CONN 350 | Modeling Earth's Climate

In this course, students take on the challenge of quantitative modeling of Earth's climate. This is done by employing high-level computer programming languages (such as Python) to build original computer codes, and by learning to manipulate existing codes (such as Global Climate Models). Modeling focuses on energy, winds, and carbon flows through the atmosphere, on a global scale. Students also acquire systems thinking skills that frame the nonlinear processes inherent to climate dynamics, especially feedbacks, time delays, and the notion of stocks and flows. These skills and insights are designed to provide students quantitative grounding for addressing climate change: its drivers, predictions, consequences, and mitigation. While computer programming skills are taught from the ground up, it is expected that students possess a baseline familiarity with scientific methods and algorithmic thinking as taught in foundational (100-level) college-level courses, as well as an enthusiasm for developing quantitative computational modeling.