I. ASCRC General Education Form
Group
Group XI Natural Science
Dept/Program
Geosciences
Course Title
Prerequisite
none
Course #
Climate Change, Past and Future
Credits
108 N
3
II. Endorsement/Approvals
Complete the form and obtain signatures before submitting to Faculty Senate Office
Please type / print name Signature
Date
Instructor
Dr. Joel Harper
8/5/08
Phone / Email
5867
Program Chair
Dr. William Woessner
Dean
Dr. Jerry Fetz
III. Description and purpose of the course: General Education courses must be introductory
and foundational. They must emphasize breadth, context, and connectedness; and relate course
content to students’ future lives: See Preamble:
http://www.umt.edu/facultysenate/gened/GEPreamble_final.htm
This course is centered on the topic of time variability of Earth's climate system. Climate
change is a topic that involves aspects of nearly every field of scientific study. This course will
focus most closely on material traditionally within the disciplines of oceanography,
atmospheric sciences, chemistry, physics, and geoscience. Because the study of climate change
is rapidly evolving and has many remaining questions, this course will be pinned to the
scientific method. How scientists have and are advancing our understanding of climate will be
the central theme from which the material will stem. Students will learn how scientist form
hypotheses, design experiments, analyze information and generate theory. And, how they
sometimes accidentally stumble across discoveries and other times get stuck endlessly on
unsolvable problems.
From classroom lectures, reading assignments, and homework problem sets, students will gain
an understanding of the scientific method and how it has been applied to climate sciences.
They will understand how to interpret complex scientific information through a variety of
methods (for example, time series analysis and, charting of coupled systems with feedback
loops). They will understand how scientific methodology and technology are applied to
problems (for example, isotope fractionation and ice core reconstructions of climate). Finally,
through purposefully designed homework exercises and classroom lectures, they will learn how
to think critically about information and form testable hypotheses.
IV. Criteria: Briefly explain how this course meets the criteria for the group. See:
http://www.umt.edu/facultysenate/ASCRCx/Adocuments/GE_Criteria5-1-08.htm
1. This course explores the disciplines of climate science including oceanography, atmospheric
sciences, and geosciences. As this field is rapidly evolving, the scientific method and how
climate scientists are advancing this field is a central theme of the course.
2. Scientific uncertainty is a key aspect of climate sciences. How climate scientists manage this
uncertainty is a central part of all lectures and reading assignments.
See above for more details –
V. Student Learning Goals: Briefly explain how this course will meet the applicable learning
goals. See: http://www.umt.edu/facultysenate/ASCRCx/Adocuments/GE_Criteria5-1-08.htm
This course will meet the 5 learning goals through a combination of lectures, daily in-class
exercises, and reading assignments. The course is an overview of the general principals in the
field of climate science. This course has lectures, exercises, and numerous examples of the
methods that scientists use to gather data, draw conclusions and form hypothesis (the scientific
method). Critical thinking and quantitative science is a key theme in the course and the students
will be given numerous in class exercises which develop these skills.
VII. Syllabus: Paste syllabus below or attach and send digital copy with form. ⇓ The syllabus
should clearly describe how the above criteria are satisfied. For assistance on syllabus
preparation see: http://teaching.berkeley.edu/bgd/syllabus.html
Climate Change – Past and Future (Geol 108N) – Autumn 2008
MWF 1:10-2 PM, FOR 305
This course has a Blackboard site: for the most up-to-date information
login via http://courseware.umt.edu
Instructor
Dr. Joel Harper
Office: CHCB 357
Office ph: 243-5867*
e-mail: joel@mso.umt.edu
www.umt.edu/geosciences/faculty/harper
*e-mail is the best way to reach me.
Motivation for this course
We live in a time when climate is changing from a system driven by natural perturbations to
one driven by human actions. Climate researchers believe that climate change will profoundly
impact our planet's environment and the world's economy in the coming decades. Thus,
everyone should have a basic knowledge of the Earth’s climate system so that informed
judgments may be shaped with regard to critical climate issues.
