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Figure: IPCC AR4

ATOC 1060, Spring 2011

ATOC 1060: Our Changing Environment: El Niño, Ozone, Climate
Discusses the Earth's climate for non-science majors, focusing on the role of the atmosphere, oceans, and land surface. Describes the water cycle, atmospheric circulations, and ocean currents, and how they influence global climate, El Niño, and the ozone hole. Discusses human impacts from climate change. Prereq., ATOC 1050. Approved for arts and sciences core curriculum: natural science. Elective for ATOC minor.

You can access the syllabus, private files, and class notes and calendar.

Class Meetings and Notes

All meetings will be in Duane G1B20, 12:30-1:45PM on Tuesdays and Thursdays, unless noted below.

Prof. Fox-Kemper's office hours are Mondays 1:30-3:30PM in Ekeley S250B or by appointment (bfk@colorado.edu). TA Ben Blazey's office hours are Mondays 5-7PM in Duane E126 or by appointment (benjamin.blazey@colorado.edu). Quantitative problem sessions and exam reviews are also held during this Monday 5-7 time.

The ATOC Study Center is available for you, too. It is on Mondays through Thursdays from 5 to 7PM. These meetings are held in Duane E126 on Mondays & Wednesdays or in the Hart Lab on Tuesdays & Thursdays. The Hart Lab is in the Stadium between gates 5 and 6, through the door labeled 'ATOC Weather Lab'. It is classroom STAD136C on the left. There will be advanced ATOC students there to tutor and guide you through HW assignments.

Homework should be submitted by Tuesday@12:30PM on CULearn. In CULearn you can also ask questions and post comments to a discussion board. I will post emailed questions there, too.

The calendar and links are below. You can subscribe to a public calendar called "ATOC1060: Our Changing Environment" for dates and assignment reminders.

Wk

Reading

Large Print=Required, Small=Optional

Tuesday

Thursday

Assignment

(Due 12:30PM on Date)
1 KKC Chp 1, IPCC FAQ (alt. server), Essential Principles 1/11: Introduction & Overview 1/13: Timescales & Water Properties Due 1/18: CULearn Wk1
2 KKC Chp 2, KKC Chp 3 1/18: Systems 1/20: Energy Balance 1: Temperature and Radiation Due 1/25: CULearn Wk2
3 KKC Chp 3 1/25: Energy Balance 2: Basic Planetary Energy Balance 1/27: Energy Balance 3: Clouds, Feedbacks, Modeling Due 2/1: CULearn Wk3
4 KKC Chp 4 2/1: Atmosphere 1: Hadley Cell 2/3: Atmosphere 2: Stratification & Jets Due 2/8: CULearn Wk4
5 KKC Chp 4 2/8: Atmosphere 3: Cyclones 2/10:Atmosphere 4: Seasonality Due 2/15: CULearn Wk5
6 KKC Chp 5 2/15: Oceans 1: Ekman 2/17: Oceans 2: Geostrophic Due 2/22: CULearn Wk6
7 KKC Chp 5 2/22: Oceans 3: Boundary Currents & Meridional Overturning 2/24: Oceans 4: El Nino Due 3/1: CULearn Wk7
8 KKC Chp 6, KKC Chp 7, KKC Chp 8, KKC Chp 9 3/1: Cryosphere, Lithosphere, & Biosphere 3/3: Cycles, Metabolism Due 3/8: CULearn Wk8
9 KKC Chp 10, KKC Chp 11, KKC Chp 12, KKC Chp 13, KKC Chp 14 3/8: Paleoclimate 1: Origins & Regulation 3/10: Paleoclimate 2: History & Glaciation Due 3/15: CULearn Wk9
10 Review KKC 1-14 3/15: Exam Prep 3/17: Midterm on Chapters 1-14 Due 3/29: No Homework!
11 Spring Break 3/22: Spring Break 3/24: Spring Break Spring Break
12 KKC Chp 15 3/29: Global Warming 1: Obs. & Fallacies 3/31: Global Warming 2: Carbon Due 4/5: CULearn Wk12
13 KKC Chp 16 4/5: Global Warming 3: Impacts 4/7: Global Warming 4: Adaptation & Mitigation Due 4/12: CULearn Wk13
14 KKC Chp 17 4/12: Ozone 1 4/14: Ozone 2 Due 4/19: CULearn Wk14
15 KKC Chp 18, KKC Chp 19 4/19: Biodiversity Threats 4/21: Extraterrestrial Climates Due 4/26: CULearn Wk15
16 IPCC 2007: FAQ (alt. server), Synthesis Summary (alt. server), Physical Science Policymaker Summary (alt. server) 4/26: Summary & IPCC 1, IPCC FAQ (Exam Guide) 4/28: Summary & IPCC 2, IPCC FAQ (Exam Guide)
17 Exam Week Final Exam on All Materials
Tuesday, 5/3, 4:30-7PM 		Exam Week Exam Week

