| Course Objectives: | Students will gain understanding of earth’s climate, and the
processes affecting climate, over paleoecological-, historical-,
present-, and future-timescales. Students will be better able
to assess scientific findings related to climate, the
implications of such data, and the coverage of climate issues
by the media. |
| Topical Outline: | This class will meet 2-days per week, with three mid-term exams
and a final examination.
The first part of the course will introduce students to the
basic science of climate, ecological climatology, climate
variability, earth’s hydrologic cycles and surface climates,
linkages between ecosystems and climate, and a general overview
of climate change.
The second part of the course focuses on an early time-line of
climate change and then focuses on climate change in eastern
North America: Quaternary global climate change, late- and
post-glacial period global climate change, and climate and
vegetation change in eastern North America during the last
18,000 years.
The third section of the course starts to highlight human
influences on climate. Classes include prehistoric human
influences on climate and the rise of agriculture,
environmental change from late B.C. through 1914 A.D., general
post-Industrialization anthropogenic effects on climate, and
the latest reports from the IPCC (2007).
Continuing on the human-climate theme, the fourth section
concludes with a lecture on agroecosystems and a lecture on
urban ecosystems.
Week 1
Day 1 Introduction to Course (Wright et al. 1993, Ch. 1 &
Bonan 2002, Ch. 2)
A. Expectations & requirements
B. Course schedule
C. Climate overview (W)
D. Ecological climatology: concepts (B)
E. Conclusions
Day 2 Ecological climatology: Applications (Bonan 2002, ch. 1)
A. Land use and cover change
B. Land use planning
C. Ecosystem functions
D. Bioclimatic regions
E. Conclusions
Week 2
Day 1 Global Climatology (Wright et al. 1993, Ch. 2 & Bonan
2002, Ch. 2)
A. Introduction
B. Annual global mean energy budget (B)
C. Atmospheric general circulation (B)
D. Orbital geometry (W)
E. Continents and oceans (B)
F. Ice sheets (W)
G. Seasons (B)
H. Climate zones (B)
I. Climate and vegetation (B)
J. Conclusions (B)
Day 2 Climate Variability (Bonan 2002, ch. 3)
A. Introduction
B. Floods, droughts, and heatwaves
C. Air masses
D. Mechanisms of seasonal-to-interannual variability
E. Climatic extremes
F. Land surface processes
G. Conclusions
Week 3
Day 1 Hydrologic Cycle (Bonan 2002, ch. 5)
A. Introduction
B. Global water balance
C. Phase change
D. Cycling of water on land
1. Interception and throughfall
2. Soil water
3. Evapotranspiration
4. Infiltration & runoff
E. Watersheds
F. Global drainage basins
G. Conclusions
Day 2 Surface Climates (Bonan 2002, ch. 8)
A. Introduction
B. Hillslope and mountains
C. Lakes and oceans
D. Land cover
1. Forests and clearings
2. Land surface processes in climate models
3. Landscape heterogeneity and mesoscale circulations
E. Hydrology
1. Snow
2. Soil water
F. Microclimates and human land-use planning
G. Conclusions
Week 4
Day 1 Climate-ecosystem dynamics (Bonan 2002, ch. 12 and 11.4)
A. Introduction
B. Biological feedbacks
1. Phenology
2. Stomata
3. Biogeography
C. Carbon cycle
1. Ecosystem metabolisms
2. Terrestrial carbon storage
3. Biogeography
D. Mineral dust
E. Coupled climate-ecosystem models
F. Conclusions
Day 2 Climate Change Overview (Bonan 2002, ch. 4)
A. Introduction
B. Climate history of the last 250,000 years
C. Mechanisms of climate change
1. Plate tectonics
2. Orbital changes
3. Greenhouse effect
4. Freshwater runoff and thermohaline circulation
5. Solar variability
6. Aerosols
D. Anthropogenic climate change
E. Climate feedbacks
F. Conclusions
Week 5
Day 1 NO CLASS. Use time to review for Exam I.
Day 2 EXAM I
Week 6
Day 1 Quaternary geology and climate change (Mannion 1997)
A. Introduction
B. Quaternary subdivisions based on the terrestrial record
C. Record of climate change from the oceans
D. Record of climate change from ice cores
E. Tree rings, historical, and meteorological records
F. Causes of climate change
G. Environmental change at high latitudes
H. Environmental change at middle latitudes
I. Environmental change at low latitudes
J. Sea level changes
K. Conclusions
Day 2 Environmental Change in the Late- and Post-Glacial
Periods (Mannion 1997)
A. Introduction
B. Interglacial cycle
C. Climate change during the late-glacial period
D. Regional expression of changes during the late-glacial
period
E. Faunal changes during the late-glacial period
F. Climate change during the early Holocene
G. Regional expression of changes during the early Holocene
H. Climatic changes during the later Holocene
I. Regional expression of changes during the later Holocene
J. Conclusions
Week 7
Day 1 Climatic History of Central and South America since
18,000 yr BP: Comparison of Pollen Records and Model Simulations
(Wright et al. 1993, ch. 14)
– ONLY FOR GRADUATE-LEVEL COURSE
A. Introduction & overview
B. Background
C. Regional paleo-environmental change
1. Tropical & subtropical lowlands
2. High-elevation sites in the Andes
a. Montane Central America
b. Paramos of the northern and central Andes
c. Subparamo of the northern and central Andes
d. Altoandean of the central Andes
3. Subtropical woodland and desert (latitudes 30-34oS)
4. Temperate nemoral and evergreen Northofagus forests of
the southern Andes
D. Discussion
E. Model results and paleoclimatic data
Day 2
Holocene Vegetation and Climate Histories of Alaska over the
last 18 ka (Wright et al., ch.15)
A. Introduction and Setting
B. Southern Alaska
1. Vegetation history
2. Climate history
3. Summary
C. Northern Alaska
1. Vegetation history
2. Climate history
3. Summary
D. Comparisons with Climate Simulations for 9000 and 6000
B.P.
