Page 19 - Earth's Climate Past and Future

PREFACE xvii

Teaching Options

Several options are available for using Earth’s Climate as Full Semester Course Full-semester courses of 14
a textbook. The entire book can be the basis for a one- weeks are usually taught either as three 50-minute ses-
term course spanning all of Earth’s climatic history, as sions (M/W/F) or two 75-minute sessions (Tu/Th) per
outlined below. Alternatively, portions of the book can week. For the M/W/F option (42 sessions per term),
be used for shorter-length courses or parts of courses. the 19 chapters can be covered in 34 lectures, leaving 8
Three such short options focused on tectonic, orbital, sessions for exams, videos and other purposes.
and recent changes are also outlined below.

Course Outline (M/W/F) No. of Lectures
Chapter 1 Framework of Climate Science 1
Chapter 2 Climate Archives, Data, and Models 2
Chapter 3 CO and Long-Term Climate 1
2
Chapter 4 Plate Tectonics and Long-Term Climate 2
Chapter 5 Greenhouse Climate 2
Chapter 6 From Greenhouse to Icehouse: the Last 50 Million Years 2
Chapter 7 Astronomical Control of Solar Radiation 3
Chapter 8 Insolation Control of Monsoons 2
Chapter 9 Insolation Control of Ice Sheets 2
Chapter 10 Orbital-Scale Changes in Carbon Dioxide and Methane 2
Chapter 11 Orbital-Scale Interactions, Feedbacks, and Unsolved Problems 2
Chapter 12 Last Glacial Maximum 1
Chapter 13 Climate During and Since the Last Deglaciation 2
Chapter 14 Millennial Oscillations of Climate 2
Chapter 15 Humans and Preindustrial Climate 1
Chapter 16 Climate Changes During the Last 1000 Years 2
Chapter 17 Climatic Changes Since 1850 2
Chapter 18 Causes of Warming over the Last 125 Years 2
Chapter 19 Future Climatic Change 1

For the Tu/Th option (28 sessions per term), the
19 chapters can be covered in 23 lectures, leaving
5 sessions for exams, videos, and other purposes.

Course Outline (Tu/Th) No. of Lectures
Chapter 1 Framework of Climate Science 1
Chapter 2 Climate Archives, Data, and Models 1
Chapter 3 CO and Long-Term Climate 1
2
Chapter 4 Plate Tectonics and Long-Term Climate 1
Chapter 5 Greenhouse Climate 1
Chapter 6 From Greenhouse to Icehouse: the Last 50 Million Years 2
Chapter 7 Astronomical Control of Solar Radiation 2
Chapter 8 Insolation Control of Monsoons 1
(continued)