Climate Change 4030-CC
The outline of the course is as follows:
1) Climate vs. weather. Climate system: components and parameters. Climate measurements and observations.
2) Energy balance of planet Earth. Solar constant, planetary albedo, greenhouse effect. Climate forcings and feedbacks.
3) Natural climate forcings and climate changes across geological history of the planet. Anthropocentric climate forcing and actual climate change.
4) Human fingerprints on climate: evidence.
5) Climate modeling: principles, verification, projections. Climate scenarios. Carbon budget.
6) IPCC assessment and special reports.
Course coordinators
Type of course
Mode
Prerequisites (description)
Learning outcomes
Understanding differences between weather and climate.
Understanding trends and anomalies.
Understanding energy balance, radiative forcing, feedbacks, climate sensitivity.
Ability to explain greenhouse effect and greenhouse gases.
Knowledge about climatic data sources and availability.
Understanding natural and anthropogenic climate forcings and their effects in past and present climate.
Basic knowledge on climate modeling, application to past, present and future climate.
Understanding climate projections and their uncertainties.
Knowledge on IPCC reports, public discussion on climate change, media coverage.
Ability to distinguish between information and disinformation about climate and climate change.
Assessment criteria
40% - continuous assessment, 60% - final written assessment
Practical placement
-
Bibliography
• Andrew E. Deessler, Introduction to Modern Climate Change, Cambridge University Press; 2 edition (September 19, 2016).
• Raymond T. Pierrehumbert, Principles of planetary climate, Cambridge University Press; 1 edition (December 2, 2010).
• David Archer, The Global Carbon Cycle, Princeton University Press (November 1, 2010).
• David Archer, Global Warming: Understanding the Forecast, Wiley; 2 edition (September 21, 2011).
• http://forecast.uchicago.edu/models.html
• https://www.noaa.gov/categories/climate-change
• https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate-guide
• http://climexp.knmi.nl/plot_atlas_form.py
Selected scientific publications (changing year-to-year).