WHAT'S NEW IN EARTH, ENVIRONMENTAL, AND

NEW IN EARTH, ENV, CLIM S

This course provides an overview of current research at the world-renowned Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. Various Lamont researchers will present their latest research in earth, environmental, and climate science, providing students a cross-section of research projects across the LDEO divisions. Students are expected to attend each class, and meaningfully participate in class discussion.

• R 4:10 p.m.-5:25 p.m.
• Instructor: Terry A Plank
  CULPA: 6 Wikipedia Info
• 1 points

GLOBAL WARMING FOR GLOBAL LEADERS

Global Warming will dominate civic discourse and inform economic, social, and governmental policies throughout the 21st century, in all walks of life. This course will cover the basics of climate science, anthropogenic global warming, proposed solutions and policy challenges facing society in response to our changing planet. This course will increase your confidence and ability to engage in public discourse on the subject of climate change, climate change solutions, and public policy concerning our collective future.

• TR 2:40 p.m.-3:55 p.m.
• Instructor: Sarah Aarons
  Info
• 3 points

GEOLO EXCUR TO DEATH VALLEY,CA

The trip is restricted to first-years and sophomores from Columbia College/General Studies, Barnard College, and the School of Engineering and Applied Science. Early application is advised, please visit the course website below for the application deadline. A spring-break excursion focused on the geology of Death Valley and adjacent areas of the eastern California desert. Discussion sessions ahead of the trip provide necessary background. Details at: 
https://eesc.columbia.edu/content/eesc-un1010
.

• F 3:30 p.m.-5 p.m.
• Instructor: Folarin Kolawole
  Info
• 2 points

EARTH'S ENVIRO SYST: CLIM SYST

Prerequisites: high school algebra. Recommended preparation: high school chemistry and physics; and one semester of college science. Origin and development of the atmosphere and oceans, formation of winds, storms and ocean currents, reasons for changes through geologic time. Recent influence of human activity: the ozone hole, global warming, water pollution. Laboratory exploration of topics through demonstrations, experimentation, computer data analysis, and modeling. Students majoring in Earth and Environmental Sciences should plan to take EESC W2100 before their senior year to avoid conflicts with Senior Seminar.

• TR 10:10 a.m.-11:25 a.m.
• 4.5 points

EARTH'S ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEMS: THE SOLID

EARTH'S ENV SYSTEM:SOLID

Recommended preparation: high school chemistry and physics; and one semester of college science. Exploration of how the solid Earth works, today and in the past, focusing on Earth in the Solar system, continents and oceans, the Earth's history, mountain systems on land and sea, minerals and rocks, weathering and erosion, glaciers and ice sheets, the hydrological cycle and rivers, geochronology, plate tectonics, earthquakes, volcanoes, energy resources. Laboratory exploration of topics through examination of rock samples, experimentation, computer data analysis, field exercises, and modeling. Columbia and Barnard majors should plan to take W2200 before their senior year to avoid conflicts with the Senior Seminar.

• TR 1:10 p.m.-2:25 p.m.
• 4.5 points

EARTH'S ENVIRO SYST: LIFE SYST

Prerequisites: high school algebra. Recommended preparation: high school chemistry and physics.

 Role of life in biogeochemical cycles, relationship of biodiversity and evolution to the physical Earth, vulnerability of ecosystems to environmental change; causes and effects of extinctions through geologic time (dinosaurs and mammoths) and today. Exploration of topics through laboratories, data analysis, and modeling. REQUIRED LAB: EESC UN2310. Students will be expected to choose a lab section during the first week of class from the options listed in the Directory of Classes. Co-meets with EEEB 2002

• MW 11:40 a.m.-12:55 p.m.
• 4.5 points

EARTH ENVIR SYST-LIFE SYST-LAB

This three hour lab is required of all students who enroll in EESC UN2300. There are currently five lab sections.

• W 4:10 p.m.-7 p.m.
• 0 points

EARTH ENVIR SYST-LIFE SYST-LAB

This three hour lab is required of all students who enroll in EESC UN2300. There are currently five lab sections.

• W 4:10 p.m.-7 p.m.
• 0 points

EARTH ENVIR SYST-LIFE SYST-LAB

This three hour lab is required of all students who enroll in EESC UN2300. There are currently five lab sections.

• W 4:10 p.m.-7 p.m.
• R 4:10 p.m.-7 p.m.
• 0 points

EARTH ENVIR SYST-LIFE SYST-LAB

This three hour lab is required of all students who enroll in EESC UN2300. There are currently five lab sections.

