GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE
OCN 310 For GES Majors
MWF 11:30-12:20, MSB 307

 

Instructors: Jane E. Schoonmaker (J), Specialist of Oceanography, MSB 205; Tel. 956-9935; FAX: 956-7112; Email: jane@soest.hawaii.edu and Fred T. Mackenzie (F), Emeritus Professor of Oceanography and Geology and Geophysics, MSB 525, Tel. 956-6344; FAX: 956-7112; Email: fredm@soest.hawaii.edu
           
Course Description: Global environmental change is a subject area of considerable interest today. Change can be rapid and threatening; thus, the subject has forced itself before the world and its citizenry. The subject matter is now being addressed regularly by scientists, teachers, policymakers, economists, sociologists, lawyers, and the general public. Global environmental change involves both the physiochemical and biological nature of change and the effects and consequences of natural and human-induced change for ecosystems, humans, and human infrastructures. The unifying theme of this course is consideration of both natural and human-induced environmental change, with some emphasis on the latter. Earth’s ecosphere or exogenic system--the Earth surface system of land, water, biota, air, ice, and sediments--has always been in a dynamic state of change. Change is probably more characteristic of the planet than constancy.
            Under the continuously changing umbrella of natural environmental change, human activities have become a force in the global environment. The growth of the human population, reaching 6.3 billion in 2005, and the consumption of natural resources to feed, house, clothe, and provide energy for this growing world population have resulted in a plethora of environmental issues. These include deforestation and consequent issues of land erosion, changes in regional water cycles, and nutrient cycling; freshwater usage and quality; eutrophication of water bodies; ocean acidification; acid deposition; tropospheric ozone and photochemical smog; stratospheric ozone depletion and enhanced UV radiation; and global climatic change. In this course, we shall consider the scientific basis behind these problems and some of the economic, social, ethical, and policy questions that stem from these disturbances of the environment.
            We recognize that there probably will always be a need for natural resources and for development, but not necessarily for growth. The mining, processing, and use of natural resources, the construction and maintenance of transportation systems and human structures, and the activities associated with the growing and distribution of food are some of the human enterprises that are prone to generating pollutants and inducing environmental change. Whenever these activities occur, there is an increase in the amount of waste material on the planet. This is an inexorable outcome of the fundamental laws of science. As a global civilization, we must decrease the rate of production of this waste that leads to degradation of the environment and learn to manage the global ecosystem in a sustainable way. This course will provide some of the knowledge required to accomplish this goal and for the student to become a wise environmental steward of the planet.

Ethical Issues Focus Designation: Many issues having ethical ramifications arise from the human domination of Earth. We will discuss population trends, natural resource utilization, and alteration of the land surface, oceans, and atmosphere by human activities. These topics will be considered in the context of conflicting demands and needs of industrialized and developing nations and current and future generations.  In addition to coverage in lectures, class discussion will focus on group consideration of these ethical issues.

Prerequisites: CHEM 161 and 162, plus either OCN 201 or GG 101.  Must be a Global Environmental Science major or have the consent of the instructor. This course is required of all Global Environmental Science degree majors.

Teaching Method: Mainly lectures and discussion: the time in lecture sessions will be devoted to lecture, discussion, short quizzes, problems done in class and turned in at that time, and your questions on the lecture material. There will also be supplemental readings handed out at the beginning of the course that will be part of the discussion at the proper time in the schedule. These readings are related to lecture topics. You will be required to write a short essay and answer several questions for homework concerning each reading assignment and to turn in your assignment at the specified time, usually the week after the essay is assigned. Students are responsible for reading and comprehending the articles and discussion of them. Besides the article itself, it is required that the student use a minimum of three outside referenced sources when writing the essay and only one of the sources can be from an internet site. The remaining two sources are to be from referenced papers or books.

Means of Evaluation (please read carefully): Grading in this course is based on: (1) three term examinations; (2) comprehension of assigned papers as evidenced by (i) a short essay of 1-2 pages addressing an assigned question concerning the paper and (ii) attendance and discussion of papers at lecture sessions; (3) problem sets assigned for homework; and 4) quizzes in class. All examinations are comprehensive, although emphasis in each exam will be on the more recent materials covered since the preceding examination. The quizzes will deal with the reading material assigned and questions in the back of the chapters. Questions concerning the essay papers may also appear on the exams. The exams are worth 20% each, essays 20 %, and problem sets and quizzes in class 20%.

