Peqod :: Classes - Columbia University Catalog of Classes

Both human and natural systems are growing more vulnerable to climate variability (e.g., the anomalous weather induced by the El Nino-Southern Oscillation, or the increase in hurricanes that occurs when ocean currents warm the Atlantic) and to human-induced climate change, which manifests itself primarily through increases in temperature, precipitation intensity, and sea level, but which can potentially affect all aspects of the global climate. This course will prepare you to estimate climate hazards in your field thereby accelerating the design and implementation of climate-smart, sustainable practices. Climate models are the primary tool for predicting global and regional climate variations, for assessing climate-related risks, and for guiding adaption to climate variability and change. Thus, a basic understanding of the strengths and limitations of such tools is necessary to decision makers and professionals in technical fields.

This course will provide a foundation in the dynamics of the physical climate system that underpin climate models and a full survey of what aspects of the climate system are well observed and understood and where quantitative uncertainties remain. Students will gain a fundamental understanding of the modeling design choices and approximations that distinguish Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)-class climate models from weather forecasting models and that create a diversity of state-of-the-art climate models and climate projections.

This course will provide an overview of the ways in which climate model output and observations can be merged into statistical models to support applications such as seasonal and decadal projections of climate extremes, global and regional climate impacts, and decision-making. Students will develop the skills to visualize, analyze, validate, and interpret climate model output, calculate impact-relevant indices such as duration of heat waves, severity of droughts, or probability of inundation, and the strategies to characterize strengths and uncertainties in projections of future climate change using ensembles of climate models and different emission scenarios.

Department: Sustainability Science
T 4:10 p.m.-6 p.m.
Instructor: Michael Previdi
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3 points

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SUSC PS5010

Banking and Technology: Financial Servic

Department: Technology Management
R 2:10 p.m.-4 p.m.
Instructor: Richard Goldberg
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1.5 points

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TMGT PS5010

Proseminar

Department: Classics
F 2:10 p.m.-4 p.m.
TF 4:10 p.m.-6 p.m.
Instructor: Paraskevi Martzavou
CULPA: 2 Info
Instructor: Katharina Volk
CULPA: 7 Info
1 points

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CLCV GR5011

Social Impact: Business, Society & the E

Soc Impacts: Bus, Soc & E

Department: Climate School
T 1:10 p.m.-3:40 p.m.
Instructor: Caroline Flammer
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3 points

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CLMT G5012

SELECT READ EARLY CHINESE TEXT

Department: East Asian Languages and Cultures
W 2:10 p.m.-4 p.m.
Instructor: Feng Li
CULPA: 12 Wikipedia Info
4 points

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CHNS GR5013

Climate Mobility

It is widely accepted that climate factors can and do affect human mobility, though the degree of their influence varies depending on local contexts. In the case of population displacement, rapid onset climate extremes have a relatively direct impact on mobility, and for longer-term migration climate factors also have been shown to play a role, often mediated by more direct drivers. There is a growing recognition that underlying institutional and structural factors (i.e., root causes) shape the way the climate stressors impact local migration decision-making, and that cultural proclivities and inequitable access to resources, markets, and political power structures often set the stage for ensuing migration flows (domestic and international). In many low income settings the donor and development assistance community are grappling with these complex nexus issues as they seek to develop policies and programs that reduce the potential for distress or mass migration. Responses to date generally fall into four categories; 1) those that address the livelihood aspects of climate migration -- e.g., by improving the prospects for local adaptation; 2) those that seek to facilitate mobility as an adaptation mechanism; 3) those that resettle people in new locations and offer migrant protections; and 4) those that seek to mitigate the impacts of those movements, including environmental impacts, on receiving communities. In high income settings, responses to current and potentially increased immigration from developing countries tends to fall into two camps: a resurgent nationalism with measures to prevent or deter migration versus more migrant-friendly policies that seek to protect migrant rights while acknowledging responsibility for historic greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, high income countries are facing climate impacts of their own such as sea level rise, riparian flooding and massive fires that have displaced thousands and prompted managed retreat from at-risk areas. All this has brought to the fore questions of equity and climate justice as marginalized populations everywhere are often disproportionately affected and least compensated. This interdisciplinary course focuses on the social, demographic, economic, political, environmental and climatic factors that shape human mobility, while addressing the legal categories of international mobility (e.g., migrant versus refugee). We explore underlying drivers of the various types of migration – from forced to voluntary and those forms in between – in ord

Department: Climate School
T 4:10 p.m.-6:40 p.m.
Instructor: Alexander M Desherbinin
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3 points

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CLMT G5013