Environmental Geography

Environmental Geography:

Climate Variability

BIS 242

Winter 2012

January 3 - March13

Class Schedule:TTh, 3:30-5:30pm

Location:UW1-220

Instructor:Dr. Robert J. Turner

Assistant Professor of Environmental Science

Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences

UW2-210

(425)

Office Hours:MWF11:00am-noon, 2:30-3:30pm

Course Texts: Ritter, M.E. (2006). The Physical Environment: an Introduction to Physical Geography. (Available online for free)

Ruddiman, W. (2005).Ploughs, Plagues and Petroleum: How Humans Took Control of Climate.Princeton University Press, NJ.(in the bookstore)

Course Web Site:

Course Description

Environmental Geography investigates geographic variability in the interplay between people and natural systems. The primary focus of this course is Earth’s climate. What controls climate and why is it so variable over time and space? What should we know about the earth system in order to evaluate global warming models? Tackling these objectives requires an interdisciplinary analysis of concepts from earth science, meteorology, climatology, physical geography, and oceanography.

Assigned readings for every class will serve as the basis for class discussionsand periodic online quizzes. Classes will also feature a blend of lectures and hands-on activities. As a term project, the class will work together to generate maps depicting the variability in greenhouse emissions of Washington State by county.

Course Objectives

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

Characterize the natural processes and humanactivities important in controlling climate, and how those have been changing over time.
Discuss the sources of uncertainty in models used to predict climate change and the likelihood of projected impacts on ecosystems and people.
Demonstrate greater facility in reading, interpreting, and creating maps, graphs and charts.
Articulate learning gains in critical thinking* and quantitative reasoning, particularly in abilities to evaluate and work with quantitative data.
Demonstrate facility in collaborating with a partner* by producing quality work on time and in a professional manner.
Articulate how they have improved in their ability to conduct research.*

Course Ground Rules and Support

Academic Integrity:

Participation in this course comes with our expectation that your work will be completed in full observance of University of Washington’s policy on academic integrity. Accordingly, no cheating or plagiarism will be tolerated. Cheating is the use or attempted use on a quiz, test, or other formal examination of sources of information not specifically permitted by the instructor, or the assistance of another student in such unauthorized use of information. Plagiarism is the use of another person’s words or ideas misrepresented as one’s own original work. All confirmed cases of plagiarism will result, at a minimum, in a failure of the assignment and a letter to the Vice Chancellor. You are encouraged to discuss course assignments with each other, but what you submit must be your work. If you have questions about what can be considered cheating, facilitation, or plagiarism, please ask the instructor and visit the following web pages:

*Learn more about how to fulfill these objectives well by reviewing the rubrics for the following IAS Learning Objectives: Critical Thinking, Independent Research, and Collaboration and Shared Leadership. For more information, visit: You can find the rubrics here:

Academic Support Centers:

There are three academic support centers on campus: The Quantitative Skills Center (QSC), the Writing Center, and Disability Support Services. The QSC supports students in any area of inquiry that requires quantitative reasoning.

QSC: UW2-134

The WritingCenter supports UWB students with any aspect of the reading and writing process.

WritingCenter:UW2-124

If you believe that you have a disability and would like academic accommodations, please contact Disability Support Services at (425) 352-5307, (425) 352-5303 TDD, or at will be happy to provide assistance.

Incompletes:

University policy states: “An incomplete may be given only when the student has been in attendance, has done satisfactory work to within two weeks of the end of the quarter, and has furnished proof satisfactory to the instructor that the work cannot be completed, because of illness or other circumstances beyond the student's control. To obtain credit for the course, a student must convert an Incomplete into a passing grade no later than the last day of the next quarter.” Incompletes are like a ball and chain… they drag you down. Don’t go there.

