Welcome to the GEOS 300W, Earth System Science, webpage for the Fall 2018 semester.

This page will be updated every few days as the course progresses...

Fall 2018 Lectures: TR, 11:00 - 12:15 PM. Location: PHSC 213

Office hours: TBD or by appointment. (Please e-mail me to schedule something.)

Tues., 28 Aug., Review syllabus and begin Chapter 1 on Global Change: Keeling curve, Mann hockey stick, Vostock/Dome-C curves.
Thurs., 30 Aug., Continue Chapter 1: Greenhouse gases (CO2, CH4, N2O), CFCs and HCFCs, O2, ozone (O3), sea ice, sea level, Faint Young Sun Paradox.
Tues., 4 Sept., Review greenhouse gases and composition of the atmosphere, then discussion of the peer-review process, citations, journal articles, etc.
Thurs. 6 Sept., Quiz #1 on Chapter 1. Then Chapter 2 on Daisyworld and the systems approach.
Tues., 11 Sept., Begin Chapter 3: Global Energy Balance. Electromagnetic radiation, photons, spectrum, flux, inverse square law (up to page 40.)
Thurs. 13 Sept., Quiz #2 on Chapter 2. Writing assignment #1 is due. Lecture: Planck function, blackbody radiation, Wein's law, Stefan-Boltzmann law.
Tues., 18 Sept., Examples of how to use Wein's law and Stefan-Boltzmann law. Then, planetary energy balance and greenhouse effect on pages 44 and 45.
Thurs. 20 Sept., Quiz #3 on Chapter 3. Then, heat transfer, molecular motions, absorption spectra, effect of clouds on radiation budget up to page 52
Fri. 21 Sept., No adding or dropping after this date without Chair's and Dean's approval.
Tues., 25 Sept., Complete Chapter 3.
Thurs. 27 Sept., Exam #1 on Chapters 1-3.
Tues., 2 Oct., Begin Chapter 4: Charles law, Boyle's law, ideal gas law, hydrostatic equation, barometric law, pressure gradients, introduce 3-cell model.
Thurs. 4 Oct., Description of writing assignment #2. Then, Coriolis and geostrophic flow. Up to page 68 and Fig. 4-14 in book.
Tues., 9 Oct., Quiz #4 on pages 57 - 69. Then, static stability, lapse rate, convection, phase changes, latent heats.
Thurs. 11 Oct., Begin Chapter 5: Circulation of the ocean. Mean vertical structure, gyres, Ekman spiral, upwelling.
Tues., 16 Oct., Continue Chapter 5: western boundary currents, conservation of absolute vorticity, El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO)
Thurs. 18 Oct., Class canceled: use time to work on Essay #2.
Tues., 23 Oct., Complete Chapter 5: Review last time. Then, deep ocean circulation, temperature and salinity, thermohaline circulation.
Thurs. 25 Oct., Quiz #5 on Chapter 5. Review of Chapters 4 & 5. The profound importance of Earth's rotation on fluid motion and the Earth system.
Tues., 30 Oct., Exam #2 on Chapters 4 and 5.
Thurs. 1 Nov., Begin Chapter 6: the Cryosphere: ice sheets, ice shelves, ice bergs, sea ice, Greenland, Antarctica.
Tues., 6 Nov., Review energy transfer methods and Fourier's law. Continue Chapter 6. Phase diagram for water, formation of snow, permafrost, glaciers.
Thurs. 8 Nov., Begin Chapter 7: Circulation of the solid Earth.
Tues., 13 Nov., No class due to the Camp Fire.
Thurs. 15 Nov., No class due to the Camp Fire.
Tues., 20 Nov., Thanksgiving break. No classes held.
Thurs. 22 Nov., Thanksgiving break. No classes held.
Tues., 27 Nov., TED Video on forest and wild fires. Then complete Chapter 7.
Thurs. 29 Nov., Peer Review of essays.
Tues., 4 Dec., Lecture on climate, climate change, Milankovitch cycles, cores, sunspots, and solar intensity.
Thurs. 6 Dec., Peer Review of essays.
Tues., 11 Dec., Review week
Thurs. 13 Dec., Review week
Mon. 17 Dec., Final Exam week begins

Dr. Mayor's page

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