--SYLLABUS--
ESYS 10: Introduction to Environmental Systems
Winter 2008
Instructor:
Christopher Charles
305 Vaughan Hall, Scripps Inst. Of Oceanography, 534-5911, ccharles (at) ucsd.edu
Teaching Assistants:
Patrick Rafter prafter (at) ucsd.edu
Textbook (required):
The Earth System (2nd edition), L.R. Kump, J.F. Kasting, and R.G. Crane
Course website:
http://charleslab.ucsd.edu/ESYS10.htm
Course grade:
Homeworks (20%); Midterm (25%); Final (35%); Term Paper (20%)
Homeworks will consist of problems taken directly from textbook, along with other similar style questions. The term paper will be a succinct (<8 page) essay, analogous to a newspaper article, that analyses a single environmental problem facing California (or San Diego). Students can either choose the problem based on their own interests, or they may approach the instructor for a list of appropriate topics. Guidelines for this paper will be provided separately.
Discussion sections (required attendance):
The instructor and the T.A. will each lead a weekly discussion section.
There are two purposes to these discussion sections: (i) to work through the problem sets; and (ii) to provide a less structured forum for discussing the popular scientific issues. These sections are required, in the sense that we will work through problems (assigned several days prior to section) that will be turned in at the end of the section.
Approximate sequence of lectures:
(Powerpoint files of these lectures will be available on the website for a limited time after each has been delivered. Page numbers refer to the corresponding material in the textbook.)
1. Overview & carbon cycle
Tu Jan 8 Introduction and overview. Concept of a system (pgs. 1-33)
Th Jan 10 Elemental distribution and throughput (pgs. 117-146)
Tu Jan 15 Plate tectonics and the cycling of carbon
Th Jan 17 Carbon cycle through ocean and atmosphere ( pgs. 147-172)
Tu Jan 22 Human disturbance to the carbon cycle (pgs. 317-324)
2. The Climate System
Th Jan 24 Climate system: greenhouse gases and other basic forces (pgs. 34-54)
Tu Jan 29 Climate change: the oceans and global warming (pgs. 325-334)
Th Jan 31 Climate/water interaction (pgs. 68-83)
Tu Feb 5 Climate models: projections of future greenhouse world (pgs. 104-116)
Th Feb 7 Midterm
3. “Other” human disturbance of the ocean/atmosphere system
Tu Feb 12 “Other” atmospheric pollutants
Th Feb 14 Urban smog
Tu Feb 19 Ozone holes (343-361)
Th Feb 21 Shifting Chemistry and biology of the oceans (83-104)
4. Resource management, risk assessment and policy
Tu Feb 26 Ocean resources (pgs. 363-378)
Th Feb 28 Water resources in California
Tu Mar 4 Energy resources
Th Mar 6 “Alternative” energy resources
Tu Mar 11 Energy policy (334-343)
Th Mar 13 Review of key concepts and topics (Term paper due)
Mar 18 Final exam (cumulative)
Download a copy of the syllabus here (MS Word or PDF file)
(If you have problems downloading, try "right-click" and "save as" to save syllabus to your computer)
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