Text for the Course: “Our Changing Planet: An Introduction to Earth System Science and Global Environmental Change” by Fred T. Mackenzie, 3rd Edition, Prentice-Hall, ISBN 0-13-065172-9. Make sure you have the 3rd edition and not an older edition! Supplemental readings will be provided.

Problems: Students should do problems at the end of each chapter on their own. The problems are designed to test knowledge of the chapter and to expand on concepts developed in the chapter. Answers are in the back of the textbook. If you do not understand a problem, please see the instructor for help. The problems in the back of the chapters can form questions for the quizzes in class.

Discussion Papers: Discussion papers will be handed out in class.

Expectations and Student Learning Outcomes: Students are expected to attend all class sessions.  The information in Chapters 1-5 of the text is largely background material and will be review for many of you.  You will be responsible for reading these chapters on your own. Lecture materials will cover chapters 6-14, but will also incorporate some material covered in the Chapters 1-5. Lectures will also include information supplemental to the text. Exams will cover information presented in lectures, discussions, or in the discussion papers.

    Upon successful completion of OCN 310 for GES majors, the student should:

• Be familiar with the major processes affecting the ecosphere (exogenic system) of the planet Earth as impacted by human activities;
• Have knowledge of the major ways in which humans are interfering with the natural workings of Earth and the manner and the magnitude of this interference;
• Have a holistic viewpoint of the natural Earth and its modifications by human activities;
• Have the ability to apply basic equations to the solution of problems involving the ecosphere;
• Be able to critique within the framework of the course the readings assigned in the course and communicate orally and in written form about them; and
• Recognize and understand the social, cultural, economic, and ethical issues stemming from global environmental change induced by human activities.
  

 

Tentative Schedule

Read Chapters 1-5 and Appendix in Our Changing Planet: you will be tested in class quizzes on these chapters and material from them used in lecture and discussion and the questions at the end of the chapters; do these questions as you will be held responsible for them; we will discuss important aspects of this material in class. Study Chapters 6-14 in Our Changing Planet and do the questions in back of these chapters; material from these chapters will be on the examinations as well as the questions in the back of Chapters 1-5 when appropriate.

 

				Reading	Written assignments
Aug	24	J,F	Introductions & Background exam	Ch. 1-5
	26	J	Vital Signs
	28	J	Cont.
	31	F	How Nature Works: Natural Historical Framework of Global Environmental Change	Ch. 7
Sep	2	F	Cont.
	4	F	Cont.		Problem set #1
	7		HOLIDAY
	9	J	Human Forcings of Environmental Change:  Population, Development, and Resource Consumption	Ch. 8
	11	J	Cont.
	14	J	Sustaining the human population		Paper #1
	16	J	Biogeochemical Cycles	Ch. 6
	18	J	Cont.
	21	J	Cont.		Problem set #2
	23	J	Cont.
	25	J	Midterm exam #1
	28	J	Earth’s Ecosphere and Terrestrial Vegetation: Future of World Forests	Ch. 5&9
	30	J	Cont.
Oct	2	J	Conserving biodiversity		Paper #2
	5	J	Soils in Jeopardy	Ch. 10
	7	J	Freshwater Resources
	9	J	Coasts in Crisis
	12	J	Coral Reefs and Ocean Acidification
	14	J	Carbonate system calculations		Problem set #3
	16	J	OPEN HOUSE – VOLUNTEER!
	19	J	Interannual Climate Variability: El Nino-Southern Oscillation	Ch. 4
	21	J	Cont.
	23		Midterm exam #2
	26	F
	28	J	Acid Deposition	Ch. 11
	30	J	Atmospheric dust		Paper #3
Nov	2	J	Photochemical smog	Ch. 11
	4	J	Earth’s energy balance		Problem set #4
	6	F	Pleistocene and Holocene Environmental Change	Ch. 3&12
	9	F	Cont.
	11	F	HOLIDAY
	13	F	Hot House Earth:  CO2 and the Enhanced Greenhouse Effect	Ch. 13
	16	F	Cont.
	18	F	Cont.
	20	F	Cont.		Problem set #5
	23	J	Midterm exam #3
	25	J	Stratospheric Ozone Depletion	Ch. 13
	27	J	HOLIDAY
	30	J	Ozone, cont.
Dec	2	J	Geoengineering Climate		Paper #4
	4	J	Human Dimensions of Global Change	Ch. 14
	7	J	Cont.
	9	J	Sustainability/Limits to Growth		Paper #5

There will be no final exam.