Oceans and Climate
E&ES 290
Fall 2007
| Section:
01
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| Certificates: Environmental Studies |
Earth's climate is not static. Even without human intervention, the climate has changed. In this course we will study the major properties of the ocean and its circulation and changes in climate. We will look at the effects of variations in greenhouse gas concentrations, the locations of continents, and the circulation patterns of oceans and atmosphere. We will look at these variations on several time scales. Over billions of years there have been changes in the sun's energy, the composition of the atmosphere, and the biosphere. During this time, Earth's climate has varied from much hotter to much colder than today, but the variations were relatively small when compared to the climate on our neighbors Venus and Mars. Compared with them Earth's climate has been stable; the oceans neither evaporated nor froze solid. On shorter time scales different processes are important. We will look at these past variations in Earth's climate and oceans and try to understand the implications for possible climates of the future. |
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Essential Capabilities:
Interpretation, Writing |
| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
NSM E&ES |
| Course Format: Seminar | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: E&ES101 OR E&ES199 OR E&ES106 OR E&ES115 OR [E&ES197 or BIOL197] |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (E&ES)(ENVS-MN)(ENVS)(STS) |
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Past Enrollment Probability: Not Available |
| SECTION 01 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
Students will be assigned papers for primary literature
Readings from textbooks will come from:
Ruddiman, EARTH'S CLIMATE, PAST AND FUTURE
Open University, Oceanography Series
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Examinations and Assignments:
Two exams, one midterm and one final, one-two research papers with oral presentation, some smaller class assignments. |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
Required lab (E&ES 292) will involve students with data collection, interpretation, presentation and climate modeling. There may be a day long field trip to a research institution. Students must be registered for E&ES292. Must have taken one other E&ES class or Environmental Science A/P exam. |
| Instructor(s): O'Connell,Suzanne B. Thomas,Ellen Times: ..T.R.. 10:30AM-11:50AM; Location: SCIE309; |
| Total Enrollment Limit: 20 | | SR major: 6 | JR major: 8 | | |
| Seats Available: -2 | GRAD: 0 | SR non-major: 0 | JR non-major: 0 | SO: 6 | FR: 0 |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
| Total Submitted Requests: 0 | 1st Ranked: 0 | 2nd Ranked: 0 | 3rd Ranked: 0 | 4th Ranked: 0 | Unranked: 0 |
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