Web Resources and Texts

Course Specific

  1. ATOC1060 Syllabus
  2. Reading assignment guidelines
  3. Significant Digits & Units

Textbooks

  1. Kump, Kasting & Crane, The Earth System, 3rd edition., Coursesmart online version
  2. Climate Literacy: "The Essential Principles of Climate Sciences"
  3. IPCC AR4: FAQ (alt. server), Synthesis Summary (alt. server), Physical Science Policymaker Summary (alt. server), Physical Science Technical Summary, Glossary of Terms

Websites

  1. RealClimate
  2. Skeptical Science Greatest Hits
  3. Isaac Held's Climate Blog
  4. AccuWeather Climate Blog
  5. NCAR Weather & Climate Basics
  6. Oxford University, The Basics of Climate Prediction
  7. Pew Center, Global Warming Basics
  8. NASA Earth Observatory
  9. NOAA Paleoclimatology
  10. CIRES Climate Educational Resources
  11. Climate Services Clearinghouse
  12. To What Degree? NSF Climate Change Report
  13. MBARI (Seafood Watch Cards and Info)
  14. Dynamic Periodic Table
  15. Cleon Teunissen's Rotation Physics
  16. GISS Temperature Trends
  17. IPCC Home Site
  18. National Academy: America's Climate Choices
  19. NOAA/NWS Climate Prediction Center
  20. IRI ENSO Page
  21. NOAA/PMEL ENSO Page

Lab Experiments

  1. Hart and Kittelman GFD Lab
  2. John Marshall's (MIT) GFD Lab
  3. National Committee for Fluid Mechanics Films

CU Specific Guidelines

  1. Disability Accomodations
  2. Religious Observance
  3. Classroom Behavior, *Note* Prof. Fox-Kemper regards inappropriate cellphone and laptop use as disruptive behavior.
  4. Student Code
  5. Discrimination & Harrassment
  6. Honor Code: here and here.
  7. Policy on conflicts involving Athletics here.

Additional Fun Reading

Nonfiction

  1. Arrhenius, Worlds in the making: the evolution of the universe
  2. Lamb, Climate, history and the modern world
  3. Weart, The Discovery of Global Warming
  4. Philander, Our Affair with El Nino
  5. Emanuel, Divine Wind: The History and Science of Hurricanes
  6. Schneider, Science as a Contact Sport: Inside the Battle to Save Earth's Climate

Alternative and Advanced Textbooks

  1. Peixoto & Oort, Physics of Climate
  2. Marshall & Plumb Atmosphere, Ocean, and Climate Dynamics
  3. Jacob, Introduction to Atmospheric Chemistry
  4. Goosse, Barriat, Lefebvre, Loutre, and Zunz. Introduction to climate dynamics and climate modeling.
  5. Volk, CO2 Rising: The World's Greatest Environmental Challenge

Fiction

  1. Nykanen, Primitive
  2. Theroux, Far North
  3. Chrichton, State of Fear