110 likes | 218 Views
Advances in Climate Sciences. Dr. Yi Wang Dept. of Geography School of Global Studies University of Sussex (yi.wang@sussex.ac.uk). Two Aspects of The Course. Current status/theory of climate sciences Atmosphere: Dynamics/circulations, physical parameterisation, observations…
E N D
Advances in Climate Sciences Dr. Yi Wang Dept. of Geography School of Global Studies University of Sussex (yi.wang@sussex.ac.uk)
Two Aspects of The Course • Current status/theory of climate sciences • Atmosphere: Dynamics/circulations, physical parameterisation, observations… • Ocean: Dynamics (thermohaline circulation, wind-driven gyres), ENSO, Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO)… • Biosphere: Biogeophysical/biogeochemical processes, land-use-land-cover changes • Cryosphere: Sea ice, ice sheet
Two Aspects of The Course • Skills used in climate sciences • Linux system commands (You will be given an account on our climate research Linux workstation) • Climate data formats (e.g., NetCDF) • Climate data operators (e.g., CDO, NCO) • Climate data visualisation tools (e.g., GrADS)
Edward Lorenz’s Butterfly • Have you ever heard this? Organized chaos?
Edward Lorenz’s Butterfly • Predictability- Does the Flap of a Butterfly's Wings in Brazil Set Off a Tornado in Texas?----Lorenz, December 1972, AAAS Talk. • Weather and climate are both nonlinear systems. • Climate is what you expect, but weather is what you get everyday.
Climate science is NOT about weather forecasting! • Climate sciences try to advance our knowledge over timescales at: • Seasonal • Interannual • Decadal • Muti-decadal • Centenary • Millennial • Longer Community Earth System Model
Course Outline • Teaching staff: Dr. Yi Wang • One lecture per week. • One seminar per week. • One lab session per week.
Assessment • A research presentation (weeks 8-10) ---10% with feedbacks from the tutor. • A 4000-word climate analysis essay (submission during the spring assessment period)---90% • Examples of essay topics will be given in the course. • You are welcome to develop your own essay topics.
Learning outcomes • Demonstrate a sound knowledge of the climate system. • Understand the cause of climate changes and variability. • Understand the key elements of climate models and their predictions.
Learning outcomes • Summarise key debates and uncertainties in the climate change. • Identify research topics and develop independent research questions on the climate change. • Understand the approaches used in climate analyses and evaluations.
Incoming book Climate Sciences Thank you!