Curriculum
Climate Science, Change and Impacts
Semester or full year course for High School and Introductory Undergraduate Science Classes
This curriculum is really a hybrid of UW’s ATMS 211 and ESS 201, and explores global energy balance and the dynamic cycles and processes that shape our environment and climate. The course explores the past, present and future climate with an emphasis on data handling and quantitative methods.
Detailed Learning Goals developed with NGSS in mind.
Course Structure
Cross Cutting Themes:
- Budgets reservoirs and transports (hydrological and carbon cycles, heat budget, models)
- Time Scales (past present and future, seasonal, solar variability, ice ages, paleo, future change)
- Spatial Scales: Global vs. Local (seasonal cycle, glacial, future changes)
- Math/Statistics
Five Units (30 weeks)
- Introduction (1 week)
- Global Energy Budget + Transport (7 weeks)
- Natural Variability (6 weeks)
- Anthropogenic Influences on Climate (10 weeks)
- Climate Impacts (6 weeks)