Participation in Class Discussions and Group Activities:

Open discussions and work with partners will be fundamental to the success of this course. Participation in these activities will have a bearing on your final grade. To ensure maximum benefit for all involved, please adhere to the following guidelines during discussion and group activities:

Make an effort to foster a positive group dynamic.
Seek out differences in opinion - they enrich discussion.
Stick to the subject and be concise during discussions. Try to avoid long stories.
Come to class prepared for discussion. That means do the readings!

Technology in the Classroom:

Since technology can greatly enhance education, we will be employing a variety of technologies to gather, produce, and express knowledge. But there are times when technology can be intrusive and disruptive to the education process. Please refrain from surfing the web, emailing, and text messaging during class. I will likely ask everyone to close their lap tops during class.

Course Evaluation

Your grade in this course will be determined by your performance on the evaluation instruments shown in the table below with relative values.

Online Quizzes (6) / ~40 points / 14.2%
Climate Politics Quiz / 15 points / 5.3%
Weather Map Lab / 24 points / 8.5%
Global Warming and You Homework / 16 points / 5.7%
Online Discussions (2) / 10 points / 3.5%
Project Formula, Bibliography, and Discussion / 30 points / 10.6%
ProjectSpreadsheet (2) / 15 points / 5.3%
Project Map v. 1 and Evaluation / 17 points / 6.0%
Final Project Maps and Report / 30 points / 10.6%
Mid-term Exam / 25 points / 8.9%
Final Exam / 30 points / 10.6%
Participation and Collaboration
In Class Discussions and Activities / 15 points / 5.3%
In Term Research Collaboration / 15 points / 5.3%
Total Points / 282 points / 100.0%

I do not use a curve. You accumulate points…I add them up…I divide by the total number of possible points. That’s it.

Grading Scale:

Grades will be determined according to the following scale:

A = 4.0 =100-99% B = 3.1 = 86%C = 2.1 = 76% D+ = 1.4 = 69%

3.9 = 98-97% 3.0 = 85%2.0 = 75%1.3 = 68%,

A- =3.8 = 96-95%2.9 = 84% 1.9 = 74%1.2 = 67%,

3.7 = 94-93% B- = 2.8 = 83%C- = 1.8 = 73% D =1.1 = 66%,

3.6 = 92-91% 2.7 = 82%1.7 = 72% 1.0 = 65%,

3.5 = 90%2.6 = 81% 1.6 = 71% 0.9 = 64-63%

B+ =3.4 = 89%2.5 = 80%1.5 = 70% D- =0.8 = 62%

3.3 = 88% C+ =2.4 = 79%0.7 = 61-60%

3.2 = 87%2.3 = 78% (lowest passing grade)

2.2 = 77%

Missed Work and Lateness Policy:

If you miss an exam, you will receive 0 points. For every day you are late in turning one of the assignments, your grade will be reduced by 5%. However, if you know in advance that you cannot make the scheduled time of an exam (for a valid reason), arrangements may be made to take it at another time. Likewise, latitude on other assignments may be granted for documented emergencies and illness.

Course Activities and Evaluation Instruments

Reading Assignments:

In addition to the graded lab and homework assignments, there will be daily reading assignments. Aside from sections of the Ruddiman textbook (Ploughs, Plagues and Petroleum), the readings can be accessed online. The readings are listed in the schedule in this syllabus, on the course Blackboard, and on a course web page. The professor searched far and wide for a variety of readings that were concise, interesting, and directly relevant to our class discussions and learning objectives. Most of the links on the course schedule lead to a web page that is equivalent to only one (typically short) page of printed text. Several links lead to animations.

It is important to keep up with the readings and assignments as each of them will provide the basis for class discussion and the periodic online quizzes. It is also highly recommended that you keep a reading journal where you write down your impressions of the readings, especially the take home points and how you think it relates to the course learning objectives. It is not recommended that you print out the readings. Use your reading journal to help you contribute to class discussions and prepare for the exams.

