12.340 | Spring 2012 | Undergraduate

Global Warming Science

Course Description

This course provides students with a scientific foundation of anthropogenic climate change and an introduction to climate models. It focuses on fundamental physical processes that shape climate (e.g. solar variability, orbital mechanics, greenhouse gases, atmospheric and oceanic circulation, and volcanic and soil …
This course provides students with a scientific foundation of anthropogenic climate change and an introduction to climate models. It focuses on fundamental physical processes that shape climate (e.g. solar variability, orbital mechanics, greenhouse gases, atmospheric and oceanic circulation, and volcanic and soil aerosols) and on evidence for past and present climate change. During the course they discuss material consequences of climate change, including sea level change, variations in precipitation, vegetation, storminess, and the incidence of disease. This course also examines the science behind mitigation and adaptation proposals.
Learning Resource Types
Problem Sets
Lecture Notes
Projects
A white polar bear standing on arctic sea ice.
Polar bear on arctic sea ice. (Image courtesy of Kathy Crane, NOAA Artic Research Program.)