Global Climate and Climate Change Notes

What IS Climate?

  • Climate is the long-term nature of the atmosphere, oceans, and land surfaces regarding weather variables.
  • "Long term" is defined as ~30 years or more.

Why does the climate change?

  • Climate change is evident from global temperature anomalies.

Course Outline

  • The sun is the primary energy source driving Earth’s climate.
  • Earth's temperature is dictated by how it uses the sun’s energy.
  • Human emissions of greenhouse gases alter Earth's energy balance and temperature.
  • The atmosphere and ocean move, impacting climate, with interactions between them.
  • Land interacts with the atmosphere, affecting climate through processes like radiation and moisture flux.
  • Climate interacts with the biosphere, affecting the carbon cycle.
  • The climate has varied before human observation, with changes caused by events like "Snowball Earth."
  • Climate has changed over the past century, concerning scientists.
  • Climate is expected to continue changing, which will have impacts modeled using computational climate modeling.

Communicating About Climate Change

  • Focus on being correct when communicating about climate change.

Examples

  • Sierra Nevada winter precipitation reconstructed from tree rings shows climate variation.
  • Soil moisture content indicates the effect of climate change.
  • Western United States Forest Fire Area.
  • Atmospheric rivers and flooding events are related to climate patterns.

Course Website

  • Use the website to view syllabus, lecture slides, and assignments.

Instructors

  • Professor: Park Williams
  • TAs: Jacob Jones & Xiaoyu Ma

Lectures

  • Tuesday and Thursday
  • Encourages Questions/Discussion for more engagement
  • Attendance is important for exam success

Grading

  • 40% Weekly Assignments
  • 20% Midterm Exam
  • 40% Final Exam

Required Reading

  • Climate Change: The Science of Global Warming and Our Energy Future by Edmond A. Mathez and Jason E. Smerdon.

Main Goals

  • Foster a genuine interest in climate.
  • Develop an understanding of Earth system interconnectivity.
  • Build confidence in discussing climate processes.
  • Recognize the discrepancy between climate and human timescales.