Composite EPs and some
associated supporting ideas from
Day 1
2A
Essential Principle #1
•
The atmosphere is a variable, dynamic,
and complex system.
– The atmosphere is mixture of gases with
measurable properties.
– Layers
– Chemical composition
Essential Principle #2
•
The atmosphere is one of many earth
systems and interacts with these other
systems.
– Ocean
– Geological
– climate
Essential Principle #3
•
The atmosphere is one of many earth
systems and interacts with these other
systems.
– Ocean
– Geological
– climate
Essential Principle #4
•
Living things, including humans, affect
the atmosphere.
Essential Principle #5
•
The cycling of water through the
atmosphere has profound effects on it
– precipitation
Essential Principle #6
•
The cycling of energy through the
atmosphere has profound effects on it.
Essential Principle #7
•
Changes in the atmosphere take place
on a wide range of spatial and temporal
scales.
– The atmosphere is made of many
components that change over temporal and
spatial scales.
Essential Principle #7
•
Changes in the atmosphere take place
on a wide range of spatial and temporal
scales.
– The atmosphere is made of many
components that change over temporal and
spatial scales.
Essential Principle #8
1. The atmosphere can be studied and
understood
2B
Essential Principle #1
• Earth is surrounded by a thin fragile
atmosphere that sustains life
– Layers
Essential Principle #2
• The Sun and Earth’s rotation drive the
atmospheric circulation
Essential Principle #3
• The atmosphere and life are
interconnected.
Essential Principle #4
• Weather and climate vary in time and
space
– Scales of variability
– Evolution of the atmosphere is linked to other
subsystems
– Climate is the product of the interaction of a
number of different
Essential Principle #5
• The atmosphere is part of the earth
system
2C
Initial Comments
• Scope? Decided to focus on “Atmospheric
Science Literacy”
• Concerns that Earth system science
concept is getting diluted by separating
Oceans/Atmosphere/Climate
• Paralleling Ocean Literacy; could almost
use first six of those Essential Principles,
substituting “atmosphere” for “ocean”
Essential Principle #1
• The atmosphere is a thin gaseous
envelope that surrounds the earth
Essential Principle #2
• Energy from the sun drives the
atmosphere
Essential Principle #3
• The atmosphere is an agent of transport
Essential Principle #4
• The atmosphere [brings] weather and
climate
Essential Principle #5
• The atmosphere coevolved with life
Essential Principle #6
• Atmosphere and humans are inextricably
interconnected
Concluding Remarks
• We spent quite a bit of time trying to
decide what was an “Essential Principle”
and what was a “Fundamental Concept”
• Evolution of life and the hydrologic cycle
need to be up front and center, but not
sure if they are subsets of some of our
Essential Principles
2D
Essential Principle #1
The atmosphere is part of the Earth system.
Essential Principle #2
An atmosphere is a primarily gaseous
envelope that surrounds planets.
Essential Principle #3
The atmosphere changes through time and
space.
Essential Principle #4
All organisms are interconnected with the
atmosphere.
Essential Principle #5
How do we study the atmosphere?
(to be word-smithed later)
Essential Principle #6
Atmospheric processes vary over many
scales.
Essential Principle #7
Solar energy drives atmospheric processes.
2E
Essential Principle #1
• Complexity
– Complexity of Earth’s system is a challenge
– Inadequate measurements and chaos
contribute to uncertainty
– Earth system is nonlinear
Essential Principle #2
• Linkages (Earth-System)
– All life is linked to
atmosphere/ocean/land/space/cryo….
Essential Principle #3
• Energy/Matter/Cycles
– Uneven heating of the Earth drives weather
and climate
– Water cycle
– Energy transfers between systems
Essential Principle #4
• Human Impact
– Atmosphere is being altered by human activity
– Human activities are being affected by the
atmosphere
– Humans’ use of natural resources
– Humans are able to live because of
atmosphere
– Economic impact
Essential Principle #5
• Change Happens
– Rate of Change
– Human activity accelerates chage
– Constantly changing
– Atmospheric changes affect living and nonliving components
– Atmosphere is dynamic
Essential Principle #6
• Nature of Atmosphere
– Earth has only one atmosphere
– Air is real and has mass
– Atmosphere has structure and characteristics
Essential Principle #7
• Nature of Science
–
–
–
–
–
–
How do we know what we know
Scientific process
Critical thinking
Earth systems science is interdisciplinary
Laws of Math and Science explain Earth systems
Our understanding and knowledge of Earth systems
evolves
– Weather and climate are quantified and predicted based
on data and models
Essential Principle #8
• Weather
– Affects us daily
– Links us to the Earth atmosphere system
Essential Principle #9
• Climate
– Regional vs global
– Differentiating climate from weather
• Time scale
Concluding Remarks
• We are still confused about whether we
are developing a high framework or a
document like Ocean Literacy.
• Are we expressing Climate Change clearly
enough?
