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615.775.81 - Physics of Climate

Applied Physics

Spring 2024

Description

To understand the forces that cause global climate variability, we must understand the natural forces that drive our weather and our oceans. This course covers the fundamental science underlying the nature of the Earth’s atmosphere and its ocean. This includes development of the basic equations for the atmosphere and ocean, the global radiation balance, description of oceanic and atmospheric processes, and their interactions and variability. Also included will be a description of observational systems used for climate studies and monitoring, fundamentals underlying global circulation, and climate prediction models. Prerequisite(s): Undergraduate degree in physics or engineering or equivalent, with strong background in mathematics through the calculus level.

Instructors

David L. Porter

David.L.Porter@jhu.edu

Nathaniel Winstead

nathaniel.winstead@jhuapl.edu

Course Structure

The course is divided into 14 Modules.

Each Module has nominally:

Module at a Glance
Readings
Lectures and Content
Module Discussion
Module Problem Set
and some have Term Paper and/or Climate Projects

Course Topics

Module	Module Title
Module 1	The Earth Within the Solar System
Module 2	Modeling the Atmosphere and Ocean
Module 3	Composition and Physical Properties of the Ocean and Atmosphere
Module 4	Radiation, Temperature and Stability
Module 5	Water in the Atmosphere
Module 6	Global Budgets of Heat, Water and Salt
Module 7	Observations of Winds and Currents
Module 8	The Influence of the Earth's Rotation on Fluid Motion Part 1
Module 9	The Influence of the Earth's Rotation on Fluid Motion Part 2
Module 10	Waves and Tides Part 1
Module 11	Waves and Tides Part 2
Module 12	Energy Transfer in the Ocean-Atmosphere System
Module 13	The Tropical General Circulation
Module 14	Modern Climate Change

Course Goals

To develop an understanding and appreciation of the Climate and the processes that drive it. And also to be able to apply climate knowledge, data collection and analysis procedures, and the scientific method of discovery to your specific discipline, e.g. military, environmental, engineering, etc.

Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs)

Describe the general physical nature of the ocean, i.e. the oceanic temperature and salinity distribution, the major ocean currents, the bathymetry, oceanic cryosphere, and the Earth’s oceanic energy budget.
Describe the general physical nature of the atmosphere, i.e. the atmospheric temperature and humidity distribution, the major air currents, the topographic/orographic effects, terrestrial cryosphere, and the Earth’s atmospheric energy budget.
Delineate the energy transfer between the ocean, atmosphere, and cryosphere on time scales from seconds to climate sales of 100,000 years.
Run and interpret ocean/atmosphere/climate models (e.g. Students will run idealized case studies, where they can adjust parameters) and test various hypothesis related to natural and anthropogenic forcing signals.
Process some of the available global data sets, in light of climate modeling, and be able to delineate the impact of the paucity of data on climate change variability.

Textbooks

Wells, N. C. (2011). The Atmosphere and Ocean: A Physical Introduction (3rd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

• ISBN: 978-0-470-69469-5

Other Materials & Online Resources

You will be required to purchase a license to access the EzGCM or your Climate Modeling Project.

Student Coursework Requirements

It is expected that each module will take approximately 7–10 hours per week to complete. Here is an approximate breakdown: reading the assigned sections of the texts (approximately 3–4 hours per week) as well as some outside reading, watching the audio annotated slide presentations, derivations, and videos (approximately 2–3 hours per week), and writing assignments (approximately 2–3 hours per week).

This course will consist of the following basic student requirements:

Preparation and Participation (20% of Final Grade Calculation)

You are responsible for carefully reading all assigned material and being prepared for discussion. The majority of readings are from the course text. Additional reading may be assigned to supplement text readings.

Module Discussions

As part of your Participation grade you will also need to participate in the Module Discussions. Post your initial response to the discussion questions by the evening of Day 4 for that module week. Posting a response to the discussion question is part one of your grade for module discussions (i.e., Timeliness).

The second part of your grade for Module Discussions is your interaction (i.e., responding to classmate postings with thoughtful responses) with at least two classmates (i.e., Critical Thinking). Just posting your response to a discussion question is not sufficient; we want you to interact with your classmates. Be detailed in your postings and in your responses to your classmates' postings. Feel free to agree or disagree with your classmates. Please ensure that your postings are civil and constructive…even fun.