Week 8
Day 1
Climatic Changes in the Western United States since 18,000 yr BP
(Wright et al. 1993, ch. 18)
A. Introduction
B. Modern Climate
1. Climate
2. Vegetation
3. Lakes
C. Paleoenvironmental Data
1. Vegetation data
2. Lake-level data
3. Paleoclimatic maps
4. Geographic records
D. Environmental Changes since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM)
1. 18 ka: Full Glacial Environments
a. Northwest
b. Rocky Mountains
c. Great Basin
d. Colorado Plateau
e. Southwest
f. California
2. 12 ka: Late-Glacial Environments
a. Northwest
b. Rocky Mountains
c. Great Basin
d. Colorado Plateau
e. Southwest
3. 9 ka: Early-Holocene Environments
a. Northwest
b. Rocky Mountains
c. Great Basin
d. Colorado Plateau
e. Southwest
4. 6 ka: Mid-Holocene Environments
a. Northwest
b. Rocky Mountains
c. Great Basin
d. Colorado Plateau
e. Southwest
E. Environmental Changes During the Late Holocene
F. Inferring Paleoclimate
1. 18 ka
2. 12 ka
3. 9 ka
4. 6 ka
(long chapter, so skipping modeled paleoclimate section)
G. Summary & Conclusions
Day 2 Vegetation, Lake Levels, and Climate in Eastern North
America for the Past 18,000 Years (Wright et al. 1993, ch.17)
A. Introduction
B. The Region: Topography, Climate, and Vegetation
C. The data
1. Pollen data
2. Lake-level data
D. Pollen Methods
1. Pollen sums
2. Subdivision of Pinus and Betula
3. Isopoll maps
4. Response surfaces
5. Climatic calibration of pollen data: inferred
climate estimates
E. Lake-Level Methods
1. Lake-level status
2. Estimation of effective moisture from lake-level
status
F. Results
1. Pollen data
a. modern distributions and response surfaces
b. mapped temporal variation in fossil pollen data
c. climatic interpretation & inferred climate
estimates
2. Lake-level data
3. Comparisons of mapped patterns of pollen and lake-
level data
G. Discussion & Conclusions
Week 9
Day 1 NO CLASS. Review for Exam II.
Day 2 EXAM II
Week 10
Day 1 Prehistoric Humans as Agents of Environmental Change
(Mannion 1997)
A. Introduction
B. Evolution of modern humans
C. Relationship between environment and Paleolithic groups
D. Relationship between environment and Mesolithic groups
E. Domestication of Plants and Animals: the beginnings of
agriculture
Day 2 Prehistoric Humans and Agriculture, continued (Mannion
1997, Diamond “Guns, Germs and Steel”)
A. Centers of plant domestication: the Near East
B. Centers of the Far East
C. Sub-Saharan center
D. Centers in Americas
E. Domestication of animals
F. The Neolithic Period
G. The Bronze Age
H. The Iron Age
I. Conclusions
Week 11
Day 1 Environmental Change in the Historic Period (Mannion
1997)
A. Introduction
B. Impacts of the Greeks and Romans
C. Middle Ages (~400-1400 A.D.)
D. Years 1400-1750 A.D.
E. Industrialization: the immediate consequences (1750-
1914 A.D.)
F. Changes in the Americas following European settlement
G. Conclusions
Day 2 Global & Climate Change Due to post-1700
Industrialization, Overview
A. Introduction
B. Changes due to mineral extraction
C. Reclamation of mine-damaged land
D. Changes due to fossil fuels: global warming
1. Greenhouse gases: sources and sinks
2. Impacts of global warming
E. Changes due to fossil fuels: acidification
F. Ozone and lead problems
G. Changes caused by disposal of waste materials
H. Conclusions
Week 12
Day 1 IPCC 2007, part 1
Day 2 IPCC 2007, part 2
Week 13
Day 1 NO CLASS. Review for Exam III.
Day 2 EXAM III
Week 14
Day 1 Agroecosystems (Bonan 2002)
A. Introduction
B. Drylands
C. Tropical deforestation
D. European deforestation
E. U.S. deforestation
F. U.S. Central Plains
G. Conclusions
Day 2 Urban ecosystems (Bonan 2002)
A. Introduction
B. Urban climate
C. Urban hydrology
D. Biogeochemical cycles
E. Biodiversity
F. The ecological city
G. Conclusions |