

    28, 30 April
    2 May

    Student presentations of 504 term papers

    		 

     

    7 May
    Wednesday

    Final Exam, 9:45-11:45 am
    in the course classroom

    		   

    Additional Sources of Information:

     

    (Images courtesy of USGS EROS Data Center: Himalayas, Deforestation in Bolivia, Namibian Desert)