Prerequisites: upper-division standing or consent of instructor; PHYS 002B or PHYS 040B recommended
Description: Surveys historical and paleoclimate change using basic principles on gas laws, radiant energy exchange, atmospheric circula- tion and oceanography, and proxy data. Topics include variability in modern climate, greenhouse gases, global warming, El Nino, Pacific decadal oscil- lation, ozone hole, volcanism, ice age climate, and Milankovitch cycles. Also covers stable isotope pro- files, plate tectonics, greenhouse climates, paleovege- tation, modern species diversity, and snowball Earth.