SIO115 Ice and the Climate System
Syllabus & Timetable 2019
Monday/Wednesday/Friday 9am in Revelle Conference Room (4301)
Please put your cell phones/iPhones etc away before coming into my classes. If you are a medical person on call, or if you have children or if there is some other legitimate reason why you might need to take a phone call during my class, then let me know. But otherwise, please do not text/surf the web/whatever during my classes!
Homework is assigned each Friday and due the following Friday.
TA: Dylan Snover: dsnover@ucsd.edu
HELPFUL NOTES TO ASSIST IN PAPER READING AND DISCUSSION
Week 1. Introduction to the Cryosphere in the Earth System
- 7 January: Elements of the cryosphere; importance of the cryosphere ** WEEK 1 SLIDES **
- 9 January: Role of the cryosphere in the climate system; sea-level change
- 11 January: paper & book discussion
Guardian article 8 Jan 2019
Guidelines for paper discussions
Additional reading: Chapter 1 of "The Cryosphere" by Shawn Marshall.
Chapters 1, 2 and 3 of the UNEP Report
Homework 1 (due Friday 18 January): Cryosphere and its importance for climate
Week 2. Past climate change and past climate records
BBC Article 14 Nov 2016
Additional reading: Ice cores sections of "The Cryosphere" by Shawn Marshall (see Index).
Ice cores and climate change fact sheet: British Antarctic Survey
van Ommen, The Conversation, 2016
Wolff, The Conversation, 2014
Homework 2 (due Friday 25 January): Ice Cores and Past Climate Data for homework Icecore_data.txt NHinso1.txt
- 14 January: Ice cores Video ** WEEK 2 SLIDES **
- 7pm Public talk by Helen at Birch Aquarium on the SALSA project
- 16 January: Ice ages (Jeff Severinghaus guest lecture)
- 18 January: Paper discussion for ice cores and ice ages (Lorius and Petit)
BBC Article 14 Nov 2016
Additional reading: Ice cores sections of "The Cryosphere" by Shawn Marshall (see Index).
Ice cores and climate change fact sheet: British Antarctic Survey
van Ommen, The Conversation, 2016
Wolff, The Conversation, 2014
Homework 2 (due Friday 25 January): Ice Cores and Past Climate Data for homework Icecore_data.txt NHinso1.txt
Week 3. Snow cover, river ice and lake ice
(Reinmann and Templer, The Conversation, 2018)
Lake Baikal: how climate change is threatening the world’s oldest, deepest lake
(Mackay and Swann, The Conversation, 2019)
Breaking the ice: river ice as a marker of climate change
(EGU Blog post by Wayana Dolan).
Additional reading: Chapters 2, 3 and 4 of The Cryosphere" by Shawn Marshall.
Homework 3 (due Friday 1 February): Snow cover and lake ice
- 21 January: MARTIN LUTHER KING HOLIDAY -- NO CLASS
- 23 January: Snow cover ** WEEK 3 SLIDES ***
- 8:30am-12:15pm Scripps Polar Town Hall
- 25 January: River Ice and lake Ice
(Reinmann and Templer, The Conversation, 2018)
Lake Baikal: how climate change is threatening the world’s oldest, deepest lake
(Mackay and Swann, The Conversation, 2019)
Breaking the ice: river ice as a marker of climate change
(EGU Blog post by Wayana Dolan).
Additional reading: Chapters 2, 3 and 4 of The Cryosphere" by Shawn Marshall.
