The Atmosphere, the Ocean, and Environmental Change

Course Number
GG 140
About the Course

This course explores the physical processes that control Earth’s atmosphere, ocean, and climate. Quantitative methods for constructing mass and energy budgets. Topics include clouds, rain, severe storms, regional climate, the ozone layer, air pollution, ocean currents and productivity, the seasons, El Niño, the history of Earth’s climate, global warming, energy, and water resources.

Course Structure

This Yale College course, taught on campus three times per week for 50 minutes, was recorded for Open Yale Courses in Fall 2011.

Syllabus

Professor
Ronald B. Smith, Damon Wells Professor of Geology & Geophysics
Description

This course explores the physical processes that control Earth’s atmosphere, ocean, and climate. Quantitative methods for constructing mass and energy budgets. Topics include clouds, rain, severe storms, regional climate, the ozone layer, air pollution, ocean currents and productivity, the seasons, El Niño, the history of Earth’s climate, global warming, energy, and water resources.

Texts

Ahrens, C. Donald. Essentials of Meteorology. Brooks Cole, 2004.

Requirements

Weekly reading assignments, eight problem sets give students experience with quantitative heat and mass budget analyses, five laboratory exercises, and four exams.

Grading

Problem sets: 30%
Three mid-term exams: 30%
Final Exam: 40%