We will monitor module discussions and will respond to some of the discussions as they are posted.

Refer to the Discussion Guidelines for specific information on participation and grading of Discussions.

Climate Chats

During these weekly live conversations, you will hear sea stories (all true), poetry, learn to love the ocean and atmosphere more, learn how to study the climate, and also get help with course topics.

Why attend these chats, you ask? There are a number of reasons. One is that we have learned a tremendous amount from our interactions with past students, and we want to encourage it. The second is that our students have learned a tremendous amount from our interactions with them, and we want to encourage it. The last reason is that sometimes the discussion leads us on a different course of discovery than the course is directing. And discovery is a marvelous experience.

During the modules there will be weekly Climate Chats. You are required to attend just one of these chats and will be graded on participation. It will be counted as part of your Discussion and it is worth 2% points of your grade. If you can’t listen live, you can listen to the recorded Climate Chat.

If you participate in or listen to more Climate Chats, the instructors can use them as extra credit in your grade. For example if you teeter between a A- and a B+, it could lead to an A-. Evaluation of preparation and participation is based on contributions to Module Discussions and Climate Chat attendance.

Assignments (35% of Final Grade Calculation)

Assignments will include a mix of qualitative assignments (e.g. conclusions given various assumptions) and quantitative problem sets. Include a cover sheet with your name and assignment identifier. Also include your name and a page number indicator (i.e., page x of y) on each page of your submissions. Each problem should have the problem statement, assumptions, computations, and conclusions/discussion delineated. All Figures and Tables should be captioned and labeled appropriately. We cannot stress enough how important it is to properly label axes and give units. It would be just wrong to say Porter weighs 202 without giving the proper units, in this case pounds (troy) which is different than pounds (advp).

All assignments are due according to the dates in the Calendar.

Late submissions may be reduced by one letter grade for each week late (no exceptions without prior coordination with the instructors). Always talk to the instructor as they are very flexible.

If, after submitting a written assignment you are not satisfied with the grade received, you are encouraged to redo the assignment and resubmit it. If the resubmission results in a better grade, that grade will be substituted for the previous grade.

Refer to the Assignment Guidelines for specific information on submission and grading of Problem Sets.

Term Paper (25% of Final Grade Calculation)

Throughout the course, you will develop a Term Paper, starting with idea generation in Module 1. This will be a paper that investigates a topic of interest for you. It is an opportunity to ‘dig into’ a topic maybe not covered in the course with the depth desired. It could also be about some research you did, too. You will submit a 1-2 paragraph proposal for instructor approval in Module 7. The Term Paper will be due the last day of Module 14.

Refer to the Term Paper Instructions for information on how the Term Paper will be evaluated.

Climate Modeling Project (20% of Final Grade Calculation)

Numerical modeling of the Earth’s future climate comprises a huge part of ongoing climate research. This Climate Modeling Project is to help introduce actual climate models, test hypotheses employing those models, and design a future climate model hypothesis, and run the model to analyze and test that hypothesis. Working with this model also introduces the user to how to handle huge amounts of data, and how to analyze all that data to support or refute the hypothesis.

This is a multi-module project (weighted) due in three phases, with each phase requiring an annotated PowerPoint presentation worth 100 points toward your overall Climate Modeling Project grade, for a total of 300 points. The Climate Modeling Project accounts for 15% of your grade, 5% per Phase. An annotated PowerPoint is where you employ the ‘notes’ section to write a more detailed description of the slide above.

1. Phase 1: due in Module 4
2. Phase 2: due in Module 7
3. Phase 3: due in Module 11

Refer to the Climate Modeling Project Instructions for information on how the project will be evaluated.

Grading Policy

EP uses a +/- grading system (see “Grading System”, Graduate Programs catalog).

