Geography 204: Climatology, Spring 2004

Syllabus

Instructor

Office

Electronic Mail

Phone

Office Hours

Dr. Rob Hellström

#301, Conant Science Bldg.

rhellstrom@bridgew.edu

(508) 531-2842

MW 11 AM-12;    R 10 AM-12 or by appointment

Courses at Bridgewater State College:  GE 100: Physical Geography or GE 120: The Physical World. There are no other prerequisites for this course, although you will be exposed to some simple physics and mathematics as the course progresses. If you have not taken either of the two prerequisite courses, you may enter the class under the following conditions:

·         The course is not full

·         You provide a course add/drop slip to the lecture instructor within 6 working days of the first day of regularly scheduled classes

Meeting

Call #

Day, Time

Place

Lecture

10133

M 1:00-2:50 p.m.

#309 Conant Science Bldg.

Lab

10134

W 1:00-2:50 p.m.

#309 Conant Science Bldg.

This text contains required readings from experts in climatology, helpful diagrams and tables to successfully complete GE 204. It is available at the Bridgewater State College bookstore:  

Oliver, J. E. and J. J. Hidore, 2002: Climatology: Atmospheric Science. Prentice Hall. 410 pp.

This exercise manual contains weekly activities that follow assigned text readings. Each week you will learn how to use a tool to help you understand how the atmosphere works, the importance of classifying climate and how human activity relates to climate change.

Snow, M., Snow, R., and Oliver, J.E., 2003: Exercises in Climatology. Prentice Hall. 168 pp.

This course is designed to provide students with a basic understanding of past, current and future climate on Earth. The main objective of this course is to introduce the principles and practical applications of climatology, particularly in relation to human and environmental interactions. Discussions will include processes governing climate, methods of measuring climate, climate interactions with the ecosystems, and the prospects of climate change. The course will include discussions of how human activities depend on weather and how they may be changing the climate of the Earth, on local and global scales.

To enhance learning and for convenient access to information, a course web site is available by connecting to the Blackboard online course system at BSC.

The course web page will provide the course requirements, special announcements, access to lecture outlines, valuable information for weekly discussions and exam review material. The page will help you to communicate and transfer of documents to the instructor and other students in the class. You will need access to a computer with and Internet connection (Internet Explorer or Netscape) to effectively use the course web site. You may print lecture outlines prior to class meetings using Microsoft PowerPoint or the PowerPoint Viewer available through Blackboard home page at:  http://plato.bridgew.edu/

You will receive instructions getting an account on Blackboard during the first class meeting.

Your final grade is based on two (2) written examinations, eight (8) lab experiments, weekly skill exercises, and two (2) group projects with two presentations and one final paper. Examinations contain multiple choice, short answer/analysis, and essay questions. Testable material is weighted about 70% from lecture material (including book readings), 20% from lab experiments and 10% from skill exercises. No makeup exams, except under extreme circumstances: you must notify instructor prior to the exam date.

·         Mid-Term Exam (20%):  Wednesday, March 3^rd, 1:00-2:50 p.m.

·         Final Exam (20%):  Wednesday, May 12^th, 11:00a.m.-1:00 p.m.: Material since Mid-Term

·         Lab Experiments (20%):  You will be graded on eight (8) hands-on observation and analysis activities completed during Wednesday lab time (see outline). Labs are due one (1) week after the Wednesday lab period.

·         Skill Exercises (20%):  You will receive credit for handing in various assignments from your Exercises in Climatology lab book. These assignments will help prepare you for laboratory activities on Wednesdays. Your lab books will be collected two times during the semester, one week prior to your Mid-Term and Final Exams Review Periods (see outline). You should do all assigned exercises in the lab book, and the instructor will grade selected problems at random. They will be handed back during the Review before your Exams.

·         Group Presentations (20%):  All members of your group (2 or 3 per group) will receive the same grade for completing two (2) group presentations. A designated group leader is responsible for coordinating members of the group and ensuring that the project is presentable by the due date. Due dates for presentations are given in the course outline. You are encouraged to use the Blackboard Group email and file exchange system to share information. Each group will receive a project description during the second week of classes and each member is required to complete tasks (as provided by the course instructor).