51 - 60 of 146 results for: EARTHSYS

Forces of global change (eg., climate disruption, biodiversity loss, disease) impart wide-ranging political, socioeconomic, and ecological impacts, creating an urgent need for science communication. Students will collect data for a region of the US using sources ranging from academic journals to popular media and create an interactive Story Map ( http://stanford.maps.arcgis.com/apps/StorytellingTextLegend/index.html?appid=dafe2393fd2e4acc8b0a4e6e71d0b6d5) that merges the scientific and human dimensions of global change. Students will interview stakeholders as part of a community-engaged learning experience and present the Map to national policy-makers. Our 2014 Map is being used by the CA Office of Planning & Research.

This course examines biogeochemical cycles and how they developed through the interaction between the atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and lithosphere. Emphasis is on the long-term carbon cycle and how it is connected to other biogeochemical cycles on Earth. The course consists of lectures, discussion of research papers, and quantitative modeling of biogeochemical cycles. Students produce a model on some aspect of the cycles discussed in this course. Grades based on class interaction, student presentations, and the modeling project.

Identification and interview of Stanford researchers to be featured in an audio podcast. Exploration of interviewing techniques, audio storytelling, audio editing, and podcasting as a newly emerging media platform. Individual and group projects. Group workshops focused on preparation, review, and critiques of podcasts.

In this course students will conduct audio interviews with experts about subjects related to the Anthropocene. The term Anthropocene refers to the proposed new geologic age based on the global footprint of humankind. The course is one part seminar and one part project-based. Students will work with the instructors and with each other throughout the production cycle. The podcasting show works in collaboration with Smithsonian Magazine, and there will be opportunities to publish. In contrast to EARTHSYS 135, this course will focus more heavily on the interview process, with less emphasis on post-production.

Comparative approach to sustainable cities, with focus on international practices and applicability to China. Tradeoffs regarding land use, infrastructure, energy and water, and the need to balance economic vitality, environmental quality, cultural heritage, and social equity. Student teams collaborate with Chinese faculty and students partners to support urban sustainability projects. Limited enrollment via application; see internationalurbanization.org for details. Prerequisites: consent of the instructor(s).

Energy, water, and food are our most vital resources constituting a tightly intertwined network: energy production requires water, transporting and treating water needs energy, producing food requires both energy and water. The course is an introduction to learn specifically about the links between energy and water. Students will look first at the use of water for energy production, then at the role of energy in water projects, and finally at the challenge in figuring out how to keep this relationship as sustainable as possible. Students will explore case examples and are encouraged to contribute examples of concerns for discussion as well as suggest a portfolio of sustainable energy options.

How to observe and interpret physical and biological changes in the oceans using satellite technologies. Topics: principles of satellite remote sensing, classes of satellite remote sensors, converting radiometric data into biological and physical quantities, sensor calibration and validation, interpreting large-scale oceanographic features.

The use of satellite remote sensing to monitor land use and land cover, with emphasis on terrestrial changes. Topics include pre-processing data, biophysical properties of vegetation observable by satellite, accuracy assessment of maps derived from remote sensing, and methodologies to detect changes such as urbanization, deforestation, vegetation health, and wildfires.

Survey of geographic information including maps, satellite imagery, and census data, approaches to spatial data, and tools for integrating and examining spatially-explicit data. Emphasis is on fundamental concepts of geographic information science and associated technologies. Topics include geographic data structure, cartography, remotely sensed data, statistical analysis of geographic data, spatial analysis, map design, and geographic information system software. Computer lab assignments. All students are required to attend a weekly lab on Tuesdays or Thursdays from 6 pm to 9 pm.