Course Information
Course title
 Global Climate Change 
Semester
 109-2 
Designated for
 COLLEGE OF SCIENCE  GRADUATE INSTITUTE OF ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES  
Instructor
 WEI-TING CHEN 
Curriculum Number
 AtmSci7072 
Curriculum Identity Number
 229 M8300 
Class
  
Credits
 2.0 
Full/Half
Yr.
 Half 
Required/
Elective
 Elective 
Time
 Friday 3,4(10:20~12:10) 
Remarks
 The upper limit of the number of students: 30. 
Ceiba Web Server
 http://ceiba.ntu.edu.tw/1092AtmSci7072_ 
Course introduction video
 
Table of Core Capabilities and Curriculum Planning
 Table of Core Capabilities and Curriculum Planning
Course Syllabus
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Course Description

• This course provides a solid foundation in climate change science, including the physical basis of the climate systems, the future climate projection, and the potential impacts of climate change on the environment and human society.
• This year (2021) in the latter half of the semester we will specifically focus on the linkage between the future climate projection and impact assessment.
• This year (2021) all the lectures and presentations will be given in English.
 

Course Objective
 • To help the students understand the basic science and recent advances in climate change research
• To familiarize the students with the tools and data for analyzing historical and future climate change.
 
Course Requirement
 • The student will read and present selected sections of IPCC AR5, as well as the related literatures, to understand the current status of climate change research.
• The students will team up on projects to carry out hands-on analysis using observational data sets or model outputs.
 
Student Workload (expected study time outside of class per week)
  
Office Hours
  
Designated reading
 • IPCC AR5 Synthesis Report: Climate Change 2014 http://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/syr/

• IPCC AR5 WG1 (Physical Science) Summary for Policymakers https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/wg1/

• IPCC AR5 WG2 (Impact) Summary for Policymakers https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/wg2/
 
References
 • David Archer, 2012: Global Warming: Understanding the Forecast, John
Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, N.J. https://www.coursera.org/learn/global-warming

• Robert Henson, 2008: A Rough Guide to Climate Change, Penguin, London
 
Grading
  
No.
Item
%
Explanations for the conditions
1. 
 IPCC readings (30%):  
30% 
 Each student will read and orally present (10 minutes) selected contents from the IPCC AR5. The grading will be based on the quality of the oral presentation and the final version of the slides. 
2. 
 Final projects 
40% 
 Each team (2-4 students) will carry out analysis of climate-related data, with the objectives to provide impact assessment (exact topic to be decided by the team members). Interdisciplinary collaboration is strongly encouraged. The grading will be based on the quality of the progress report (oral), final oral presentation and the slides. 
3. 
 Homework assignments 
15% 
  
4. 
 • Class Attendance and Participation 
15% 
  
 
Progress
Week
Date
Topic
Week 1
 2/26  Introduction; Overview of global climate change
(Read AR5 Synthesis Report) 
Week 2
 3/05  Climate System 101: The Earth’s climate as a system  
Week 3
 3/12  Climate System 101: energy balance and radiative forcing 
Week 4
 3/19  Climate System 101: climate feedback and sensitivity 
Week 5
 3/26  Human-induced climate changes and their impacts (Decide reading topics)
Link for p-value calculation: http://vassarstats.net/tabs.html#r 
Week 6
 4/02  (Spring holiday) 
Week 7
 4/09  Global climate models and the future projections
(Decide team members) 
Week 8
 4/16  Student presentation on AR5: observed changes 
Week 9
 4/23  Student presentation on AR5: extreme events & impacts (Decide project topics) 
Week 10
 4/30  Invited lecture: Prof. Hui-Yu Wang (Marine Ecosystem) 
Week 11
 5/07  Invited lecture: Prof. Min-Hui Lo (Fog forest)
(Decide project tasks) 
Week 12
 5/14  Student presentation on AR5: future changes and risks 
Week 13
 5/21  Invited lectures: Dr. Yu-Chiao Liang (Arctic climate change) 
Week 14
 5/28  Group discussion and progress reports (1) 
Week 15
 6/04  Group discussion and progress reports (2) 
Week 16
 6/11  Group discussion and progress reports (3)

Schedule for 6/11 – Clinic Time!
By 6/10 Thu 5pm, email me the latest questions/issues of your project. (more than one question is okay) Chris or I or the TAs will become the doctor to help your out during the class
I will send out the reserved time slot for your appointment by 6/10 Thu 10pm.

10:20-11:20 Come to the clinic during your appointment, while discussing with your group member at the rest of the time

11:20-11:30 Short Break

11:30-12:10 Walk-in clinic – come anytime with any question, or just keep discussing with your group.
 
Week 17
 6/18  Final presentation

Online oral presentation for each group: 12 min + 3 min QA

Focusing more on the results and discussion; be brief on the topic, motivation, and methodology

Chris and I may give some feedback or comments after the presentation. Please revise the slides accordingly.

Upload the revised slides to CEIBA by 6/25 as the written report. Feel free to add a few back-up slides for the details in methods, data sets, or statistics to make it more comprehensive.