CLIMATIC ENVIRONMENTS OF THE PAST

ATMOCN/ENVIRST/GEOSCI 102

Describes the basic climate principles governing the climate system. It describes the climate and climate variability at present, climate evolution in the past, and the projected climate change into the future. The scientific principles underlying the natural and anthropogenic greenhouse effect and climate model forecasts are elucidated.

F&WECOL/ZOOLOGY 660

The evidence that the Earth's climate is changing at unprecedented rates is now overwhelming. Environmental tipping points are being crossed and many species are adapting or failing to adapt. Climate change poses a significant problem for conserving and managing wildlife and their habitats. Climate change, its ecological impacts, and the principle of climate change adaptation in natural resources conservation will be discussed.

ATMOCN/ENVIRST 520

How climate systems and biological organisms operate and interact at the global scale and the implications of this for climate change, ecosystem ecology and human land use.

GEOG 523

Geographic and temporal responses of plant species and terrestrial ecosystems to the major environmental changes of the last 1,000,000 to 1,000 years, particularly glacial-interglacial changes in climate, carbon dioxide, and the end-Pleistocene extinctions of large animals. Key concepts include novel and no-analog ecosystems, abrupt climate and ecological change, and megaherbivore-vegetation interactions. This time period is of direct interest to global change ecologists and biogeographers studying species responses to 21st-century climate change. Hands-on practice emphasizes multivariate data analysis and quantitative paleoecological inference.

ATMOCN/ENVIRST 925

Historical climatology with emphasis on the last few centuries.