AOSC 680 Introduction to Earth System Science
Instructor: Ross Salawitch
Tues-Thurs, 2:00 to 3:15 pm, Atlantic 2316
Fall 2024: 3 units
Office Hours: By arrangement,
via email
Required Texts:
Chemistry in Context: Applying Chemistry to Society 7th edition
The Chemistry in Context text can be purchased, rented from me for $20 (refunded upon return of book), or downloaded here. I'll review how to open the PDF file, if downloaded, in class on 27 August 2024.
Princeton Primers in Climate:
Atmospheres, Clouds, and Climate by David Randall*
Climate and Oceans by Geoffrey Vallis*
Climate and Ecosystems by David Schimel and/or Global Carbon Cycle by David Archer
The Cryosphere by Shawn Marshall and/or Paleoclimate by Michael Bender
Intro To Atmos Chem (2nd edition) by Daniel Jacob and/or The Ends of the World The Ends Of The World by Peter Brannen
We will read nearly all of the first two books listed above in their entirety. Students should acquire the books by Randall and by Vallis soon, as well will read from these books prior to the exam>
Chapters from some of the other Princeton Primers in Climate books and the other two books listed above will also be read, based on student interest. All of these books are available in various formats including paperback for less than $30 eachMaterial from these readings will be the primary source for the student-led discussions.
* Students, please purchase these two books as soon as possible.
Supplemental Text:
Global Warming: The Complete Briefing (5th edition) by John Houghton
Paris Climate
Agreement: Beacon of Hope
by Ross J. Salawitch, Timothy P. Canty,
Austin P. Hope, Walter R. Tribett, and Brian F. Bennett
Readings from Supplemental Text will be assigned via password protected files posted below.
Notes:
1) We will use the 7th edition of Chemistry in Context rather than the latest (9th edition) because of student cost (there are hundreds of used copies of the 7th edition available on Amazon for under $20; there is no used copy market for the 9th edition). In addition, since Ross actually helped write the 7th edition, as noted on page xiv of the Preface, he is able to provide registered students access to an electronic version of the book, as will be discussed during the first class meeting.
2) We will use Chapter 1 and a few other readings from Paris Climate Agreement: Beacon of Hope that Ross and his team wrote. This book is available electronically, for free, via open access. Hard copies can be purchased from various on-line venders for ~$45 to $60. Students are welcome to use the free electronic version of the book for the class.
3) We will attempt to record all lectures. If the recording is successful, the link for "Video" in the table below will become "hot". Students are expected to attend lecture in person, whenever possible. We record lectures to assist students with occasional inability to attend class and to help students review lecture material, particularly for exam preparation.
An introduction to the study of the earth as a system: atmosphere, oceans, land, cryosphere, solid earth, and humans. Cycling of materials and energy in the earth system: the energy cycle, the hydrologic cycle, the carbon cycle, the nitrogen cycle. Climate processes and variability: land-atmosphere, ocean-atmosphere, biosphere-climate, and human interactions, short- and long-term variability in climate.
The course is taught at a level appropriate for first year graduate students in Atmospheric and Oceanic Science. We’ll begin in traditional format, consisting of 9 lectures designed to provide a broad background to Earth System Science. This portion of the class will make use of equations, at a level considerably simpler than you will see in the other AOSC Core Classes. We will then transition to the student led discussion part of class, which will make use of four or more of the most excellent Princeton Primers In Climate series textbooks. These readings, which consist of light equations, emphasize fundamental understanding of concepts in Earth System Science, which is the mantra of this class.
