Introduction

About Lesson 3

In Lesson 2, we focused on atmospheric observations documenting historical changes in the climate system. In this lesson, we will turn to other evidence of climate change, including paleoclimate data that can be used to document, albeit with added uncertainty, more distant past changes in climate, and other variables documenting changes in the climate system including measures of ocean circulation, changes in sea ice, glaciers, and other climate change data documenting extreme weather, including tropical cyclone and hurricanes.

What will we learn in Lesson 3?

By the end of Lesson 3, you should be able to:

• discuss the various modern observational and paleoclimate data sets relevant to assessing modern-day climate change, and their uncertainties;
• discuss the role of both the oceans and atmosphere in observed climate variability and climate change;
• perform statistical analyses where there are multiple potential factors influencing some climate variable.

What will be due for Lesson 3?

Please refer to the Syllabus for specific time frames and due dates.

The following is an overview of the required activities for Lesson 3. Detailed directions and submission instructions are located within this lesson.

• Read:
  • IPCC Sixth Assessment Report, Working Group 1 --  Summary for Policy Makers (link is external)
    • The Current State of the Climate: p. 4-11 (same as Lesson 1, but review information about the cryosphere, sea level, and oceans)
  • Dire Predictions, v.2: p. 36-37, 100-101, 110-111, 148-149
• Problem Set #2: Statistical Analysis of Atlantic Tropical Cyclones and Underlying Climate Influences.
• Take Quiz #1.

Questions?

If you have any questions, please post them to our Questions?  discussion forum (not e-mail), located under the Home tab in Canvas. The instructor will check that discussion forum daily to respond. Also, please feel free to post your own responses if you can help with any of the posted questions.