Earth System Science

Catalog description

Provides a foundation in the tools and terminology of system science, their application to Earth’s systems, their use in environmental problem solving, and their relevance to environmental management. Students will (1) apply principles of mass, energy, and momentum balance to understand the dynamics of the Earth system; (2) learn to explain critical observations and methods that guide our empirical understanding of global change; (3) be introduced to the basics of environmental physics, including important principles of radiative transfer, fluid dynamics, and heat flow as they pertain to atmospheric and oceanic dynamics, land surface processes, and their connections to the energy, carbon, and water balance of our planet.