Climate Change: Projections and Uncertainty

Feeling anxious about climate change? Discover how anthropogenic emissions cause the Earth to warm and how scientists are using models to predict our planet’s future. Beginning with an introduction to past and present eras of climate change, this course will delve into the radiative physics underlying the greenhouse effect. Students will use Python to code their own model of Earth’s energy balance, demonstrating how greenhouse gases raise Earth’s equilibrium temperature. With an understanding of anthropogenic climate change, we will discuss the models composing the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP) that are used to inform the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports. Working in teams, students will analyze output from CMIP6 and recent observational datasets to create a final presentation on how the signal of climate change manifests itself on a particular component of the Earth system. By the end of this course, students will feel confident in their ability to discuss the science, nuance, and uncertainty associated with Earth’s changing climate.