Earth Systems, Climate and Evidence

What learners will discover

• Describe the layers of the atmosphere by their temperature profiles and composition, and use the lapse rate to calculate temperature change with altitude in the troposphere.
• Use a global energy-balance model (incoming sunlight, albedo, outgoing infrared) to calculate absorbed solar radiation and explain the greenhouse effect at the molecular level.
• Quantify carbon reservoirs and fluxes, convert between GtC, GtCO~2~ and ppm, and explain from the carbon budget why atmospheric carbon dioxide is rising.
• Analyse carbon dioxide and temperature records, separating seasonal cycles and weather from long-term trends, and evaluate independent lines of evidence that the rise is caused by human activity.
• Explain positive and negative climate feedbacks and climate sensitivity, and interpret model projections and their uncertainty ranges as conditional on emissions scenarios.

Lessons

1. The layered atmosphere 7 steps5 practiceabout 20 min
2. Energy balance and the greenhouse effect 8 steps4 practiceabout 25 min
3. Carbon reservoirs and fluxes 8 steps5 practiceabout 25 min
4. Reading the climate record 7 steps4 practiceabout 25 min
5. Feedbacks, models and projections 8 steps5 practiceabout 25 min
6. Climate systems and evidence check 11 questions at the end