• R 4:10 p.m.-7 p.m.
• 0 points

FIELD GEOLOGY

The centerpiece of this course is a geological field trip during Spring Break in Barbados. The class will meet weekly before the trip to prepare for it and after the trip to synthesize what was learned and to create a field guide. Subjects to be covered: plate tectonics, convergent plate margins and accretionary prisms, local Barbados geology; ice ages, Milankovitch cycles, sea level; introduction to coral reefs and fossil coral reef geology; Barbados terrestrial ecology; limestone caves, hydrology; dating methods; overview of Barbados history, economy, culture. In order to observe the modern-day coral reef (the modern day live analog to the fossil coral reefs we will see) the class will go snorkeling. In order to observe the effects of cave formation and water flow in limestone terrains the class will participate in an extensive visit to a cave. The class will also participate in an exercise in geological mapping of a series of coral reef terraces.

Priority: Priority is given to junior and senior majors and concentrators in Earth Science or Environmental Science at Columbia College and the School of General Studies, and Barnard College Environmental Science majors and minors. Others (non-DEES majors and non-Barnard Environmental Science students) may also be allowed to enroll if space permits. All students need permission of the instructor. Students who sign up will be put on a waitlist and will be considered after contacting the instructor.

• T 7 p.m.-8:50 p.m.
• 3 points

CHEMISTRY OF CLIMATE

Pre-requisites Chem 1 and Calculus I ; Co-requisites Chemistry II (CHEM1404 or equivalent) and Calculus II (MATH UN2030 or equivalent)
By the end of this course, students will understand: The biogeochemical cycles driving the composition of trace gas and aerosol species that are both long- and short-lived in the atmosphere that influence climate by directly interacting with radiation (i.e. greenhouse gases (GHGs) such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, ozone, CFCs, aerosols) and those that do so mainly by altering the concentrations of other gases (OH, NOx, etc.); The effects of these gas and aerosol species on climate and atmospheric composition; Climate mitigation strategies that are being considered in response to climate warming.

This course is designed for undergraduate students seeking a quantitative introduction to climate and climate change science. EESC V2100 (Climate Systems) is not a prerequisite, but can also be taken for credit if it is taken before this course.

• TR 10:10 a.m.-11:25 a.m.
• Instructor: Roisin Commane
  h-index: 25 Info
• 3 points

SOLID EARTH DYNAMICS

Prerequisites: any 1000-level or 2000-level EESC course; MATH UN1101 Calculus I and PHYS UN1201 General Physics I or their equivalents. Concurrent enrollment in PHYS UN1201 is acceptable with the instructors permission. Properties and processes affecting the evolution and behavior of the solid Earth. This course will focus on the geophysical processes that build mountains and ocean basins, drive plate tectonics, and otherwise lead to a dynamic planet. Topics include heat flow and mantle circulation, earthquakes and seismic waves, gravity, Earths magnetic field, and flow of glaciers and ice sheets.

• TR 11:40 a.m.-12:55 p.m.
• Instructor: Meredith Nettles
  CULPA: 3 h-index: 31 Info
• 3 points

COMPUTATIONAL EARTH SCIENCE

Prerequisites: Required: at least a semester of calculus and physics; any 1000-level or 2000-level EESC course. Computer models are essential for understanding the behavior of complex natural systems in geosciences. This course is an introduction to writing computer models to simulate Earth processes. Students will learn methods for numerical modeling of a variety of geoscience topics, such as nonlinear systems of air chemistry, ocean currents, atmospheric dispersion, and more. Simulations will be created by learning to program with a user-friendly language (Python). Student learning will be facilitated through a combination of lectures, in-class exercises, homework assignments and a final project on a student-selected topic.

• TR 1:10 p.m.-2:25 p.m.
• Instructor: William H Menke
  CULPA: 14 Info
• 3 points

SENIOR SEMINAR

Guided, independent, in-depth research culminating in the senior thesis in the spring. Includes discussion about scientific presentations and posters, data analysis, library research methods and scientific writing. Students review work in progress and share results through oral reports. Weekly seminar to review work in progress and share results through oral and written reports.

• R 4:10 p.m.-6 p.m.
• Instructor: Sidney R Hemming
  CULPA: 13 Wikipedia h-index: 52 Info
• 3 points

INDEPENDENT RESEARCH IN CLIMATE SYSTEM S

INDEP RESEARCH IN CLIM SY

In this course, students develop and complete a one-semester independent research project in an area of Climate System Science. Each student works closely with a research Mentor, and the course experience for all students is coordinated with a course Instructor. This course fulfills the Capstone experience for the Climate System Science major in DEES. This course cannot be combined with one semester of Senior Seminar UN3901, which is designed as a 1-year course.

• R 8:40 a.m.-9:55 a.m.
• Instructor: Laramie Jensen
  Info
• 3 points

CHEMICAL GEOLOGY

This course will examine geological problems from a standpoint of thermodynamic and kinetic theory. Theoretical thermodynamic concepts will be used to derive the crystallization depth and temperature of metamorphic and magmatic minerals, describe the solubility of volatile species in magmas, predict the composition of volcanic gas mixtures, model the nucleation and growth of crystals and bubbles in a melt and determine the chemical interaction between water and rock at the Earth’s surface. Kinetic treatments on the diffusion of heat and matter through crystals and melts will be used to constrain the timing of geological processes. Recommended preparation: Knowledge of mathematics at the level of partial differential equations; mineralogy (EESC 4113); and petrology (EESC 4701); or permission of the instructor.

