Syllabus, OCG123, Spring 2002
“Oceans, Atmospheres, and Global Change”

Lectures MWF 12, Pastore 234; Labs M,W 1,2, Coastal Institute 117A
Home page: http://karws.gso.uri.edu/OCG123/Spring_2002/OCG123_Spring_2002.html

Kenneth A. Rahn 874-6713; krahn@uri.edu; http://karws.gso.uri.edu
Center for Atmospheric Chemistry Studies
Graduate School of Oceanography
CACS Room 212 (Bay Campus)

Teaching Assistant: Heather L. Saffert 874-6105, hsaffert@gso.uri.edu
Graduate School of Oceanography
CACS Room 218 (Bay Campus)

Goals
      The main goal of this course is to give you a solid introduction to the earth as a unified climatic system, to the forces that act on the various parts of that system (such as oceans, atmosphere, biosphere, and solid earth), to the ways in which those parts are currently changing, and the extent to which those changes are affected by human activities. This is a difficult task in principle because many of the observations that serve as raw data are too short, such as the one or two centuries of direct measurements of temperature. Therefore, we are forced to guess at many important questions that we would really like to answer unambiguously. We will therefore spend much of this class dealing with principles such as how the earth gets its heat, redistributes it, stores it, changes it into different forms, and eventually releases it back to space. We will then examine some factors than can perturb these processes, including a changing sun, changes in the earth’s orbit, variable ocean currents, drifting continents, and last but not least, human effects on the atmosphere and possibly via the atmosphere to climate.
      A secondary goal will be to develop skills in critical thinking. Throughout the semester, we will constantly be working with chains of reasoning and evaluating the multiple explanations possible for various observations. For example, one of the most important questions will be the simplest possible one: “Is the earth warming?” The answer to this basic question may not be as obvious as it seems, for reasons that may surprise you.

Materials
      The text for this course is The Earth System by Lee R. Kump, James F. Kasting, and Robert G. Crane. This is a very recent book that is excellent. It is full of valuable interdisciplinary information, and will be a challenge for you to master. If needed, we will supplement it with materials from other sources, including the Worldwide Web.

Format, homework, exams, grading
      We meet MWF at 12 p.m. for the full 50 minutes. I expect you to attend every class and to be prompt. Typically, we will first discuss the reading or the homework for that day, and then introduce the material to be read for the next class. Discussion will often be lively. Questions are encouraged, and differences in viewpoints will be respected provided that they can be defended logically.
      We will cover one chapter of the book each week. This amounts to 7 or 8 pages for each class. I expect you to have read the pages before each class and be prepared to discuss them. Absences and lack of preparation will lower your grade. You should be prepared to spend up to three hours outside class for each hour inside. Working significantly less will diminish the value of the experience and lower your grade. Don't say I didn't warn you!
      You will learn the material, and Heather and I will help. We will not spoon-feed you, and I will not cover all the material in the lectures. Instead, I will emphasize the key points and the difficult ideas. You will then study and learn the rest.
      Each student must sign up for one of the four laboratories on Mondays and Wednesdays. The exercises conducted there will help you understand some of the important ideas discussed in the lectures. The labs will be run by our teaching assistant Ms. Heather L. Saffert, who will also be available Wednesdays after 3 p.m. and Fridays after the lecture by appointment. Written reports will be turned in for each of the labs. Most will involve some of the review questions and critical-thinking problems at the end of each chapter. The quality of writing is important—sentences and paragraphs are to be written in correct classical English. Typewritten answers are greatly preferred, but handwritten answers will be accepted as long as they are neat and easy to read. Late assignments will be penalized. The lab periods before the hourlies and the final will be used for review sessions. Take maximum advantage of these opportunities to learn.
      We will have three hourly exams and a final. The hourlies will be during the class periods of 11 February, 8 March, and 8 April; the final will be on Thursday 16 May, 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The final grade will be based 50% on the exams and 50% on the labs. The 50% for the exams will be 10% for each of the hourlies and 20% for the final.
    This class has its own web site, whose home page is linked above. It will contain the assignments and answers, answers to the hourly exams, and notices. You should check there at least weekly.

Most important of all
      We are here to help you learn as much as possible about global change and how to think about it. Help us make this a great educational experience for all.

Preliminary schedule of lectures

Schedule of laboratories

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