Climate Dynamics (METEO 470, 3 credits)

Course Syllabus for Spring 2015

 

Instructor: Michael E. Mann, Department of Meteorology, 514 Walker Building, mann@psu.edu

Meeting Time/Place: TuTh 1:00-2:15P (101 Walker)

Office Hours: You are encouraged to use email for questions when possible. You are welcome to visit my office for questions during scheduled office hours (Wed 1:00-2:15 PM), or by appointment.

Motivation:

In order to under and model the climate system, we need to understand the dynamics of the underlying components, including the atmosphere and ocean, and the mechanisms by which they are coupled.

In this course, we will model the dynamics and thermodynamics governing the ocean and atmosphere on spatial and temporal scales appropriate for climate studies. We will investigate the processes by which the dynamics of the ocean and atmosphere are coupled on these timescales, with the goal of understanding the basic mechanisms of climate variability. Topics discussed will include the thermohaline and wind-driven ocean circulation, energy balance, the El Nino/Southern Oscillation (ENSO), internal and forced climate variability, and climate change.

Webpage

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

http://www.meteo.psu.edu/~mann/Mann/courses/METEO470SPR15/index.html

Aside from links to the course syllabus, there will be links to the readings, problem sets, 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 before or shortly following the lecture.

Textbook

There is no required textbook.

I recommend as a reference: Peixoto and Oort (1992), Physics of Climate, 2nd Edition, American Institute of Physics Press, 564pp. (suggested readings indicated in lecture schedule below).

Where appropriate, supplementary readings taken from various sources will be posted on the course website.

Grading

Problem Sets (40%): There will be several (4) problem sets assigned that will involve applications of topics covered in class.  You may discuss the problems with each other, but the problem set you turn in should reflect your own individual effort.

“Up In the Air” Project (10%): You will participate in a project (in teams of 2-3 students) aimed at producing content (related to some aspect of the course) for use in the Meteorology Department’s new “Up In the Air” Television program. Projects are **DUE MARCH 21**. Each project team will give a short presentation sometime after Spring Break (late March through late April).

Mid-Term Exam (20%): There will be an in-class mid-term examination roughly mid-way through the semester (March 5).

Final Exam (30%): There will a final examination for the course at the scheduled time and date.

 

LECTURE SCHEDULE (tentative and subject to change)                                                                                                                                                                                        

 

DATE

LECTURE TOPIC

READING

ASSIGNMENT

1

T Jan 13

Introduction

1; 2

 

2

R Jan 15

Introduction (continued); Equations of Motion

3.1-3.2.1

 

 

T Jan 20

“Up in the Air” workshop

 

PS #1 Assigned

3

R Jan 22

Equations of Motion (cont)

 

 

4

T Jan 27

Energy Equation

3.4.1

5

R Jan 29

Equation of State (for Atmosphere)

3.5;3.5.1

 

6

T Feb 3

Filtering of Governing Equations (for Atmosphere)

3.2.2

PS #1 Due

7

R Feb 5

Large-Scale Atmospheric Circulation

3.2.2; 7

PS #2 Assigned

8

T Feb 10

Large-Scale Atmospheric Circulation (continued)

R Feb 12

No Class

 

 

G1

T Feb 17

Guest Lecture: Ocean Circ Tracers & Observations (Ray Najjar)

 

9

R Feb 19

Hydrological cycle; Salinity; Equation of State for Ocean

3.5.2;12;12.1.1-12.5.2

PS #2 Due

G2

T Feb 24

Guest Lecture: Ice Sheets-Climate Interactions (David Pollard)

 

G3

R Feb 26

Guest Lecture: Climate & Coastal Risk (Andra Reed)

 

 

10

T Mar 3

Filtering of Governing Equations (for Ocean)

3.2.3

R Mar 5

Mid-term

 

 

 

T Mar 10

No Class [Spring Break]

 

 

 

R Mar 12

No Class [Spring Break]

 

 

11

T Mar 17

Large-scale Ocean Circulation—Ekman transport

3.2.3;8

PS #3 Assigned

G4

R Mar 19

Guest Lecture: Ice Sheets & Sea Level Rise (Patrick Applegate)

 

 

12

T Mar 24

Large-scale Ocean Circulation—Ekman circulation

 

13

R Mar 26

Large-scale Ocean Circulation—Sverdrup transport

14

T Mar 31

Large-scale Ocean Circulation—gyre circulation

 

 

15

R Apr 2

Large-scale Ocean Circulation—thermohaline circulation (THC)

 

PS #3 Due

16

T Apr 7

Climate Modeling: Energy Balance Models

6-6.3; 6.6-6.8; 10-10.7

PS #4 Assigned

17

R Apr 9

Climate Modeling: Energy Balance Models (cont)

Supplemental Readings

G5

T Apr 14

Guest Lecture: Climate & Security (David Titley)

 

G6

R Apr 16

Guest Lecture: Earth’s Early Climate (James Kasting)

 

18

T Apr 21

Climate Modeling: El Nino/Southern Oscillation

Supplemental Readings

 

19

R Apr 23

Climate Modeling: El Nino/Southern Oscillation (cont)

PS #4 Due

20

T Apr 28

Climate Modeling: Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere Models

Supplemental Readings

21

R Apr 30

Anthropogenic Climate Change