Syllabus contents:
Climate and Climate Change
Syllabus
Class Meeting Times and Location: Daily (M-F) from 10:30 to 11:20 am in Room 310C in the Atmospheric Sciences Building
Instructors:
Prof. John M. Wallace
e-mail:
wallace@atmos.washington.edu
Phone: (206) 543-7390
Office:
Office hours: By appointment
Dr. Philip W. Mote
e-mail: philip@atmos.washington.edu
Phone: (206) 616-5346
Office:
Office hours: By appointment
Teaching Assistant: Robb Contreras
e-mail:
robb@apl.washington.edu
Phone: (206) 543-2480
Office: Room 310A in the Atmospheric Sciences
Building
Office hours: Tue. and Thurs. 11:20-12:20
and by appointment.
Course Outline
This is an introductory course for nonscience
majors on climate and climate change. The class will be divided in
three parts:
- Climate of the present (Weeks 1-4)
- Climate of the past (Weeks 5-7)
- Climate of the future (Weeks 8-10)
"The Earth System" by Lee R. Kump, James F. Kasting, and Robert C. Crane, Prentice Hall, 1999.
The lectures will largely follow the textbook
(see Reader's Guide to the Text).
Each week the students will be required to read material of direct relevance
to the class, but the curious student would do well to read the entire
book. In addition, after each class, lecture notes will posted on
the web. These notes will summarize the main topics covered and provide
additional material not included in the book (such as web links).
None. Open to all undergraduates.
Your grade will be based on exams, assignments, a research project, and class participation:
Assignments 25%
Research project
25%
Midterms 20%
ComprehensiveFinal
exam 20%
Quizzes, class participation
10%
You are expected to attend lectures and
participate in class. There will be no make-up exams except in extreme
circumstances, in which case you must contact the instructor in advance
of the exam.
Research project and symposium
You will research the details of some aspect
of Earth's past or present climate. The instructors will suggest
some topics in a separate document. Your grade on the project is
based on (1) a written report (which will need to be revised if you are
taking this as a W class) and (2) an oral presentation at one
of four symposia scheduled for the week of 19 February.
Assignments
and quizzes
The first four assignments will require
you to answer questions (mostly short answer) drawn from lectures, the
textbook, and online resources. Assignment 5 will be a written critique
of an article in the non-scientific media about some aspect of climate
change. We will select a few to be presented orally as a basis for
class discussion.
Assignments are due in class at 10:30 on the day indicated. Late assignments will not be accepted without advance arrangement.
Online quizzes will be given throughout the quarter. Quizzes are due by 10:30 AM on the indicated date. Be sure to regularly check the assignments/quizzes section.
Extra Credit
There will be a number of extra credit
opportunities during the course of the quarter. Some will be in the form
of extra credit questions on quizzes, homework assignments and exams, others
will be based on attending a seminar related to "Climate and Climate Change",
and writing a short paragraph describing what the seminar was about. Below
we will post dates of some seminars you might find interesting.
Talks and seminars:
Friday, January 18, 2002
Atmospheric Sciences Colloquium
Professor Edward L. Miles, UW JISAO-GCCP
"Beyond Kyoto and Marrakech"
3:30 PM JHN 064
Last Updated:
01/07/2002