GAIA - THE EARTH SYSTEM (EARTH 002, Section 2; 3
credits)
Course Syllabus for Fall 2009
Instructor: Michael E. Mann, Departments of Meteorology and
Geosciences, 523 Walker Building, mann@psu.edu
Teaching Assistant: Joshua Dorin, Department of Geosciences, 242 Deike,
jdorin@psu.edu
Meeting Time/Place: MWF 01:25-2:15 PM (101 OSMOND)
Office Hours:
You are welcome to visit the instructor or TA’s
office for questions during scheduled office hours or by appointment. Office
hours are: Thursday 11:15 AM-12:30 PM (instructor) and Tuesday 10:00 AM-11:30
AM (TA). You may also email the TA or instructor at the email addresses
indicated above. Responses may be delayed.
Course Description:
EARTH 002 is a broad introduction to the Earth and
to the forces and processes that shape the present-day global environment. The
course focuses on global-scale changes, both natural and human-induced. These
include: global climate change, destruction of stratospheric ozone, and
tropical deforestation, species extinction, and the loss of biodiversity.
Webpage:
The course homepage is:
http://www.meteo.psu.edu/~mann/Mann/courses/EARTH2/index.html
Aside from links to the course syllabus, there will
be links to the readings, problem sets, and required MATLAB routines, slides
from the lectures, and other course-related materials. Problem Set, Quiz, and
Mid-Term Solutions will in general be posted on the course ANGEL site.
Lectures:
Attendance of all lectures is expected. You are
strongly encouraged to ask questions and participate constructively in class.
Copies of slides from the lectures will usually be made available
electronically through the course website (see above) after the lecture has
been completed.
Textbooks:
There are two required text books for the course,
available at a reduced package rate through the Penn State bookstore:
The Earth System (2nd ed.) by L. R. Kump, J. F. Kasting, and R. G.
Crane.
Dire Predictions: Understanding Global Warming, by M.E. Mann and L.R. Kump
Where appropriate, supplementary readings taken
from various sources may also be used, in which case they will be posted on the
course website. Copies of the textbooks are available in the Penn State library
system on reserve.
Grading:
Problem Sets
(25%): There will be a number of
assigned problem sets that will involve applications of topics covered in
class.
Quizzes (15%): There will be occasional short in-class quizzes to
help insure that you keep up with the course material.
Mid-term Exams
(25%: 10% for 1st + 15% for 2nd):
Final Exam (35%)
Academic Integrity Policy: This
course adopts the academic integrity policy of the EMS College, described at http://www.ems.psu.edu/students/integrity/statement.html.
Briefly, students are expected to do their own problem sets and to work the
exams on their own. Class members may work on the problem sets in groups,
but then each student must write up his or her answers separately.
Students may not copy problem or exam answers from another person's paper and
present them as their own. Students who present other people's work as
their own, as well as the students providing the answers, will receive at least
a 0 on the assignment and may well receive an F in the course.
Special Fall 2009 Flu Protocols: In compliance with Pennsylvania Department of Health and Centers for Disease Control recommendations, students should NOT attend class or any public gatherings while ill with influenza. Students with flu symptoms will be asked to leave campus if possible and to return home during recovery. The illness and self-isolation period will usually be about a week. It is very important that individuals avoid spreading the flu to others. Most students should be able to complete a successful semester despite a
flu-induced absence.
