Course Identification

University level introductory courses in linear algebra and calculus

The course will include a basic overview of the climate system - global energy balance, atmospheric and oceanic circulation, climate sensitivity and climate change - and the mechanisms governing them.
We will review possible causes for the current global warming - from natural climate variability to human-induced affects,
and will study the history and evolution of Earth climate, and how it relates to the climate we experience today.

The various methods used today to observing, modelling, and predicting the climate system will be reviewed, and the forecasts for the next decades will be analyzed.

1. From weather to climate - introduction to the Climate System
2. A possible solution - the Global Energy Balance and Atmospheric Radiative Transfer
3. On this land - the Energy Balance of the Surface
4. A drink of water - the Hydrological Cycle: Storage, Evaporation, Clouds, Precipitation, Runoff
5. A windy day - the atmospheric General Circulation and Climate
6. Go with the flow - the Ocean General Circulation and Climate
7. Once upon a time - Earth past climate
8. The flap of a butterfly wings - Climate Sensitivity and Feedback Mechanisms
9. The ghost in the machine - computer Models of Weather and Climate
10. More possible solutions - natural Climate Change
11. Man made - anthropogenic Climate Change

Upon successful completion of this course students should be able to:

1. Demonstrate knowledge and understating of the earth climate system, its various components and how they interact with each other.
2. Explain the current climate change, its possible influence of mankind on it, and its projection into the future.

Global Physical Climatology (Dennis L. Hartmann, Academic Press, pp. 411)