Course objective
The primary goal of this course is for students to gain a broad understanding of the global
climate system and its many components. While the material in this course has important
social and economic implications, we will examine the science of climate change and will
generally avoid policy and solutions issues. Participants in this course will improve their
ability to: comprehend evolving issues in global change science, make inferences based on
scientific observations, and, interpret scientific data presented in graphs and figures.
Course text
Earth’s Climate – Past and Future, Second Edition (2008), by W.F. Ruddiman, W.H. Freeman
and Co, NY, NY, ISBN-13: 978-0-7167-8490-6
Prerequisites
No specific prerequisites. Students must have basic math skills and an ability to read,
comprehend, discuss and present scientific textbook material.
Evaluation criteria for letter grade
-Three exams (two midterms and a final equally weighted): 75%
- In class and take home exercises: 25%
- Note that +/- grading will be used
Date
Tentative Topic
Assigned reading in course text
Introduction
M 8/25
W 8/27
F 8/29
M 9/1
W 9/3
F 9/5
M 9/8
W 9/10
F 9/12
M 9/15
W 9/17
F 9/19
M 9/22
W 9/24
F 9/26
M 9/29
W 10/1
F 10/3
M 10/6
W 10/8
F 10/10
M 10/13
W 10/15
F 10/17
M 10/20
W 10/22
F 10/24
M 10/27
W 10/29
F 10/31
M 11/3
W 11/5
F 11/7
M 11/10
W 11/12
F 11/14
M 11/17
W 11/19
F 11/21
M 11/24
W 11/26
F 11/28
M 12/1
W 12/3
F 12/5
TH 12/11
Overview of Climate Change
Instructor Research – Ice and climate
Instructor Research – Tectonics and climate
No Class -- Holiday
1. How the global climate system work
Time scales, systems, feedbacks and couplings
Chapter 1
Time scales, systems, feedbacks and couplings
Chapter 1
Composition of atmosphere, greenhouse gasses
Chapter 3
EM radiation, Earth’s radiation budget
Box 18-1 (pp. 336)
Ocean structure and circulation
Atmospheric structure and circulation
ENSO / PDO
Box 16-2 (pp. 300-301)
Solid Earth Circulation
Chapter 4
Weathering feedbacks, biological pump
Sect. 3-2 (pp. 48-50)
Carbon cycle
Chapter 3 + Raymond materials
Carbon cycle
Raymond materials
Putting it all together in GCMs
Chapter 2 (pp. 31-39)
First Exam
2. How climate has changed and how change is measured
Proxies: packrats, pollens, sediments, …
Chapter 2
Scaling in space and time
C14, superposition and other dating
Chapter 2
Corals and tree rings
Chapter 2
Early earth climate (snowball earth, etc.)
Chapter 3
The last 55 Myr
Chapter 6
Human civilization, Holocene climate
Chapter 15
Scientific method, peer review, IPCC
IPCC summary for policymakers
Oxygen isotopes: marine and ice
Appendix 1
Ice sheets and ice cores
Chapter 10: (pp. 176-179)
Ice age theory
Chapter 9
Ice age theory
Chapter 9
Second Exam
3. Here and now – recent changes and future scenarios
Climate of last Millennium – hocky stick?
Chapter 16
Climate change in the last 125 years: ground and
Chapter 17
satellite measurements
Climate change in the last 125 years: forcings
Chapter 17
Ozone hole, solar dimming
Chapter 18
Sunspots, climate extremes
Sect. 16-7 (pp. 303-305)
Sea ice, Arctic feedbacks and hydrates
Sect 17-6 (pp. 318-319)
Western snowpack and stream flow
Cryosphere and sea level – the past (couplings)
Chapter 13: pp.230-240
Ice stability and future sea level rise
Chapter 13: pp.230-240
Abrupt climate change
Sect. 13-3 (pp. 232-237)
No class – Thanksgiving
No class – Thanksgiving
Future from past forcing/response
Chapter 18
GCM based future scenarios
Chapter 19
Review of climate science
Third Exam
*Please note: As an instructor of a general education course, you will be expected to provide
sample assessment items and corresponding responses to the Assessment Advisory Committee.