Homework 3 (due Friday 1 February): Snow cover and lake ice
Week 4. Lake ice & permafrost
Another explainer from Climate Signals
Discussion papers on permafrost:
- Airborne electromagnetic imaging of discontinuous permafrost Minsley et al., 2012
- The impact of the permafrost carbon feedback on global climate Schaefer et al., 2014
- Economic impacts of carbon dioxide and methane released from permafrost Hope & Schaefer, 2015
- Will the Arctic shift from a carbon sink to a carbon source Rawlins, The Conversation, 2015
- Methane and the risk of runaway global warming Glikson, The Conversation, 2013
Suggested additional reading: Chapter 7 of "The Cryosphere" (~14 easy pages)
Chapter 7 of UNEP report NEW UNEP REPORT ON PERMAFROST
Facts about Permafrost (CenPerm in Denmark)
Duguay 2005 AGU book chapter
WATCH: AWI video on Permafrost
AGU 2015 Fall meeting press conference on Permafrost
- 28 January: Permafrost; active layer; importance of permafrost to climate *** WEEK 4 SLIDES *** [note, order slightly changed from what was presented in class]
- 30 January: Permafrost; thermokast; under sea permafrost; effects of thawing permafrost; monitoring permafrost
Another explainer from Climate Signals
- 1 February: Permafrost and paper discussions (see below)
Discussion papers on permafrost:
- Airborne electromagnetic imaging of discontinuous permafrost Minsley et al., 2012
- The impact of the permafrost carbon feedback on global climate Schaefer et al., 2014
- Economic impacts of carbon dioxide and methane released from permafrost Hope & Schaefer, 2015
- Will the Arctic shift from a carbon sink to a carbon source Rawlins, The Conversation, 2015
- Methane and the risk of runaway global warming Glikson, The Conversation, 2013
Suggested additional reading: Chapter 7 of "The Cryosphere" (~14 easy pages)
Chapter 7 of UNEP report NEW UNEP REPORT ON PERMAFROST
Facts about Permafrost (CenPerm in Denmark)
Duguay 2005 AGU book chapter
WATCH: AWI video on Permafrost
AGU 2015 Fall meeting press conference on Permafrost
Homework 4 (due Friday 8 February): Permafrost
Week 5. Sea ice
- 4 February: Sea ice; ice-albedo feedback; sea-ice types ** WEEK 5 SLIDES ***
- 6 February: Sea ice growth; monitoring sea-ice extent and thickness
- 8 February: Age of sea ice; future projections.
Discussion papers: The Arctic Ocean has lost 95 percent of its oldest ice — a startling sign of what’s to come, Washington Post
Observed Arctic sea-ice loss directly follows anthropogenic CO2 emission, Notz & Stroeve, Science, 2016
Why Antarctica’s sea ice cover is so low, Arblaster et al., The Conversation
Snow in the changing sea-ice systems, Webster et al., Nature Climate Change
Arctic Sea-ice 101 (Program Manager Tom Wagner)
Interactive sea-ice map from NSIDC
Arctic Report Card 2018 video
Arctic Report Card 2018 website
Suggested additional reading: Chapter 5 of "The Cryosphere" (~20 easy pages)
Chapter 5 of UNEP report Arctic Report Card 2014 (see 18 December item on class media page)
Homework 5 (due Friday 15 February): Sea ice
Week 6. Land ice: Glaciers and ice caps (GIC)
Warm ice in Mount Everest’s glaciers makes them more sensitive to climate change – new research
Katie Miles, The Conversation
A bird’s eye view of New Zealand’s changing glaciers, Andrew Lorrey et al., The Conversation
We’ve been studying a glacier in Peru for 14 years –
and it may reach the point of no return in the next 30 years Matthias Vuille, The Conversation
Breaking news, published 12 Feb 2019! Glacial Census Reveals Ice Thicknesses Around the World, Katherine Kornei, EOS
Suggested additional reading: relevant section of Chapter 6 of UNEP report
World Glacier Monitoring Service
Glacier animation shown in class
Greenland Ice Sheet Ice Age video
READ INSTRUCTIONS FOR TERM PAPER
Homework 6 (due Friday 22 February): Glacier mass budget
Please research your term paper to the point that you can answer question 1 on next week's homework:
1. Term paper. By now you should have a topic picked out for your term paper. Please write a concise, clear paragraph (150-200 words) on what your topic is about, and provide three real peer-reviewed references that you have looked at on this topic. [10]
- 11 February: Introduction to GIC; types of glaciers; contribution of GIC to sea-level *** WEEK 6 SLIDES ***
- 13 February: Transformation of snow to ice; glacier mass balance
- 15 February: Glacier mass balance & measurement
Warm ice in Mount Everest’s glaciers makes them more sensitive to climate change – new research
Katie Miles, The Conversation
A bird’s eye view of New Zealand’s changing glaciers, Andrew Lorrey et al., The Conversation
We’ve been studying a glacier in Peru for 14 years –
and it may reach the point of no return in the next 30 years Matthias Vuille, The Conversation
Breaking news, published 12 Feb 2019! Glacial Census Reveals Ice Thicknesses Around the World, Katherine Kornei, EOS
