announcements: please fill out the entry survey on the web (10 points). if you can’t access the...
Post on 22-Dec-2015
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Announcements:
•Please fill out the Entry Survey on the Web (10 Points).
•If you can’t access the CourseTools site, contact [email protected]
Course Objectives• Understand Earth as an integrated system:
– Change and evolution (stars, solar systems, soils, and life evolve from pre-cursors)
– Underlying physical and natural processes and how they are integrated
– Variability and uncertainty (climate has always varied, prediction is difficult in complex systems)
– Human alteration of Earth's physical and biological systems
Responder Question:(Anonymous)
Do you believe the Big Bang hypothesis for the origin of the
Universe?
Evolution of the Universe and Atmosphere
• Evidence for the Big Bang• The formation of stars and elements• How the structure of earth and the
atmosphere is characterized
• Lab: the energy balance of earth; Why aren’t we as hot as Venus?
Geology of the Evolving Planet
• The layered earth• Natural hazards• Plate tectonics
• Lab: topography and hazards
Evolution
• How is soil formed?• The emergence of complex life• The fossil record
Speciation and Competition
• Darwin’s theory of evolution• Communities and food webs
• Lab: – How humans affect the evolution of other
species (the peppered moth example) – Modeling of predator-prey relationships
Responder Question:(Anonymous)
Do you believe the theory that increased carbon dioxide and other greenhouse
gases released into the atmosphere lead to global warming and an increase in
average global temperatures?
A. YES
B. NO
The Study of Climate• Evolution of atmospheric oxygen• Warming potential of greenhouse
gases• Ocean circulation and El Niño• Climate models: Predictions
• Lab: Study original data from ice cores
Responder Question:(Anonymous)
Do you think that global warming is, or is not, probably a cause of the large number of
forest wildfires in the West?
A. Is not a causeB. Is probably a cause C. Not sure
Results from Americans Polled in 2000:
Do you think that global warming is, or is not, probably a cause of the large number of forest wildfires in
the West?
A. Is not a cause (54.1 %)B. Is probably a cause (35.5%)C. Not sure (10.10%)
Source: the Odum Institute
Human Interaction With the Atmosphere
• Air quality• Ozone• Feedback mechanisms• The human response
• Lab: – Regional trends in temperature change– Modeling how policies have changed the rate of
ozone depletion
Responder Question:(Anonymous)
Do you think that it is important to our survival to preserve Earth’s biodiversity?
A. YESB. NO C. Not sureD. No opinion
The Ecosystem
• Microbes and energy transformations• Global element cycles• Effects of elevated atmospheric CO2
• The flow of energy and production• Tropical rain forests
• Lab: Modeling the global carbon and hydrological cycles
You Are the Researcher• You will have a chance to examine original research
on a global change topic and present it to your classmates and instructors
• Projects are done in groups of 2-4 and will be turned in as a web page at the end of the term
Some examples of past projects are on the web.You will get moreInformation fromYour GSI later.