• TR 1:10 p.m.-2:25 p.m.
• Instructor: Yves Moussallam
  h-index: 18 Info
• 3 points

GEODYNAMICS

An introduction to how the Earth and planets work. The focus is on physical processes that control plate tectonics and the evolution of planetary interiors and surfaces; analytical descriptions of these processes; weekly physical model demonstrations.

• TR 2:40 p.m.-3:55 p.m.
• Instructor: W R Buck
  CULPA: 1 h-index: 43 Info
• 3 points

GEOPHYSICAL FLUID DYNAMICS

Prerequisites: APMA E3101, APMA E3201 or equivalents and APPH E4200 or equivalent or the instructors permission. Fundamental concepts in the dynamics of rotating stratified flows. Geostrophic and hydrostatic balances, potential vorticity, f and beta plane approximations, gravity and Rossby waves, geostrophic adjustment and quasigeostrophy, baroclinic and barotropic instabilities.

• TR 8:40 a.m.-9:55 a.m.
• Instructor: Dhruv Balwada
  Info
• 3 points

CLIMATE PREDICTION CHALLENGES WITH MACHI

CLIMAT PRED W MACHINE LEA

This course is a project-based learning (PBL) course where teams of climate science and data science students collaborate to create machine learning predictive models for challenges inspired by ongoing climate data science research. Students from different background will apply their prior knowledge, work together and teach each other in high-paced collaborative projects. Through a sequence of mini-projects, i.e., “challenges”, this course provides students a deeper understanding of using machine learning for climate science and support predictive capabilities. It provides training on a broad set of practical skills for climate data science research (e.g., handling geoscience data formats, data curation, cleaning and transformation, building ML workflow, and collaboration using cloud computing resources, Git and/or GitHub). It will also offer discussions on the opportunities and challenges of using climate science and projections in decision processes.

Minimal formal instruction on statistics, data science, machine learning, or climate science will be given. Project cycles run every 4 weeks, where we will have mini-group data projects. Groups will be formed randomly with students from both climate science and data science background. Project products will be peer-reviewed, in addition to evaluation by the instructional team.

• R 4:10 p.m.-6:40 p.m.
• Instructor: Galen A McKinley
  CULPA: 1 Wikipedia h-index: 32 Info
• 3 points

THE ECOLOGY OF TREELINE IN A CHANGING CL

ECOLOGY TREELINE CHANGE C

Prerequisites: Introductory Biology. Earth Science and one course in ecology recommended. Treelines are the boundaries between forests and low stature alpine and tundra vegetation, thought to be controlled by climate and therefore likely to respond to climate change. In 1807 Alexander von Humboldt and Aimé Bonpland described treeline as a global phenomenon and a bioclimatological reference that all other vegetation could be referenced against. Despite being clearly linked to climate, the mechanisms that control treeline formation and persistence remain an active area of scientific research and debate. The lack of a complete mechanistic understanding of how climate controls the location of treeline opens the important question of how treeline will respond to climate change. Furthermore, while physical site characteristics determine the potential location of treeline, trees may be absent for a variety of factors, complicating the predicted ecosystem response to a changing climate. These factors include local peculiarities of the environment, a regional lack of capable species, or a multitude of disturbances, including those caused by humans. This course is focused on the ecology treeline in light of global climate change and will provide students with a foundational understanding of fundamental ecological concepts as they pertain to this important ecological boundary between ecosystems and biomes. In addition, students will learn to (1) find, read, and discuss the primary scientific literature, and (2) communicate their findings via written, oral, and audio-visual formats. Topics include ecophysiology, population ecology, community ecology, biogeochemistry and ecosystem ecology.

• TR 11:40 a.m.-12:55 p.m.
• Instructor: Kevin L Griffin
  CULPA: 6 h-index: 59 Info
• 3 points

AIR-SEA INTERACTION

Prerequisites: solid background in mathematics, physics, and chemistry. Some background in fluid mechanics (as in EESC W4925/APPH E4200) or the instructors permission. An overview of oceanic and atmospheric boundary layers including fluxes of momentum, heat, mass, (eg. moisture salt) and gases between the ocean and atmosphere; vertical distribution of energy sources and sinks at the interface including the importance of surface currents; forced upper ocean dynamics, the role of surface waves on the air-sea exchange processes and ocean mixed layer processes.

