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This course explores some of the key physical processes that govern Earth?s cold, high-latitude regions and their impacts on our global climate. Topics of interest include the ocean circulation in the Arctic and Southern Ocean, sea ice dynamics and variability, deep water formation and upwelling, the transport and uptake of heat and carbon at high latitudes, polar amplified warming, ice sheet mass balance, and internal modes polar climate variability. We will discuss these topics in the context of past, present, and future climate change. Classes will be a mix of lectures and paper discussions. Lectures will focus on fundamental concepts while assigned readings and in-class discussions explore their application in active research. Students will take turns presenting papers and leading discussions. Evaluations will be based on homework, in-class presentations, and a final report. There are no assigned textbooks. Recommended prerequisites: a course that introduces ocean or atmospheric circulation (e.g., Earthsys 146A/ ESS 246A, Earthsys 146B/ ESS 246B or CEE162D) and prior exposure to multivariable calculus (e.g., MATH 51 or CME100). Undergraduates who have the recommended prerequisites are welcome to enroll.

Required for Earth Systems students in the oceans track. Interdisciplinary look at how oceanic environments control the form and function of marine life. Topics include distributions of planktonic production and abundance, nutrient cycling, the role of ocean biology in the climate system, expected effects of climate changes on ocean biology. Local weekend field trips.

(Graduate students register for 256.) Practical and quantitative treatment of soil processes affecting chemical reactivity, transformation, retention, and bioavailability. Principles of primary areas of soil chemistry: inorganic and organic soil components, complex equilibria in soil solutions, and adsorption phenomena at the solid-water interface. Processes and remediation of acid, saline, and wetland soils. Recommended: soil science and introductory chemistry and microbiology.

The application of molecular and environmental genomic approaches to the study of biogeochemically-important microorganisms in the environment without the need for cultivation. Emphasis is on meta-omic analysis of microbial DNA, RNA, and protein obtained directly from natural microbial assemblages. Topics include microbial energy generation and nutrient cycling, genome structure, gene function, physiology, phylogenetic and functional diversity, evolution, and population dynamics of uncultured communities.

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.

The environment is in crisis and we are the cause. In this class we examine our relationship to the environment, and our ethical obligations towards humans, non-human species, and the ecosystem more broadly. We will be doing this through the lens of technology, asking how novel eco-tech might help us solve the environmental crisis, including evaluating the risks, benefits, and ethics of proposed solutions like geo-engineering, genetic modification, and renewable energies. As part of this, we will consider who benefits from technological solutions, how we might need to change our relationship to nature, and whether societies are betting too much on the promise of future technologies to fix current environmental crises. The course will ground students in applied environmental ethics, teaching them how to apply ethical decision-making frameworks, including non-western ethical systems, with an emphasis on case studies and practical implementation.

This course provides a graduate-level overview of current understanding of the relationship between climate change and extreme weather events. Topics include: causes of extreme weather events in the absence of climate change; approaches for quantifying the probability of extreme events in the absence of climate change; mechanisms by which climate change could alter the frequency or intensity of extreme events; approaches for detecting and attributing changes in extreme events in historical observations; approaches for understanding and quantifying potential changes in extreme events in response to future global warming; approaches for quantifying the impacts of past and future changes in extreme events on people and ecosystems. Pre-requisites: graduate standing or consent of instructor.

The goal of this seminar course is to explore current topics in marine nitrogen cycle. We will explore a variety of processes, including primary production, nitrogen fixation, nitrification, denitrification, and anaerobic ammonia oxidation, and their controls. We will use the book Nitrogen in the Marine Environment and supplement with student-led discussions of recent literature. A variety of biomes, spatial and temporal scales, and methodologies for investigation will be discussed.

Under supervision of an Earth System Science faculty member on a subject of mutual interest.