• How much emphasis should weather
have?
2F
Initial Comments – People & Process
•
Facilitator is Carol Knight of NOAA. OPL: Cherilynn Morrow
•
•
Dilling (U. Colo. Center for Sci & Tech Policy)
Pandya (UCAR - SOARS - minority ugrad research),
McCaffrey (U. Colo. CIRES),
Meeson (NASA - Ocean science education)
Henson (UCAR Office of Communication),
•
Tuddenham (College of Exploration),
Ledley (TERC, research-education interface),
Geary (Director of GLOBE),
Pitman (K-12 educator, evaluator, Miami) ,
LaDue (NSF).
•
The Essential Principles of the Climate Literacy Draft and those published for
Ocean Literacy were written on the walls. We built on and referred to these in
our introductory discussion.
•
Opening discussions have centered on the ideas of a. the Sun as an essential
source of energy, b. the interconnectivity of all the spheres, and c. the interplay
with humans and their impacts.
•
We're focusing on science content but it is felt that the content we choose
should be considered in light of how it can be related to society and what
people might do as result of being literate about the atmosphere and climate.
•
We brainstormed ideas for Essential Principles (EP's) that will be revisited,
filtered, and prioritized later on. They numbered 26. We then binned those 26
into 9 themes that seemed to capture our ideas.
Essential Principle #1
• The atmosphere is a single, integrated
system… everyone interacts with it… We
all live in an ocean of air: 2, 3, 7, 8, 9, 20
Essential Principle #2
• The atmosphere is a fluid that transports
heat and matter: water, particles… 10 ,
11, 18, 21
Essential Principle #3
• The atmosphere is unique and makes
Earth habitable: 4, 5, 6, 12, 17, 26
Essential Principle #4
• Humans change the atmosphere, The
atmosphere changes over time: 5, 9, 13,
14
Essential Principle #5
• The atmosphere is dynamic – it changes
at different rates, the composition
changes, it varies from location to location,
small changes can have transformational
effects: 4, 11, 14, 15, 16, 18
Essential Principle #6
• Plants use content in the atmosphere to
build life: 17
Essential Principle #7
• There is exchange between the
atmosphere, hydrosphere, oceans, and
biosphere, The atmosphere is constantly
exchanging energy and matter with other
spheres: 5, 10, 11, 17, 18, 21, 25
Essential Principle #8
• There is one atmosphere that varies
depending on location and at different
timescales. Weather and Climate are
different but inextricably connected. 14,
15, 19, 22, 23, 24, 25
Essential Principle #9
• The Sun is the source of all energy in the
atmosphere: 5
Concluding Remarks
• Our sub-points can help refine the Essential Principles and also inform
the discussions about Fundamental Concepts. These sub-points are
documented completely on the BLOG.
• In developing these Essential Principles we used technical terms as a
shorthand. This will need additional care and revision.
• The final articulation of these Essential Principles should use
terminology carefully and be sensitive to clarifying common
misunderstandings (e.g. the differences between “atmosphere”,
“weather”, “climate”)
NASA Goddard
1. Earth is completely
enshrouded in an atmosphere
• Our atmosphere is relatively thin
• The processes by which our atmosphere
formed
• The reasons our atmosphere remains
intact
2. The atmosphere is made up
of gases & particles
• Indicate the concentrations of primary
gases
• Concentrations of particles
• The atmosphere brokers exchanges of
energy b/t Earth & space
– Gases help trap heat
– Gases block certain solar rays
– Particles both reflect and absorb, depending
upon their color & composition
3. The atmosphere changes
over time and place
• Atmospheric movements are driven by solar
energy
• Atmospheric movements are driven by
Earth’s rotation
• Atmospheric movements are driven by
convection
• Atmospheric movements are driven by
temperature gradients
• Atmospheric movements are driven by
interactions w/ the surface
4. The atmosphere has five
different layers
• The troposphere (e.g., where is it,
what’s it made of, why does it matter?)
• Stratosphere
• Mesosphere
• Thermosphere
• Exosphere
5. The atmosphere is essential
for life
• Protects life forms from the Sun’s harmful
rays
• Keeps our planet warm
• Distributes water
• Protects us from space debris, CMEs, etc.
6. Atmosphere interacts w/ all
other Earth system “spheres”
• Interactions with the surface (land &
ocean) influence the physical and
chemical composition of the atmosphere
• Life respires and evapotranspires, thus
influencing the physical & chemical
composition of the atmosphere
7. Humans influence and are
influenced by the atmosphere
• Humans add gases that help trap heat
• Humans add particulates that can both cool and
warm the surface by reflecting or absorbing
sunlight
• Humans are changing the chemistry of the
atmosphere, with global consequences (e.g.,
ozone hole; global warming)
• Human-released particles modify clouds to
sometimes delay, sometimes intensify rainfall
• Humans change the surface, which affects the
warmth and particulates the surface gives to the