EMS First Year Seminar: Climate Change and Potential Societal Impacts (EM SC 100S, 3 Credits)

Course Syllabus for Fall 2007

 

Instructor: Michael E. Mann, Department of Meteorology, 523 Walker Building, mann@psu.edu

Teaching Assistant: Audra Hennecke, ach5007@psu.edu

Meeting Time/Place: T R 11:15 AM – 12:30 PM (8 DEIKE)

Office Hours: You are welcome to visit my office for questions during scheduled office hours (Wed, 1:30-2:45 PM), or by appointment. You may also email for questions (please use “mann@psu.edu”). Responses may be delayed.

Motivation:

How certain are we that human activity is altering earth’s climate? How much more warming might we expect over the next century? What will the impacts be on severe weather events such as hurricanes, tornados, floods and drought? How might climate change impact water availability in arid and semi-arid regions already stressed for water resources? What is the threat to coastal regions? How might climate change impact natural ecosystems? Are there winners and losers? This course will explore the scientific evidence underlying each of these questions, reviewing the most recent international assessments of the science.

Webpage

We will regularly draw upon the course homepage as a resource for the course:

http://www.meteo.psu.edu/~mann/Mann/courses/EMSC100SFall07

Aside from links to the course syllabus, there will be links to the readings, slides from the lectures, and other course-related materials.

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) the morning prior to the lecture.

Textbook

There is no text book for this course. Instead, you are expected to read various selected materials  provided through the course webpage. The readings should be completed in advance of our covering the material in class. Readings for each week will typically be posted on the course website by the end of the previous week.

The readings are typically taken from scientific assessments and other expert sources. You are welcome (and indeed encouraged) to make use of supplementary sources of information that you may find. You should be sure, however, to assess the reliability of any supplementary sources used in assignments, with respect to the qualifications and expertise of the source, and any biases or conflicts of interest that may compromise its objectivity.

Course Requirements and Grades

Students will be expected to complete written assignments based on the readings, in advance of our covering the material in class (assignments will be collected at the end of class). Students are expected to participate in in-class discussion and debates. Students will take turns leading discussions over the course of the term, and will give short presentations on a selected topic (both written and oral) towards the end of the term.

Class Schedule (tentative and subject to change)

#              DATE                                                             TOPIC                                                                               

1

T Aug 28

Introduction

2

R Aug 30

Introduction (cont); Greenhouse Gases on the Rise

3

T Sep 4

Greenhouse Gases on the Rise (cont);

4

R Sep 6

The “Greenhouse Effect”

5

T Sep 11

The “Greenhouse Effect” (cont); Humans vs. Nature

6

R Sep 13

Humans vs. Nature (cont)

7

T Sep 18

Scientific Uncertainty

8

R Sep 20

Observations of Modern Climate Change

9

T Sep 25

Observations of Modern Climate Change (continued)

10

R Sep 27

In-Class Workshop on writing w/ EMS writer-in-residence Joe Schall

11

T Oct 2

Observations of Modern Climate Change (continued)

12

R Oct 4

Observations of Modern Climate Change (continued)

13

T Oct 9

A Tempest in a Greenhouse: Have Hurricanes Become More Frequent or Intense?

14

R Oct 11

The Paleoclimate Perspective

15

T Oct 16

The Paleoclimate Perspective (continued)

16

R Oct 18

‘The Day After Tomorrow’: A Possible Scenario?

17

T Oct 23

Climate Modeling; Can’t We Explain Climate Trends by Natural Factors Alone?

18

R Oct 25

How Sensitive is the Climate?

19

T Oct 30

Projections of Future Climate Change:  Emissions Scenarios

20

R Nov 1

Projections of Future Climate Change: The Next Century

21

T Nov 6

Projections of Future Climate Change:  Melting Ice and Rising Sea Level

22 

R Nov 8

In-Class Internet/Web Workshop w/ EMS info. tech. expert Tim Robinson

23

T Nov 13

Projections of Future Climate Change: Changes in Extreme Weather

24

R Nov 15

The science in ‘An Inconvenient Truth’

 

T Nov 20

No Class [Thanksgiving break]

 

R Nov 22

No Class [Thanksgiving break]

25

T Nov 27

The science in ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ (continued)

26

R Nov 29

Impacts/Adaptations /Vulnerability/Solutions [student oral presentations]

27

T Dec 4

Impacts/Adaptations /Vulnerability/Solutions [student oral presentations]

28

R Dec 6

Impacts/Adaptations /Vulnerability/Solutions [student oral presentations]