|
Date |
Lecture Topic |
Required Reading |
Admis. Tickets |
Lecture
Notes |
Problem Sets |
Additional
|
Learning Outcome |
| 08/27 | Class Overview |
No reading for first meeting |
No AT | No Quiz | |||
| 08/29 |
Geological Evolution of Earth's
Atmosphere |
Sec 1.1, 1.2 (intro), and 1.2.1 (11.5 pages) |
Excellent news article on Meckler et al. study Ivany and Salawitch, Geology, 1993 |
Quiz 1 | |||
|
09/03 |
Overview of Global Warming |
Climate Change Evidence and Causes, Royal Society (36 pages) (1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.1, & 3.1) (11 pages) Paris Beacon of Hope Sec 1.2.2 (3 pages) |
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|
09/05 |
Fundamentals of Earth's
Atmosphere |
Chemistry in Context: Section 1.3, 1.5, 1.14, 2.1 (~10 pgs)
McElroy, Effective Temperature & The Concept of Geostrophy McElroy, Adiabatic Motion in the Vertical (7 pages) |
|
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|
09/10 |
Climates of the Past |
Chemistry in Context, Sec 2.2, 3.0, 3.1, 3.2 (14 pages) (pgs 77-84) Paris Beacon of Hope Sec 1.1 (these 7 pages had been assigned for Lecture 1; please review) as well as Sec 1.2.3 (2 paragraph into) and 1.2.3.1 (2 pages) |
(questions 6.1, 6.2)
Parrenin et al., Science, 2013
Press
release for Sept 2020 paper Informative webpage, isotopes and climate
|
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|
09/12 |
Global Carbon Cycle |
(8 pages) Paris Beacon of Hope Sec 1.2.3.2 (8 pages) |
|
IPCC 2007, Section
7.3.4.1 &
Doney, Ocean Acidification, Scientific American, March 2006
Doney, Ocean Acidification: The Other CO2 Problem, Ann. Rev. Mar. Sci., 2009
|
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|
09/17 |
Biogeochemical Cycles of
CH4 and N2O |
(8 pages) Paris Beacon of Hope Sec 1.2.3.3 & 1.2.3.4 (5 pages) |
|
||||
| 09/19 |
Radiative Forcing |
(14 pages) Paris Beacon of Hope Sec 1.2 (intro), 1.2.1 (please review), & 1.2.3.6 (8 pages) |
Green Chemistry, Chapter 3.4 (Sections 3.4.4.1 to 3.4.4.4 provide a nice mathematical complement to the lecture material)
|
Quiz 7 | |||
| 09/24 |
Modeling Earth's Climate:
Water Vapor, Aerosol, Cloud, & Albedo Feedbacks |
(6 pages) |
AT 8 | ||||
| 09/26 | Climate Basics & Atmospheric Energy Flow | Chapters 1 & 2 of Atmospheres, Clouds, and Climate by Randall | AT 9 | Quiz 9 | |||
|
On-Line Optional |
Consequences of Climate Change |
Sec 3.10 (5 pages)
|
|
||||
| 10/01 |
Review |
Review of Lectures 1 to 9 in preparation for first exam |
No Quiz | ||||
| 10/03 |
First Exam: Will cover Lectures 1 to 9, all required readings, as well as concepts that underlie the Problem Sets |
Students are responsible for the content of the Required Readings for Lectures 1 to 9. | |||||
|
10/08 |
Tips on Writing a Good Paper, Giving a Good Talk, and Path Forward |
AT 10 |
Zaumanis: Write An Impactful Research Paper Strunk & White: Elements of Style Borja: Six Tasks Before Starting to Write Provost: 100 Ways To Improve Writing What Is An Academic Paper? |
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| 10/10 | Turbulence and Cumulus Clouds |
Chapter 3 of Atmospheres, Clouds, and Climate 48 pages |
Lecture 11: |
Anderson et al., Nature Comm., 2016 DeCaria, Relating Dry Static Energy to Potential Temperature, 2007 |
|||
| 10/15 | Energy Flows and Climate Feedback |
Chapters 4 & 5 of Atmospheres, Clouds, and Climate 56 pages |
Lecture 12: |
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| 10/17 | Water Planet and Weather Predictability |
Chapters 6 & 7 of Atmospheres, Clouds, and Climate 46 pages |
Lecture 13: |
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| 10/22 | Atmospheric Ocean Interactions and Descriptive Overview of the Oceans |
Chapters 8 & 9 of
Atmospheres, Clouds, and
Climate Chapter 2 of Climate and the Oceans 43 pages |
Lecture 14: |
||||
| 10/24 | Ocean Dynamics and Circulation |
Chapters 3 & 4 of Climate and the Oceans 49 pages (focus on text & concepts rather than equations; no need to work through appendices) |
Lecture 15: |
