Spring 2027

Climate and Climate Change

Covers basic climate principles, present climate variability, past evolution, and future projections of climate change.

offering recorded3 credits
Recorded instructors · Spring 2027 Shaun Marcott3.9/5

Summary

1 / 6

Past student reviews · Michael Notaro

One student found the quizzes manageable after studying the provided guide, noting the lectures were in-depth.

What you’ll be able to do

  • Explain how climate has changed in the past and is projected to change in the future.

  • Describe how the different components of Earth System affect the climate and how global warming will impact them.

  • Connect physical climate changes to impacts on the environment, ecosystems, and people.

  • Describe different adaptation and mitigation strategies.

  • Explain how scientists study the climate.

  • Describe the debate around climate change.

Source: UW Guide 1 UW Guide 2 UW Guide 3

Grade history

↗
average GPA
letter grades
A
AB
B
BC
C
D
F

All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors

Prerequisites

Course map

None

  • None
ATMOCN/ENVIRST/GEOSCI 102 used by

“Used by” includes alternatives; linked courses may have other requirements. This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.

Prerequisite text tree
  • None

Professors

Spring 2027
Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 4.62/5 from 8 quality ratings. The adjusted rating blends this with the UW review average (3.66/5), weighted as 20 additional ratings. Smaller samples stay closer to that average. Each captured review is counted once in the prior; this does not correct who chooses to leave a review.

RMP profile ↗ · All captured review dates; profile matched by name.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2024: 3.49 GPA, 77.6% A/AB (n=58 letter grades); Spring 2025: 3.56 GPA, 80.9% A/AB (n=131 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.54 GPA, 78.0% A/AB (n=168 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

MICHAEL NOTARO is recorded teaching in Fall 2025. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

SHAUN MARCOTT is recorded teaching in Spring 2024, Spring 2025, Spring 2026. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Calendar & sections

Spring 2027

Schedule loads here as you scroll.

SectionModeEnrolled / capacityWaitlist
LEC 001Classroom Instruction0 / 1900
LEC 001Classroom Instruction0 / 1900
LEC 001Classroom Instruction0 / 1200

Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections. Enrollment reflects scan time.

Meeting source records
Download part 1

Student experience

the class

Past student reviews · Michael Notaro

Students described Dr. Notaro as a passionate instructor who put significant effort into teaching and ensuring comprehension.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 3.56 GPA, 80.9% A/AB (n=131 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.68 GPA, 82.1% A/AB (n=184 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.54 GPA, 78.0% A/AB (n=168 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

Past student reviews · Michael Notaro

One student found the quizzes manageable after studying the provided guide, noting the lectures were in-depth.

Past student reviews · Michael Notaro

A reviewer found the instructor responsive to emails and available for office hours.

Topics

  • Natural and anthropogenic greenhouse effect
  • Earth System components and global warming impacts
  • Debate around climate change

Skills

  • Explain past climate changes and future projections
  • Describe adaptation and mitigation strategies
  • Elucidate scientific principles of greenhouse effect and climate models

Grades

Latest available · Spring 2026— not enough history to project Spring 2027.

average GPA
A / AB grades
letter grades
Instructor

Grade distribution · % of letter grades

A
AB
B
BC
C
D
F

Grades over time

Through Spring 2026

More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data

Where this course fits relative to

Latest available grades · Spring 2026 · all course levels

GPA

Higher than % of other courses in this group.

Course GPAs · red marks this course’s range

letter grades

More recorded grades than % of other courses in this group.

Typical course in this group: letter grades.

About this comparison

1280 courses over the same term, each with at least 30 recorded letter grades. Cross-listed courses count once. GPA is not a measure of difficulty or teaching quality. The typical course is the median by recorded grade count; tied values are not counted as lower. Grade counts describe course scale, not unique students or typical section size.

Descriptions compare GPA with this group’s average: at least 0.20 higher or lower; otherwise close to average. Section size uses median recorded enrollment: small up to 30, mid-sized 31–99, large 100+. Lectures and discussion/lab sections are described separately.

Sources & history

UW–Madison

Catalog & offerings

Descriptions, prerequisites, and recorded course offerings.

Catalog observation history

Observations at scan time; dates do not imply when a catalog change took effect.

Download part 1
Selected offering source records
ATMOCN/ENVIRST/GEOSCI 102 · Spring 2027

Climate and Climate Change

Recorded 2026-10-14
ATMOCN/ENVIRST/GEOSCI 102 · Spring 2027

Climate and Climate Change

Recorded 2026-10-14
ATMOCN/ENVIRST/GEOSCI 102 · Spring 2027

Climate and Climate Change

Recorded 2026-10-14
Raw records 
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    "credits_min": 3,
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    "offering_id": "1274:640:024043",
    "course_id": "ATMOCN/ENVIRST/GEOSCI 102",
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    "term_id": "1274",
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]
Rate My Professors

Student reviews

Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.

Read original reviews
Download part 1
Madgrades

Grade history

Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.

Explore recorded grades
Dataset & model

Recorded 2026-10-14

View the dataset on Hugging Face
Model outputs & technical records
Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B
LLM outputs across runs
Download part 1
Full model traces

Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.

Download part 1
Model & dataset provenance 
{
  "model": "Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B",
  "model_revision": "1d4bf0f2ff6012fd82039f2fa52739d0dd7c60c0",
  "task_version": "17",
  "output_id": "d05e8f6ebf1bde08830bd485298a09550904545d0e0c68dbd5ae319f4edd0f08",
  "requirements_status": "valid",
  "dataset_revision": "fc1811fa52e581ea57a35c0cf3343f8740a8ffbf",
  "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00"
}