David Bice

Unit 5: Growth and Decay of Ice Sheets part of Modeling Earth Systems
Large continental ice sheets, such as the Laurentide Ice Sheet from the last glaciation, as well as Antarctica and Greenland of today, are some of the most important features of the global climate system — they ...

Unit 8: Thermohaline Circulation part of Modeling Earth Systems
In this module, students first review some background material on density-driven deep currents in the oceans, and then create a STELLA model of the thermohaline circulation in the North Atlantic Ocean. The model ...

Unit 9: Carbon Cycle and Ocean Chemistry part of Modeling Earth Systems
In this module, students first review some background material on the terrestrial, marine, and anthropogenic processes involved in the storage and transfer of carbon in the Earth system. The students then build a ...

Unit 1: Introduction to Modeling Dynamic Systems part of Modeling Earth Systems
In this unit we introduce students to the reasons why Earth and environmental scientists use numerical modeling as a tool for understanding complex systems and then teach them how to use the STELLA software that ...

Modeling the oceanic thermohaline circulation with STELLA part of Complex Systems:Teaching Activities
This activity describes the construction of and then experimentation with a STELLA model of the thermohaline circulation in the north Atlantic. Based on a famous paper by Stommel (1961), this model exhibits two ...

Modeling Daisyworld part of Complex Systems:Teaching Activities
This activity describes the Daisyworld model in conceptual terms and then describes how to construct a STELLA model of the system. Following this, a series of experiments are outlined, along with questions for ...

Dr. Dave Bice: Using Modeling Earth Systems in Modeling the Earth System at The Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus part of Modeling Earth Systems
This course attempts to teach students to think like a modeler and learn about Earth System dynamics through the construction and experimentation with computer models. At Penn State, this is a required class for a new major on Earth Science and Policy, and its prerequisites include calculus, chemistry, and introductory earth science. There were no traditional lectures in this class; students came to each class period having completed the background reading. The class periods were working sessions in which the students worked through exercises that guided them through constructing and then experimenting with models created in STELLA (a visually-based program for creating models).