Suggested additional reading: relevant section of Chapter 6 of UNEP report
World Glacier Monitoring Service
Glacier animation shown in class
Greenland Ice Sheet Ice Age video
READ INSTRUCTIONS FOR TERM PAPER
Homework 6 (due Friday 22 February): Glacier mass budget
Please research your term paper to the point that you can answer question 1 on next week's homework:
1. Term paper. By now you should have a topic picked out for your term paper. Please write a concise, clear paragraph (150-200 words) on what your topic is about, and provide three real peer-reviewed references that you have looked at on this topic. [10]
Week 7. Land ice: Ice sheets (Greenland & Antarctica)
Discussion papers:
1. Nonlinear rise in Greenland runoff in response to post-industrial Arctic warming, Nature, December 2018
2. The big melt: Earth’s ice sheets are under attack, Science News for Students, January 2019
3. Antarctic surface hydrology and impacts on ice-sheet mass balance, Nature Climate Change, November 2018
Homework 7 (due Friday 1 March): Glaciers and ice sheets
- 18 February: PRESIDENTS' DAY HOLIDAY - NO CLASS
- 20 February: Mass balance of ice sheets; ice streams
- 22 February: Ice-ocean interaction; basal melting; surface melting; iceberg calving -- Greenland and Antarctica
Discussion papers:
1. Nonlinear rise in Greenland runoff in response to post-industrial Arctic warming, Nature, December 2018
2. The big melt: Earth’s ice sheets are under attack, Science News for Students, January 2019
3. Antarctic surface hydrology and impacts on ice-sheet mass balance, Nature Climate Change, November 2018
Homework 7 (due Friday 1 March): Glaciers and ice sheets
Week 8. Land ice: Ice sheets (Greenland & Antarctica)
**** A FRIENDLY REMINDER TO PLEASE FILL IN YOUR CAPE FORMS :-) http://www.cape.ucsd.edu****
Homework 8 (due Friday 8 March): Glacier and ice sheet dynamics & hydrology
**** A FRIENDLY REMINDER TO PLEASE FILL IN YOUR CAPE FORMS :-) http://www.cape.ucsd.edu****
- 25 February: surface melting in Greenland Discussion paper: Rignot et al., 2002
- 27 February: Glacier dynamics: creep; flow-law; force balance ice dynamics Ice dynamics (Matt Siegfried)
- 1 March: Subglacial water; subglacial processes; subglacial lakes Discussion paper: Fenty et al. 2016
Homework 8 (due Friday 8 March): Glacier and ice sheet dynamics & hydrology
Week 9. Changes in glaciers and ice sheets
Read 2014 media page about the West Antarctic Ice Sheet instability
Link to VICE program on Antarctic mass loss
**** PLEASE FILL IN YOUR CAPE FORMS http://www.cape.ucsd.edu ****
No homework -- work on your presentation and term paper.
- 4 March: Subglacial lakes; glacier surges Lecture slides Discussion paper: Stearns et al., 2008
- 6 March: Marine ice sheet instability; ice sheet changes Discussion paper: Sundal et al., 2011
- 8 March: Ice sheet changes & future predictions Discussion paper: Joughin and others, 2014
Read 2014 media page about the West Antarctic Ice Sheet instability
Link to VICE program on Antarctic mass loss
**** PLEASE FILL IN YOUR CAPE FORMS http://www.cape.ucsd.edu ****
No homework -- work on your presentation and term paper.
Week 10. Student lightning presentations of term papers (10 minutes each)
Please send me your presentation ahead of time so I can get them uploaded on my computer
**** PLEASE FILL IN YOUR CAPE FORMS http://www.cape.ucsd.edu ****
Please show up to all term paper presentations to support your fellow students!
Final term papers are due in class on Friday 15th March, typed up and printed out as a hard-copy on both sides of the paper.
There will be no exceptions to this deadline unless there is a valid medical reason.
Please send me your presentation ahead of time so I can get them uploaded on my computer
**** PLEASE FILL IN YOUR CAPE FORMS http://www.cape.ucsd.edu ****
- 11 March: Group A
- 13 March: Group B
- 15 March: Group C
Please show up to all term paper presentations to support your fellow students!
Final term papers are due in class on Friday 15th March, typed up and printed out as a hard-copy on both sides of the paper.
There will be no exceptions to this deadline unless there is a valid medical reason.
Week 11. Exam week
EXAM STUDY GUIDE
Final Exam Monday 20th March 2017
SIO115 2017 EXAM due by 3pm PDT (see below)
Email your exam to hafricker@ucsd.edu with the subject line “SIO115: Final Exam 2017” and name your file “Lastname-SIO115_Final2017.PDF or doc”. The deadline is a strict deadline with no excuses!
Good luck everyone !
EXAM STUDY GUIDE
Final Exam Monday 20th March 2017
SIO115 2017 EXAM due by 3pm PDT (see below)
Email your exam to hafricker@ucsd.edu with the subject line “SIO115: Final Exam 2017” and name your file “Lastname-SIO115_Final2017.PDF or doc”. The deadline is a strict deadline with no excuses!
Good luck everyone !
Course texts
CliC Intergrated Global Observing Strategy Report:
| igos-cryos_theme_report.pdf |
IPCC AR5 Chapter 4 (FINAL DRAFT)
