Climatology

Students learn how the atmosphere, oceans, and freshwater systems interact to affect climate. Causes of greenhouse warming, energy production and alternatives are studied. A local case study focuses on planning for climate change on inter-annual, decadal, and centennial time scales. A goal of the course is to teach an appreciation of uncertainties and predictability in earth systems.  A particular emphasis will be placed on the role of humans over the last centuries, in the perturbation of the natural climate. Students will learn how these perturbations can be characterized and distinguished from natural fluctuations. The course will also examine an integrated view of the Earth’s energy budget, structure and circulation of the atmosphere and the ocean, and the interaction between oceans and atmosphere.