COURSE SCHEDULE (tentative and subject to change)
#
DATE
TOPIC Assignment Reading
|
1 |
M Aug 24 |
Course Overview: Gaia; Earth System Science |
|
|
|
2 |
W Aug 26 |
Intro. Global Change: Global Warming, Ozone Depletion, Faint Young Sun Paradox |
PS #1 Assigned |
KKC-1:1-15; MK: 10-11,14,15 |
|
3 |
F Aug 28 |
Introduction to System Science; Feedbacks |
|
KKC-2: 18-23 |
|
4 |
M Aug 31 |
Daisyworld |
|
KKC-2: 23-27 |
|
5 |
W Sep 2 |
Daisyworld (cont) |
|
KKC-2: 27-31 |
|
6 |
F Sep 4 |
Electromagnetic Radiation; Temperature |
|
KKC-3: 34-38; |
|
|
M Sep 7 |
No class
– Labor Day |
|
|
|
7 |
W Sep 9 |
Blackbody Radiation |
PS #1 Due |
KKC-3: 39-41; |
|
8 |
F Sep 11 |
Planetary Energy Balance |
PS #2 Assigned |
KKC-3: 41-43; MK: 12 |
|
9 |
M Sep 14 |
Atmospheric Composition and Structure; The Greenhouse Effect |
|
KKC-3: 44-48; MK: 22-23, 26-35 |
|
10 |
W Sep 16 |
Radiation and Energy Budget |
|
KKC-3: 48-50; |
|
11 |
F Sep 18 |
Intro to Climate Models; Climate Feedbacks |
|
KKC-3: 50-53; MK: 24-25, 64-65 |
|
12 |
M Sep 21 |
Large-scale Atmospheric Circulation: Overview |
|
KKC-4: 55-80; MK: 13 |
|
13 |
W Sep 23 |
Large-scale Atmospheric Circulation: Seasonality |
|
” |
|
14 |
F Sep 25 |
Large-scale Atmospheric Circulation: Hydrological Cycle |
PS #2 Due |
” |
|
15 |
M Sep 28 |
Large-scale Ocean Circulation |
|
KKC-5: 83-103; MK: 60-61 |
|
16 |
W Sep 30 |
Large-scale Ocean Circulation (cont) |
|
” |
|
17 |
F Oct 2 |
MIDTERM
#1 |
|
|
|
18 |
M Oct 5 |
Climate Models Revisited |
|
KKC-6: 104-115; MK: 66-67 |
|
19 |
W Oct 7 |
Climate Models Revisited (cont) |
|
” |
|
20 |
F Oct 9 |
Climate Models Revisited (cont) |
|
” |
|
21 |
M Oct 12 |
Climate Models Revisited (cont) |
|
” |
|
22 |
W Oct 14 |
Structure of the Solid Earth |
PS #3 Due; PS #4 Assigned |
KKC-7: 117-126 |
|
23 |
F Oct 16 |
Seafloor spreading; Plate Tectonics |
|
KKC-7: 126-137 |
|
24 |
M Oct 19 |
Plate Tectonics (continued) |
|
KKC-7: 137-145 |
|
25 |
W Oct 21 |
The Organic Carbon Cycle |
|
KKC-8: 147-161; MK: 94-97 |
|
26 |
F Oct 23 |
The Inorganic Carbon Cycle |
|
KKC-8: 161-170 |
|
27 |
M Oct 26 |
Origin of the Earth; Geologic Time |
|
KKC-10: 187-195 |
|
28 |
W Oct 28 |
The Origin of Life |
PS#4 Due |
KKC-10: 195-204 |
|
29 |
F Oct 30 |
The Rise of O2: Cyanobacteria |
PS#5 Assigned |
KKC-11: 207-220 |
|
30 |
M Nov 2 |
The Rise of O2: Geologic Evidence |
|
KKC-11: 220-228 |
|
31 |
W Nov 4 |
Faint Young Sun Revisited |
|
KKC-12: 230-236 |
|
32 |
F Nov 6 |
Faint Young Sun Revisited (cont) |
|
|
|
33 |
M Nov 9 |
MIDTERM
#2 |
|
|
|
34 |
W Nov 11 |
‘Snowball Earth’; Mesozoic Warmth; Cenozoic Cooling |
|
KKC-12: 236-249; MK: 40-43, 82-85 |
|
35 |
F Nov 13 |
Pleistocene Ice Ages; Milankovitch Cycles |
PS #5 Due |
KKC-14: 270-281; MK: 62-63 |
|
36 |
M Nov 16 |
Glacial Climate Feedback Processes |
PS #6 Assigned |
KKC-14: 281-287 |
|
37 |
W Nov 18 |
MOVIE: An Inconvenient Truth (Part 1) |
|
|
|
38 |
F Nov 20 |
MOVIE: An Inconvenient Truth (Part 2) |
|
|
|
|
M Nov 23 |
No class
- Thanksgiving |
|
|
|
|
W Nov 25 |
No class
- Thanksgiving |
|
|
|
|
F Nov 27 |
No class
- Thanksgiving |
|
|
|
39 |
M Nov 30 |
Glacial Climate Feedback Processes (cont) |
|
” |
|
40 |
W Dec 2 |
Stratospheric Ozone |
|
KKC-17: 343-353 |
|
41 |
F Dec 4 |
The Ozone Hole |
PS #6 Due |
KKC-17: 353-359 |
|
42 |
M Dec 7 |
Modern Climate Change – Fundamentals; The Observations |
|
MK: 17-21,36-39,44-59, 68-75 |
|
43 |
W Dec 9 |
Modern Climate Change – Future Projections |
|
KKC-16-317-328; MK 77-81; 86-93; 98-105 |
|
44 |
F Dec 11 |
Modern Climate Change – Impacts; Mitigation |
|
KKC-16: 329-340; Skim MK 108-197 |