Climate Change Science
By the end of the course students should be able to:
- understand the key physical and biological processes
and anthropogenic activities that affect the Earth's climate
- understand the essential features of energy production, storage,
distribution, and use.
- understand basic economic and human issues associated
with anthropogenic activities.
- make order of magnitude estimates of carbon footprints and other
quantities relating to climate change.
None.
physics, structure, and energy transfer mechanisms
of the atmosphere and oceans;
chemical cycles;
greenhouse gases;
Gaia theory;
history of the Earth;
effects of human activities;
climate modelling;
geoengineering;
production,
storage, and distribution of energy;
energy use and conservation;
pollution, waste, and recycling;
food production;
economics of greenhouse gas reduction;
human population and behaviour
- Week 1
- Background physics: absorption of radiation;
heat transfer; nuclear processes
- Week 2
- Structure of the atmosphere and oceans;
energy transfer mechanisms in the atmosphere and oceans; oceanic
oscillations
- Week 3
- Chemical cycles on Earth; greenhouse gases; feedback effects
- Week 4
- Gaia theory; regulatory mechanisms; history of the Earth
- Week 5
- Effects of human activities and consequences of rapid
climate change: sea levels, extreme weather, desertification, disease,
biodiversity, earthquakes, volcanoes
- Week 6
- Climate modelling: elements of basic models, current levels of
models, predictions
- Week 7
- Geoengineering: reforestation, greenhouse gas removal, aerosols,
reflectors, cloud formation and whitening, ocean fertilization
- Week 8
- Thermodynamics of energy production, efficiency, measures of energy,
calculation of carbon footprint, measures of safety
- Week 9
- Exam 1 (on weeks 1-7).
- Week 10
- Energy production I: fossil fuels, nuclear fission and fusion
- Week 11
- Energy production II: hydroelectric, geothermal, solar,
wind, tidal, biofuel, other sources
- Week 12
- Energy storage, use, and conservation:
- Week 13
- Pollution, waste, and recycling:
- Week 14
- Food production: farming methods and their environmental impact,
potential of GMO
- Week 15
- Economics of greenhouse gas reduction: GDP, cap and
trade, carbon tax, carbon credits, offsetting, sales restrictions
- Week 16
- Human population and behaviour: growth rate,
demographic sustainability, irrational behaviour, collective
behaviour, voter model
- Week 17
- Final exam
Report: 10%
Exam 1: 45%
Exam 2: 45%
Gérard Guyot, "Physics of the Environment and Climate", Wiley, 1998.
José P Peixoto and Abraham H Oort, "Physics of Climate",
American Institute of Physics, 1992.
David J C MacKay, "Sustainable Energy - without the hot air", UIT Cambridge,
2009.
James Lovelock, "The Revenge of Gaia", Penguin, 2006.
Jonathan Cowie, "Climate Change: Biological and Human Aspects", CUP, 2007.
Jonathan Cowie, "Climate and Human Change: Disaster or
Opportunity?", Parthenon, 1998.
2011-06-02