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| 10/29 | Oceans Role in Climate & Climate Variability |
Chapters 5 & 6 of Climate and the Oceans 47 pages (focus on text & concepts rather than equations; no need to work through appendices) |
Lecture 16:
|
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| 10/31 | Global Warming and the Ocean |
Chapters 7 of Climate and the Oceans' (no need to work through appendices) 44 pages |
Lecture 17: |
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| 11/05 | Hydrology |
USGS Aquifers and Ground Water (read the Overview) Earth Eclipse Aquifers (focus on content of main page, except for Perched Aquifers and Leaky Aquifers section) Famiglietti, Nature Climate, 2014 Famiglietti and Ferguson, Science, 2021 Jasechko and Perrone, Science, 2021 (2 web-pages and 10 pages of peer-reviewed literature) |
AT 18 |
Lecture 18: |
Postel, Adapting To A New Normal | ||
| 11/07 | Cryosphere |
Chapters 1 and 9 of The Cryosphere by Shawn Marshall (30 pages) |
Lecture 19: |
https://nsidc.org/learn/what-cryosphere | |||
| 11/12 |
Ozone Layer |
Lecture 20:
|
Twenty Questions and Answers About the Ozone Layer | ||||
| 11/14 | Agriculture and Climate Change |
AR6_WGII_Chap05.pdf (read Sects 5.2, 5.4,& 5.12) . (read Intro & Sect 11.1) . (42 pages) |
Lecture 21:
|
|
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| 11/19 | Wildfires and Climate Change |
Pausas and Keeley, Frontiers In Ecology and Envir, 2021 (23 pages of peer-reviewed literature) |
AT 22 |
Lecture 22: |
Cobela et al., Envir. Res, 2023 |
||
| 11/21 |
The End-Permian Mass Extinction |
Chapter 4 of Ends of the World, Brannen to be handed out in class 38 pages |
AT 23 |
Lecture 23:
|
Beerling et al., Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc., 2007 | ||
| 11/26 |
The End-Ordovician Mass Extinction |
Chapter 2 of Ends of the World, Brannen to be handed out in class 44 pages
|
AT 24 |
Lecture 24: |
Anticosti Island | ||
|
12/03 Will stay late |
Student Presentations, Day 1 |
No AT |
Presentations students 1 to 7 |
Each Presentation is 12 minutes, with 3 mins for discussion. 7 x 15 = 105 minutes
Paper due 4 Dec, 11:59 pm |
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|
12/05 We start at 1:20 pm |
Student Presentations, Day 2 |
No AT |
Presentations students 8 to 14 |
Each Presentation is 12 minutes, with 3 mins for discussion. 7 x 15 = 105 minutes
Paper due Dec 6, 11:59 pm |
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Problem sets due on the date listed
The overall grades will be based on the problems sets (10%), admission tickets (30%), one in class exam (20%), the student led presentation from the Princeton Primers in Climate series (20%), and the final in class presentation (10%) and final paper (10%). All students are required to write a research paper that is 6 to 8 pages long (single-spaced; length does not include figures or references), and make an in class presentation on the research paper, on a topic of their choosing within the realm of Earth System Science. The research paper / presentation must be original work for this class.
To encourage completion of the reading assignments prior to class, there is an admission ticket to be completed prior to the the start of each class, unless otherwise noted, to be conducted either using ELMS or in person, at the start of each class meeting. The admission ticket (AT) is a short series of questions drawn from the reading. Each ticket will be graded in a prompt manner. The lowest three AT scores will be dropped. The overall AT grade counts 30% towards the final course grade. The ATs require a considerable amount of effort, reflected in the 30% weight towards the final grade.
In many cases, the answer(s) to the admission ticket
question(s) will be worked into the lecture. Hence, the requirement that admission ticket
solutions be complete in prior to the start of lecture.
Please remember to hit the ''refresh'' button to see the latest version of this website each time you visit, as we intend to update the website file frequently during the course.