General Catalog 2023-24

Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour. Overview of fundamentals of Earth’s climate, including greenhouse effect, water and chemical cycles, outstanding features of atmospheric and ocean circulation, and feedback between different system components. Exciting and contentious scientific puzzles of climate system, including causes of ice ages, greenhouse warming, and el niño. Importance of climate science and prediction to society, with emphasis on science’s role in identifying, qualifying, and solving environmental problems such as ozone hole and greenhouse warming. P/NP or letter grading.