Climate Change and the Global Carbon Cycle: Past, Present, and Future

Catalog description

In this course, we address the mechanisms behind climate change and its relation with the global carbon cycle. The first part of the course focuses on the impacts of CO2 and other greenhouse gases on global climate, after which we delve into the global carbon cycle. Throughout the course, students are taught how to represent natural processes in numerical models using Matlab. The students then actively engage with the material by building simple models of different parts of the carbon cycle. At the end of the course, the students link all these different models together into an idealized global carbon cycle model. Thus, the students obtain scientific programming skills, in addition to learning about climate change and the carbon cycle. Recommended preparation: prior programming experience is helpful but not necessary. Prereq: MATH 122 or MATH 124 or MATH 126 .