Score Range	Letter Grade
100-97	= A+
96-93	= A
92-90	= A−
89-87	= B+
86-83	= B
82-80	= B−
79-77	= C+
76-73	= C
72-70	= C−
69-67	= D+
66-63	= D
<63	= F

Course Policies

**On the use of Artificial Intelligence, e.g. ChatGPT, in the course.**

As in all scholarly works you are expected to present your work as your own. Your goal as a student is to acquire this knowledge for yourself and use it in your career and for the good of society. That being said, you may use, for example, ChatGPT as a resource, as one would use Wikipedia. However, remember that it is not reliable, much as Wikipedia is not reliable. If you do use it, then please cite it as a resource and save its output as a PDF file, that you can retrieve for the instructors/graders, if so requested. As we adjust to the use of Artificial Intelligence in the work place, it will be interesting to have some of our “Chats” discuss what you found and how it impacted your research from its use.

Academic Policies

Deadlines for Adding, Dropping and Withdrawing from Courses

Students may add a course up to one week after the start of the term for that particular course. Students may drop courses according to the drop deadlines outlined in the EP academic calendar (https://ep.jhu.edu/student-services/academic-calendar/). Between the 6th week of the class and prior to the final withdrawal deadline, a student may withdraw from a course with a W on their academic record. A record of the course will remain on the academic record with a W appearing in the grade column to indicate that the student registered and withdrew from the course.

Academic Misconduct Policy

All students are required to read, know, and comply with the Johns Hopkins University Krieger School of Arts and Sciences (KSAS) / Whiting School of Engineering (WSE) Procedures for Handling Allegations of Misconduct by Full-Time and Part-Time Graduate Students.

This policy prohibits academic misconduct, including but not limited to the following: cheating or facilitating cheating; plagiarism; reuse of assignments; unauthorized collaboration; alteration of graded assignments; and unfair competition. Course materials (old assignments, texts, or examinations, etc.) should not be shared unless authorized by the course instructor. Any questions related to this policy should be directed to EP’s academic integrity officer at ep-academic-integrity@jhu.edu.

Students with Disabilities - Accommodations and Accessibility

Johns Hopkins University values diversity and inclusion. We are committed to providing welcoming, equitable, and accessible educational experiences for all students. Students with disabilities (including those with psychological conditions, medical conditions and temporary disabilities) can request accommodations for this course by providing an Accommodation Letter issued by Student Disability Services (SDS). Please request accommodations for this course as early as possible to provide time for effective communication and arrangements.

For further information or to start the process of requesting accommodations, please contact Student Disability Services at Engineering for Professionals, ep-disability-svcs@jhu.edu.

Student Conduct Code

The fundamental purpose of the JHU regulation of student conduct is to promote and to protect the health, safety, welfare, property, and rights of all members of the University community as well as to promote the orderly operation of the University and to safeguard its property and facilities. As members of the University community, students accept certain responsibilities which support the educational mission and create an environment in which all students are afforded the same opportunity to succeed academically.

For a full description of the code please visit the following website: https://studentaffairs.jhu.edu/policies-guidelines/student-code/

Classroom Climate

JHU is committed to creating a classroom environment that values the diversity of experiences and perspectives that all students bring. Everyone has the right to be treated with dignity and respect. Fostering an inclusive climate is important. Research and experience show that students who interact with peers who are different from themselves learn new things and experience tangible educational outcomes. At no time in this learning process should someone be singled out or treated unequally on the basis of any seen or unseen part of their identity.

If you have concerns in this course about harassment, discrimination, or any unequal treatment, or if you seek accommodations or resources, please reach out to the course instructor directly. Reporting will never impact your course grade. You may also share concerns with your program chair, the Assistant Dean for Diversity and Inclusion, or the Office of Institutional Equity. In handling reports, people will protect your privacy as much as possible, but faculty and staff are required to officially report information for some cases (e.g. sexual harassment).

Course Auditing

When a student enrolls in an EP course with “audit” status, the student must reach an understanding with the instructor as to what is required to earn the “audit.” If the student does not meet those expectations, the instructor must notify the EP Registration Team [EP-Registration@exchange.johnshopkins.edu] in order for the student to be retroactively dropped or withdrawn from the course (depending on when the "audit" was requested and in accordance with EP registration deadlines). All lecture content will remain accessible to auditing students, but access to all other course material is left to the discretion of the instructor.