• TR 2:40 p.m.-3:55 p.m.
• Instructor: Christopher J Zappa
  h-index: 31 Info
• 3 points

INTRO TO ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY

Prerequisites: Physics W1201, Chemistry W1403, Calculus III, or equivalent or the instructors permission. EESC W2100 preferred. Physical and chemical processes determining atmospheric composition and the implications for climate and regional air pollution. Basics of physical chemistry relevant to the atmosphere: spectroscopy, photolysis, and reaction kinetics. Atmospheric transport of trace gas species. Atmosphere-surface-biosphere interactions. Stratospheric ozone chemistry. Tropospheric hydrocarbon chemistry and oxidizing power. Legacy effects of photochemical smog and acid rain. Current impacts of aerosol pollution and climate impacts of pollution reduction.

• TR 2:40 p.m.-3:55 p.m.
• Instructor: Roisin Commane
  h-index: 25 Info
• 3 points

INTRO TO CHEMICAL OCEANOGRAPHY

Prerequisites: Recommended preparation: one year of chemistry. The course covers:  Factors controlling the concentration and distribution of dissolved chemical species within the sea; the physical chemistry of seawater; ocean circulation and biogeochemical processes that interact with each other to influence the distribution and fate of elements in the ocean. The course examines in some detail the two-way interaction between marine ecosystems and their chemical environment, and the implications of these interactions for distributions in the ocean of carbon, nutrients and trace metals. Although this course does not cover specific strategies that have been proposed for marine Carbon Dioxide Removal (mCDR) and ocean storage of carbon, it will cover the basic processes and principles underlying ocean mCDR strategies.

• TR 11:40 a.m.-12:55 p.m.
• 3 points

CENOZOIC PALEOCEANOGRAPHY

Introduces the physical, chemical and biological processes that govern how and where ocean sediments accumulate. Major topics addressed are: modes of biogenic, terrigenous and authigenic sedimentation, depositional environments, pore fluids and sediment geochemistry, diagenesis, as well as biostratigraphy and sediment stratigraphy and methods. Second half of the semester focuses on major events in Cenozoic Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology, including orbital control of climate, long-term carbon cycle, extreme climate regimes, causes of ice ages in Earth history, and long-term El Niño evolution.

Prerequisites: EESC UN2100 Earth's Environmental Systems: Climate System or EESC UN1030 Oceanography.

• Instructor: Baerbel Hoenisch
  CULPA: 3 h-index: 33 Info
• 3 points

EARTH SCIENCE COLLOQUIUM

Current topics in the Earth sciences.

• F 3:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m.
• Instructor: Kaleigh B Matthews
  Info
• 1 points

COMMUNICATING EARTH & ENVIR SCI

Communicating science well in the context of the earth and environmental sciences is critical. This science communication course will transect specific earth and environmental science disciplines to provide a foundational understanding of what it means to communicate science and how to do so effectively. Within this overarching theme of science communication, students will gain a comprehensive and holistic understanding of how to communicate earth and environmental science across a variety of formats and to a diversity of audiences. Practical outcomes include but are not limited to students learning 1) how to rationalize a research topic, 2) write a hypothesis driven proposal, 3) evaluate proposals, 4) produce clear and compelling graphics, 5) adopt the latest pedagogical approaches, and 6) present science findings to a diversity of audiences.

• TR 4:10 p.m.-6:40 p.m.
• Instructor: Sonya Dyhrman
  Wikipedia h-index: 47 Info
• 3 points

DYNAMICS OF CLIMATE

Prerequisites: EESC GU4008, and advanced calculus, or the instructors permission. The current climate and its variations over Earth history are interpreted as consequences of fundamental physical processes, including radiative transfer, the atmosphere and ocean circulation, and the carbon cycle. Perturbations to climate, resulting from changing atmospheric composition or insolation, are examined using a combination of simple interpretative models and full Earth System Models.

• TR 10:10 a.m.-11:25 a.m.
• Instructor: Ronald L Miller
  CULPA: 4 Info
• 3 points

ADVANCED SEISMOLOGY I

Seismic waves in layered media, matrix methods, free vibrations of the Earth, dislocation theory, source mechanics.

• W 1:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m.
• Instructor: Goran Ekstrom
  CULPA: 10 h-index: 76 Info
• 3 points

SEMINAR IN TECTONOPHYSICS

When continents stretch and rift, magmas rise from the mantle, leading to widespread volcanism.
This seminar explores:
• how mantle temperature, water content and decompression drive magma formation
• the role of the lithosphere
• temporal and spatial relationship between volcanism and extension
• the importance of pre-existing structures and tectonic history
• the interactions with asthenosphere flow or plumes
• how magma ascends through the crust and erupts in extending regions
The course will include both fundamental concepts, and examples from the Western US, East Africa and Southwest Pacific back-arc basins, focusing on observational geology, petrology, geophysics, and geodynamic models.

• W 10 a.m.-11:30 a.m.
• 1-2 points