Online Quizzes and Discussions:

To help you get more out of the readings (and frankly, to motivate you to do them) there will be periodic quizzes on the Course Blackboard. Each quiz will typically consist of 5-6 multiple choice type questions, each based on the readings. You will be able to take your time to do these quizzes (and hunt for the answers), but they will cease being available on the day they are due. When you submit your answers to a quiz, you will receive immediate feedback on your score and what are the correct answers.

We will have two online discussions where your participation will be graded. You will be able to receive up to 5 points per discussion. 2 points for showing up. 3-3.5 points for providing an adequate contribution. 4 points for providing a quality contribution (one that clearly indicates you’ve done the readings and demonstrates some critical thought or is provocative enough to prompt responses from your classmates). You can get full credit for doing all of the above plus responding to another student’s post.

There will be other discussion forums throughout the quarter associated with the term-long research project where we will share resources, references, draft products, and any questions or issues of concern.

Lab and Homework Assignments:

There will be at least three class sessions which will involve lab exercises, all done in collaborations with partners. Each lab assignment will be a practical exercise designed to help you learn the course material, prepare for the upcoming exam, and master some geographic skills. The Weather Map Lab will be turned in for a grade. Students will work in pairs on this graded lab. If you do not complete the lab in the class time allotted, you will have to complete it outside of class.

You will have two other homework assignments to submit for a grade. One is the Climate Politics Quiz. This will be a series of questions for you to answer based on a movie we shall watch titled Everything’s Cool and the readings for 1/10 and 1/12. The other homework is called Global Warming and You. It is an online exercise provided by the author of our other textbook (Ritter, 2006). In this exercise you will estimate your personal greenhouse gas emissions and explore the projected climate change impacts in Washington State.

There are an additional24(!)recommendedonline learning or evaluation activities. You will not besubmitting them for a grade, so you will have to be entirely self-motivated to complete them. But you won’t be sorry when you do. They will really help cement the concepts in the reading and lectures. And many of them are fun interactive web activities.

Exams:

The exams will consist of a combination of multiple choice, short answer, and short essay questions. The final exam will emphasize material covered after the midterm exam, but will be cumulative in the sense that mastery of the later material will rely on comprehension and application of the earlier material.

The Research Project:

Approximately 38% of your grade will revolve around how well you conduct a research project. We will all be working as a big team to collect data we can use to generate 2 maps and a short analysis. The goal is to generate mapsworth publishing.

We will work together to quantify the variability in greenhouse gas emissions from county to county in Washington state. As far as the professor can determine, thisanalysis of the environmental geography of our state has never been done.

You will work in pairs on this research project. Each pair will be assigned a specific parameter (for example cattle emissions) and it will be their task to:determine how to calculate the carbon dioxide equivalent emissions for their parameter; find the data to plug into their formula; dutifully list the sources of their information; generate maps comparing the emissions of their parameter in each WA county; and assess the assumptions and sources of uncertainty in their calculations. Then we will all share our data and make a set of maps revealing the differences in greenhouse gas emissions for all parameters between the counties. To create our final maps, we are relying on all members of the classto complete their research mission.

Aside from collaborating on the generation of these maps, and submitting sub-assignments with your research partner, each student will turn in a final (individual) report that will include…

A)The maps that you created from the class data, with your own captions, legends, and titles.

B)An evaluation of the emission formula you generated for your parameter and of the data you used to calculate the greenhouse gas emissions. What are the assumptions that go into your formula and what are the sources of uncertainty in the data you used and values you calculated?

C)An analysis and evaluation of the maps. Which do you think is the best map? How did you decide to categorize the counties? What is driving the differences in greenhouse gas emissions from county to county? Which parameters are most important? Why does any of this matter?

D)A bibliography of all your sources of information.

To spur you on and help ensure a better final product, there will bethreesub-assignments to submit. These sub-assignments include the Emission Formulas and Discussion(due February 7), theSpreadsheet Draft (due February 16),and the Spreadsheet, Map, and Evaluation(due February 23).

