ATM S 211: Climate and Climate Change Winter 2012





Tentative Class Calendar

Subject
Assignment
Week 1
(Jan 3-5) 
Introduction; Origin of Earth’s Atmosphere; Atmosphere Composition Today;
Reading:
Ch 1, 10, 11 (Except blue boxes)
Pg. 36-41 44-45 248-252
Quiz: Math Survey
Week 2
(Jan 9-12)
Heat and Temperature; Heat Forms and Transport; Radiation; Concepts in EM Radiation; Solar Radiation and the Earth; Albedo; Energy Balance
Pg. 36-43
Homework 1 Catalyst: Due Sunday at 11:45
https://catalyst.uw.edu/webq/survey/dtmccoy/154689
Week 3
(Jan 17-19)
 Greenhouse gases and the Greenhouse Effect; Seasonal Temperature Cycles
Pg. 43-55
Week 4
(Jan 23-26)
Cryosphere (guest lecture), Greenhouse effect, two classes canceled due to snow
Pg. 68-69 on the seasonal cycle
Homework 3 due 1/31 on Catalyst
Week 5
(Jan 30-Feb 2)
Seasonal and diurnal temperature cycles, Pressure, Hydrostatic Balance
Reading: Chapter 4
Week 6
(Feb 6-9)
Coriolis effect and geostrophic wind; Jet streams; Midterm

Week 7
(Feb 13-16)
General Circulation of the Atmosphere(1) (2) (3); The Role of Mountains in Climate; The Role of the Ocean in Climate Homework 4 on Catalyst
Week 8
(Feb 21-23)
(Feb 21-23) Ice Ages(1) (2) (3) and how we know they happened; Milankovitch Theory
Glacial-Interglacial cycles Page 15
Milankovitch Scales

Homework 5 Catalyst
Week 9
(Feb 27-Mar 1)
(Feb 27-Mar 1) Human Induced Changes in Greenhouse Gases  and their Impact on Climate  (the 20th Century)(1) (2) (3) Climate models(1) (2), Natural and forced variability(1) (2) (3)
Chapter 14
Homework 6 due Friday March 2nd
Week 10
(Mar 5-8)
(Mar 5-8) Projected Climate Change (today to 2100 and beyond) (1) (2) (3) (4)
 Warm climates
Geoengineering

Chapter 15 (+ blue box on page 314 on GCMs)
Homework 7 will be due at the end of last week of classes
IPCC Report Readings:
The technical summary form Working Group 1
Synthesis report for Policy Makers






Figure 10.8 from the Fourth Assesment Report displaying projected temperature change in the A1B scenario by the end of the century.