Geog 110 Environmental Systems
Fall 2009
Instructor: Dr. Conghe Song
Class: 1:00-1:50pm MWF
Classroom: 116 Murphy Hall
Instructor Office Hours: 2:00-3:00pm MWF @ 310 Saunders Hall or by appointment
Teaching Assistant
Office Hours:
Julie Tuttle (jptuttle at email dot unc dot edu) : TTh 2:00-3:30pm @ 320 Saunders Hall or by appointment
Christine Urbanowicz (cu at unc dot edu): MW 11:30am-1:00pm @ 320 Saunders Hall or by appointment
Su Zhang (zhangsu at dot email dot unc dot edu): TTh 1:00-2:30pm @ 320 Saunders Hall or by appointment
Course Introduction: Geog 110 is an introductory course to Physical Geography, one of the two major branches of Geography (Human Geography is the other branch). Physical Geography is a very broad subfield in Geography. All physical processes that occur on/near the earth surface (e.g. vegetation, soil, surface and ground water etc) are subjects of Physical Geography. The Earth is a living dynamic system which is composed of many subsystems functioning in a coordinated manner. Currently we are facing an unprecedented challenge that human activities disrupted the functioning of earth system, causing a series of changes at local, regional, continental to global scales. These changes are threatening the future of humanity in a variety of ways, such as global warming, drought, sea level rise, mass species extinction, etc. Addressing the environmental problems caused by these changes requires that we understand how each of the earth subsystems works, how they are connected with each other, and what their current status are and will be in the future. In this class, we will take a system point of view to examine almost all the subsystems and their associated processes that happen on and near (both above and below) the earth surface. Though each subsystem does not exist independently of other subsystems, we will look at them one at a time. We will study the Atmosphere, Hydrosphere and Lithospere first and then the Biosphere, which intersects the other three “spheres”. Students will achieve a holistic view of our home planet as well as a fundamental understanding of the physical processes that govern the functioning of the major environmental systems. This class will provide a solid foundation for further studies in numerous fields related to environmental systems.
Text Book: Christopherson, R. W. Geosystems, 7th Edition. Prentice Hall, NJ. ISBN-10: 0-13-600598-5.
Exams and Term Paper:
There will be three midterm exams and a final exam for this class. I will
drop the lowest midterm grade. There will be no make-up exams for the midterms.
Each person will write a ten page (double space, font size 12) term paper. The
subject of the term paper will be the impacts of global warming on any aspect
of the physical processes (e.g. sea level rise, arctic ice melting, drought,
severe weather conditions, change in phenology, crop yield, vegetation
productivity, El Nino, species extinction …). Each paper needs to draw findings
from at least 15 papers or book chapters. Regardless of the subject matter,
contents of the paper should include: problem statement (including its
background); how global warming are related to the problem, what are the
potential impacts, solution options, and discussions.
Grading Policy:
Midterm 1: 20%
Midterm 2: 20%
Final Exam: 30%
Term Paper: 30%
Schedules (subject to change due to unexpected events):
|
date |
topic |
reading |
|
26-Aug |
course
Introduction |
n/a |
|
28-Aug |
chapter
1: page 1-22 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
31-Aug |
chapter 2 |
|
|
2-Sep |
Solar
Energy 2 |
chapter 2 |
|
4-Sep |
chapter 3 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
7-Sep |
Labor Day |
|
|
9-Sep |
Modern
Atmosphere 2 |
chapter 3 |
|
11-Sep |
chapter 4 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
14-Sep |
Earth
Surface Energy 2 |
Chapter 4 |
|
16-Sep |
Earth
Surface Energy 3 |
Chapter 4 |
|
18-Sep |
Midterm
1 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
21-Sep |
Chapter 5 |
|
|
23-Sep |
Temperature
2 |
chapter 5 |
|
25-Sep |
Temperature
3 |
|
|
|
|
Chapter 6 |
|
28-Sep |
|
|
|
30-Sep |
Air/Ocean
Circulation 2 |
Chapter 6 |
|
2-Oct |
Air/Ocean
Circulation 3 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
5-Oct |
Chapter 7 |
|
|
7-Oct |
Water in
the Air 2 |
|
|
9-Oct |
Water in
the Air 3 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
12-Oct |
Midterm
2 |
|
|
14-Oct |
Weather 1 |
Chapter 8 |
|
16-Oct |
Weather 2 |
Chapter 8 |
|
|
|
|
|
19-Oct |
Chapter 9 |
|
|
21-Oct |
Water
Resources 2 |
Chapter 9 |
|
23-Oct |
Fall Break |
|
|
|
|
|
|
26-Oct |
Water
Resources 3 |
Chapter 9 |
|
28-Oct |
Chapter
10 |
|
|
30-Oct |
Climate
Systems 2 |
Chapter
10 |
|
|
|
|
|
2-Nov |
Chapter
11 |
|
|
4-Nov |
The
Dynamic Planet 2 |
Chapter
11 |
|
6-Nov |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
9-Nov |
midterm
3 |
|
|
11-Nov |
Chapter
12 |
|
|
13-Nov |
Earthquaks
and Volcanism |
Chapter
13 |
|
|
|
|
|
16-Nov |
Chapter
19 |
|
|
18-Nov |
Ecosystem
Processes 2 |
|
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20-Nov |
Ecosystem
Processes 3 |
|
|
|
|
|
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23-Nov |
Ecosystem
processes 4 |
|
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25-Nov |
Thanksgiving |
|
|
27-Nov |
Thanksgiving |
|
|
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|
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30-Nov |
|
|
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2-Dec |
Chapter
20 |
|
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4-Dec |
Term Paper Due! |
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7-Dec |
|
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9-Dec |
Last Day
of Class |
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Final
Exam: 12pm on Dec 11 |
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