Ocean, Atmosphere, Climate

The “Ocean, Atmosphere, Climate” module aims to present the fundamental principles of atmospheric dynamics and ocean dynamics and offers a critical and well-documented perspective on climate change. The course is based on the analysis of official documents describing global change, well-documented discussions of key issues, and case studies applied to various global contexts.

• To enable students to develop their understanding of the relationships between climate change and atmospheric and oceanic processes, as well as some of their impacts on the Earth system.
• To foster the development of students' critical thinking skills regarding issues of climate change.

Programs that include this module in their curriculum strive to develop a portfolio of knowledge and skills, which will be carefully documented in this module.

Final Exam: 1-hour in-person written exam

• Overview of the IPCC and Its Reports
• Causes of Past Climate Change (Milankovitch, e.g., the Little Ice Age)
• Current Climate Change (Observations, Modeling, Causes)
• Radiative balance, greenhouse effect (greenhouse gases, ozone layer), coupling of sensible and latent heat
• General atmospheric circulation, geostrophic winds, fronts, jet streams, low-pressure systems/high-pressure systems,
•  Impact of Climate Change on Extreme Events (e.g., cyclones, Mediterranean-type weather events)
• Societal Impact and Policy Decisions (conventions, COPs)
• General Ocean Circulation (drivers, Munk, major ocean currents, numerical models)
• The North Atlantic Current
• The Conveyor Belt
• Ocean-Atmosphere Interactions. Energy and Heat Transport. The Water Cycle.
• The Regionalization of Climates
• The Carbon and CO2 Cycles in the Atmosphere, the Ocean, and the Lithosphere
• What if the Gulf Stream disappeared!
• Sea-Level Rise: Processes and Trends.                                        
• TD: El Niño, North Atlantic Ocean, Indian monsoon, equatorial convergence, sea-level rise (paleoclimatic evidence)