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 circulation and oceanography, and proxy data. Topics include variability in modern climate, greenhouse gases, global warming, El Nino, Pacific decadal oscillation, ozone hole, volcanism, ice age climate, and Milankovitch cycles. Also covers stable isotope profiles, plate tectonics, greenhouse climates, paleovegetation, modern species diversity, and snowball Earth.