ESI98R Curriculum

The curriculum for our four week Environmental Science institute will focus on Global Climate Change. The following content areas will be covered:

• An overview of climate change, covering the research conducted in the past two decades.
• Definition of important terms and parameters, and explanations of the mechanisms that lead to global warming in the present and near future.
• Measurement methods for concentrations of greenhouse gases, ozone depletion over the poles, ocean temperatures, and paleoclimate.
• Climate and ocean circulation models: how we try to predict future conditions.
• Human impacts of climate change: sea level rise and the effects on coastal areas, increased storm frequency, the spread of tropical diseases, economic costs.
• Impacts on biota, including phytoplankton, fisheries, coastal marshes and vegetation, water resources, agriculture.
• Policy aspects and costs of mitigation measures.

[For some general background reading, see this Earth System Science Education page at OU.]

Woodrow Wilson Leadership Program in Environmental Science lpt@www.woodrow.org
The Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation webmaster@woodrow.org
CN 5281, Princeton NJ 08543-5281 Tel:(609)452-7007 Fax:(609)452-0066