Courses

GEOL150L: Climate Change [General Education]

Understanding how the climate system varies and learning to make reasoned decisions
about future climate change is important to function as a member of society. In this
course, we examine how the climate system operates. We will investigate records of
past climate ranging from the time of early life through the time of the dinosaurs, to the
dawn of man. We will evaluate the mechanisms and impact of climate change, natural and man-made, before discussing some of the controversial aspects of political responses to climate change.

Syllabus

Textbook : Understanding Weather and Climate, 3rd edition, by Aguado and Burt. Prentice Hall.

Context : Climate Science Timeline

(taught every Spring semester. Fall semester taught by Prof Lowell Stott)

GEOL425L: Data Analysis in the Earth and Environmental Sciences

Introduction to mathematical methods giving insight into Earth and Environmental
data. Topics include : probability & statistics, timeseries analysis, spectral analysis, inverse theory, interpolation. Syllabus

Taught in alternate years starting Fall 2009. Next offered Fall 2011

GEOL515: Introduction to Atmospheric Science

Elementary physical principles underlying the behavior of Earth's atmopshere. Dry and moist thermodynamics, radiatve transfer, conservation laws, fundamental dynamical balances, instability theory, cloud microphysics. Syllabus.

Note new textbook availble from USC bookstore.

Taught: Fall 2010 . Please register here.