You will receive detailed guidance on how to prepare these draft products. You will also get feedback from the professor on these draft products prior to the finalization of your research deliverable. Many useful references will be available to you on Blackboard.

Participation and Collaboration:

Your term-long research project (and the Weather Map Lab) will be conducted in pairs. Thus, a large portion of your grade will depend upon the dynamic you generate with your partner(s). This course will also feature group discussions. Your participation and collaboration efforts in class discussions, lab work, and research will be assessed by both the professor and your peers.

Course Bibliography

A detailed bibliography of all the course readings, along with links to most of them is available as a separate document on the Course Blackboard and here:

Course Schedule and Assignments

Please note – this schedule is subject to change

Date / Topic / Assignments Due
Bold items get graded / Readings
Blue italic #s = Ritter
1/03 / Introduction
Geography and Earth System Science /

1, 2, 3, 4,5,

1/05 / The Carbon Cycle
The Greenhouse Effect / Online Quiz / 6, 7,8, 9a, 9b, 10
1/10 / Everything’s Cool / 11, 12,13, 14
1/12 / Claims About Climate Change
Research Project Initiation / Online Discussion
Climate PoliticsQuiz / 15;
Ruddiman, pp. 3-4, 177-189
1/17 / The Earth and Sun Dynamic
Earth’s Heat Budget and Atmosphere / Online Quiz
A, B, C / 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, terms 1
1/19 / Properties of Water
Project Check-In and Excel Workshop / Online Discussion / 37,38,39,
1/24 / Atmospheric Circulation
The Hydrologic Cycle / D, E, F, G, H / 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52,53,54,55, 56, 57,58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, terms 2
1/26 / Climates and Biomes
Climate and Human History / Online Quiz / 64, 65, 66,
Ruddiman pp. 5-24
1/31 / Remote Sensing, GPS, and GIS
Review / Play around with these GIS products…
I - Sea Level Rise and Coastal Flooding Impacts
J-Climate Indices Map / 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86,87
2/02 / Midterm
2/07 / Paleoclimatology and Linking Earth’s Orbit to Its Climate
Project Check-In / Emission Formulas and Discussion
K - Vostok Core and Milankovic Cycles Climate Applet / 88, 89,
Ruddiman pp. 25-45
2/09 / SurfaceOcean Circulation
DeepOcean Circulation / Online Quiz / 90, 91, 92
2/14 / Stormy Weather
Weather Map Lab / Play around with these interactive programs… L - runCyclone
M - runMountains
N – Tornado Applet
O – Lighting Applet
P –DrawingIsobars
Q – Constructing a Pressure Profile
R – Learning to Draw Contours / 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106,107, 108,109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115
And check out these scaffolding activities:
S – Midlatitude Cyclones
T – Forecasting Precipitation
2/16 / El Niño Southern Oscillation
Project Check-In / U, V
Spreadsheet Draft / 116, 117, 118, 119, 120
2/21 / Agriculture, Deforestation, and Climate Change
Project Check-In / Weather Map Lab
Online Quiz / Ruddiman pp.55-94
2/23 / Observations of Recent Climate Change
Feedbacks and Tipping Points / Spreadsheet, Map and Evaluation / Ruddiman pp. 149-158,121 (launch interactive viewer),122, 123, 124
2/28 / The Research of Santiago Lopez
Climate Change Projections for Washington State / W – EPA Household Emissions Calculator
X -Global Warming andYou / 125, 126, Climate Change - Health and Environmental Effects – US Regions (for extra credit work on Global Warming and You)
3/01 / Modeling Future Climate Change
Project Check-In / Y - runControls of Temperature / 127, 128,
Ruddiman pp. 159-174
3/06 / Modeling Insights – Monsoons
Hurricanes / Online Quiz
Z– Hurricane Applet / Ruddiman pp. 46-54
129, 130
3/08 / Modeling Insights – Glaciation and Sea Level
Project Check-In / Final Maps & Report / Ruddiman pp. 95-105
131 - TBA, 132
3/13 / Final