12.340x Global Warming Science (Spring 2014, 12 weeks starting 19 Feb 2014)
On-line class
Course Description
12.340x is an MITx (a MOOC) course, which introduces the basic science underpinning our knowledge of the climate system, how climate has changed in the past, and how it may change in the future. The course focuses on the fundamental energy balance in the climate system, between incoming solar radiation and outgoing infrared radiation, and how this balance is affected by greenhouse gases. We will also discuss physical processes that shape the climate, such as atmospheric and oceanic convection and large-scale circulation, solar variability, orbital mechanics, and aerosols, as well as the evidence for past and present climate change. We will discuss climate models of varying degrees of complexity, and you will be able to run a model of a single column of the Earth's atmosphere, which includes many of the important elements of simulating climate change. Together, this range of topics forms the scientific basis for our understanding of anthropogenic (human-influenced) climate change.
We will not cover issues regarding policy responses to climate change. Rather, Global Warming Science is designed to be a strictly scientific introduction to this important topic.
12.340x is geared toward students with some mathematical and scientific background, but does not require any prior knowledge of climate or atmospheric science.
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12.301/12.842 Climate Physics and Chemistry (Fall) Undergraduate / Graduate class Course Description This course introduces students to climate studies, including beginnings of the solar system, time scales, and climate in human history. It also talks about:
This course meets with graduate subject 12.842 (Climate Physics and Chemistry), but assignments differ. |
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12.340 Global Warming Science (Spring) Undergraduate class Course Description This course provides students with a scientific foundation of anthropogenic climate change and an introduction to climate models. 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. Discusses material consequences of climate change, including sea level change, variations in precipitation, vegetation, storminess, and the incidence of disease. Examines the science behind mitigation and adaptation proposals. |
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12.803 Quasi-Balanced Circulations in Oceans and Atmospheres (Fall) Graduate class Course Description This course introduces the students to dynamics of large-scale circulations in oceans and atmospheres. Basic concepts include mass and momentum conservation, hydrostatic and geostrophic balance, and pressure and other vertical coordinates. It covers the topics of fundamental conservation and balance principles for large-scale flow, generation and dissipation of quasi-balanced eddies, as well as equilibrated quasi-balanced systems. Examples of oceanic and atmospheric quasi-balanced flows, computational models, and rotating tank experiments can be found in the accompaniment laboratory course 12.804, Large-scale Flow Dynamics Lab. Basic Topics to be Covered:
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12.811 Tropical Meteorology (Spring) Graduate class Course Description This course describes the behavior and dynamics of the tropical troposphere, from the large-scale energy balance down to cumulus convection and tropical cyclones. Topics include: Radiative-convective equilibrium; the Hadley and walker circulation; monsoons; tropical boundary layers; theory of the response of the tropical atmosphere to localized sea-surface temperature anomalies; intraseasonal oscillations; equatorial waves; El Niño/Southern Oscillation; easterly waves; and tropical cyclones. Basic Topics to be Covered:
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