GEO 100 - Global Environmental Change
Earth Systems Science
Course Size:
Summary

Course Context:
This introductory course has no prerequisites. I was last offered in Spring Term of 2004 at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The class includes 3 lecture sessions per week.
Course Content:
This course covers the following general topics:
- Review of the global energy balance and the general circulation of the atmosphere
- Global climatic changes in recent earth history
- Ozone depletion in the stratosphere
- Radiatively active gases in the atmosphere and the "greenhouse effect"
- Role of the ocean in global changes
- Deforestation and the role of terrestrial biomass with respect to atmospheric carbon dioxide and methane concentrations
- Effects of aerosols in the atmosphere
- Public policy and global environmental issues
Teaching Materials:
The text for this class is:
- The Earth System, 2nd Edition, by Kump, Kasting, and Crane, 2004
Assessment:
Exams (5) - 500 points (total)
In-Class Written Assignments (24) - 120 points (total)
In-Class Written Assignments (24) - 120 points (total)