Suggestions for remaining lesson outlines:
 Merge lesson 6 and 7 (positive and negative feedback loops). Use diagrams to
help explain feedback loops first, before discussing their role in climate.
 Oceans lesson: is there a DLO that could be developed for this? May want to
broaden the topic beyond oceans.
 Consider grouping together the three separate lessons on the greenhouse
gases. Each could be a topic in one lesson that gives an overview of greenhouse
gases. This would enable more comparison and keep it from getting too
repetitive.
 Lesson 9 (Characterizing the culprit): the basics of this topic are already covered
in Lesson 3. Is it a bit too advanced for high school audiences to look at specific
regions of the spectrum, beyond what was already discussed in Lesson 3? I think
you could remove this lesson and include some content in the lesson about CO2,
CH4, and CFCs (look specifically at their spectra and how they relate to Earth’s
emission spectra).
 Carbon dioxide, methane, and halocarbon lessons: you could lump all of these
together into one lesson (a closer look at greenhouse gases), or keep them
separate but shorter. Keep it concise and not too repetitive.
1. Introduction to Earth’s Climate (finished)
a. What is climate
i. Difference between climate and weather
b. Earth’s Unique Climate
i. Factors that make Earth’s climate hospitable for life
c. Earth’s atmosphere
i. Layers of the atmosphere
ii. Gaseous composition
iii. Temperature
d. Regional Climate Differences
e. Temporal Climate Differences
i. Historical changes in climate
ii. Distinction between climate change, global warming, and
greenhouse effect
2. Is climate change happening? (finished)
a. Ice Cores – Key to Historical Climate
i. Isotope ratios and ice cores
ii. Proxy measurements
b. Historical and Current Temperature Trends
i. 800,000 years of temperature data
ii. Past events, warming and cooling episodes
c. Historical and Current Trends in Atmospheric Gases
d. Relationship between gas and temperature trends
i. Carbon dioxide and temperature relationship
e. Rates of change in the past 250 years
i. Industrial revolution accelerating change
3. Heating it up: the chemistry of the greenhouse effect (finished)
a. Temperature and Energy in Earth’s Atmosphere
i. Temperature
ii. Energy transfer – convection, radiation, conduction
iii. Models of the atmosphere: greenhouse model and blanket model
4.
5.
6.
7.
b. Properties of gases
i. Electro negativity and charge distribution
ii. Ideal gas model
c. Absorption and emission of radiation
i. Types of radiation from the sun
ii. How radiation interacts with atmospheric molecules
iii. What makes a greenhouse gas?
iv. Infrared spectroscopy and absorption of radiation
d. Atmospheric Molecular interactions
i. Collisional de-excitation as basis for warming in atmosphere
ii. Absorption spectra and earth’s emissions curve
e. Natural and Anthropogenic warming
i. Factors that determine global warming potential of ghg
Climate: a balancing act (finished)
a. What is a radiation balance?
i. Blackbody radiators
ii. Comparison of planetary climates
b. Incoming Solar Radiation
i. Effect of incoming energy on temperature
c. Reflection of Solar Radiation
i. Albedo
d. Emission of Infrared Radiation
i. Thermal infrared from Earth
e. The greenhouse Effect
A global issue: the impacts of climate change
a. Visualizing Global Climate change
i. Different regions affected differently – focus on regions where
change will be more dramatic
ii. GCM models and predicted climate change scenarios
iii. Discuss temperature, precipitation, snow and ice cover, water
resources, sea levels, agriculture
b. Case Study: spreading Malaria in Africa
c. Case Study: spread of the pine beetle in Western Canada
d. Social, cultural, and economic issues as they relate to climate
Climate feedback loops
a. What is a feedback loop?
i. Diagram, example
b. Positive feedback loops
i. Role of water vapour (increased IR, melting of polar ice caps,
methane release from clathrates, deforestation, increased cloud
cover, etc.)
ii. “Run-away” greenhouse effect
c. Negative feedback loops
i. Discussion of water vapour
ii. Negative feedback concepts including albedo, clouds, aerosols,
oceans sinks, plants, etc.
iii. How these negative feedback loops may be used to find climate
change solutions
Climate change and oceans
a. The role of oceans in climate moderation
i. Specific heat capacity, etc.
ii. Weather and climate patterns as affected by oceans (El Nino,
west vs. east coast climates, etc.)
b. Rising sea levels
i. Predicted changes in sea levels
ii. Implications
c. Oceans as carbon sinks, acidification of oceans
i. Effects of increased CO2 concentrations on ocean life
ii. Coral, etc.
8. A Closer Look at Greenhouse gases
a. Recap on the factors that affect the global warming potential of
greenhouse gases
i. Also recap the relationship between Earth’s emissions curve and
IR spectra of molecules
b. Water Vapor
i. Sources
ii. Fate in the atmosphere
iii. Special concerns – discuss powerful greenhouse gas, recap
possible roles in feedback cycles
iv. Global warming potential – including look at IR spectrum
c. Carbon Dioxide
i. Sources – look at CO2 footprint to show sources around the world
ii. Fate in the atmosphere – discuss natural role in carbon cycle and
negative effects of increased emissions
iii. Special concerns – discuss lots of concern over this gas, carbon
capture technologies, etc
iv. Global warming potential – including look at IR spectrum
d. Methane
i. Sources – including biogenic and thermogenic; agriculture;
recently stopped increasing in atmosphere
ii. Fate in the atmosphere – discuss interactions with free radicals,
etc
iii. Special concerns – recap methane clathrates, potential for
runaway greenhouse effect
iv. Global warming potential – including look at IR spectrum
e. Nitrous Oxide
i. Sources
ii. Fate in the atmosphere
iii. Special concerns
iv. Global warming potential – including look at IR spectrum
f. Super Greenhouse Gases
i. Sources - refrigerants, etc. Concern over UV layer led to banning
of some compounds
ii. Fate in the atmosphere – long life time, interaction with UV light,
etc.
iii. Special concerns
iv. Global warming potential – including look at IR spectrum
9. What now? Mitigation and Adaptation
a. Need for urgent response
i. Reiterate some of the earlier material about positive feedback,
concern over the present rate of change, etc.
b. Personal responses
i. Discussion of steps individuals can take to reduce their
greenhouse gas emissions and live more sustainably
c. Adaptation strategies
i. Discuss ways people/nations are adapting to a changing climate
ii. Changing crops, reducing water use, etc.
d. Mitigation strategies
i. Research into carbon capture and storage technology, etc.
ii. Industry emissions reductions strategies, etc
iii. Government regulations
e. The role of science in providing global climate solutions