BASIC COURSE INFORMATION
for GC/GEOS/HWR 107a
About the Introduction to Global Change course
The study of Global Change involves a new and exciting way of doing science within an
interdisciplinary framework. Therefore, the journey you are about to begin will unfold in a slightly different
way than that of a typical science course from a single discipline. Global Change encompasses the many ways
the global environmental system is changing both naturally and through the influence of human beings.
Understanding how the earth's climate changes in relationship to other earth system processes is a unifying
theme in Global Change studies. This course puts global environmental change problems -- such as climatic
change, global warming, ozone depletion, deforestation & desertification -- into a scientific context by
examining the essential components of the earth system (atmosphere, biosphere, and geosphere) and the
feedbacks that link these components. This scientific context provides the basis for a critical discussion of the
social, economic and political implications of global change.
Location and Time
- LECTURE
- on Tuesdays & Thursdays: 9:30 - 10:45 am, Space Sci rm 308
- LAB
- on Thursdays: 12:30-3:20 pm (Sec 001) & 3:30-6:20 pm (Sec 002), Harshbarger (Old Geol) rm 203
Course Objectives
This course will introduce you to the language and methods used by scientists from a variety of fields to study
the nature of change in this complex and dynamic system that we call the Earth. We will introduce you to how
and why scientists go about their research and give you hands-on experience in the scientific process of
discovery. You will learn about the development of hypotheses on how and why change occurs in the earth-
atmosphere system and learn to critically evaluate the logic and evidence that underlie various theories about
the nature of Global Change, especially global climatic changes. Within the context of Global Change you
will also learn about the most basic concepts in natural science which serve to explain much of what we can
observe about the physical world. At the same time you will also learn about much that has yet to be
discovered and thoroughly understood. The ultimate goal of this course is to give you the skills to become
a knowledgeable citizen of Planet Earth so that you can make informed, scientifically based, decisions about
your personal role and responsibility as a human being who influences -- and is influenced by -- a globally
changing world.
Professor
Dr. Katie Hirschboeck (Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research) a climatologist whose research links
large-scale atmospheric circulation patterns to tree-ring variations and extreme hydrologic events
such as floods and droughts. Katie also studies the influence of explosive volcanic eruptions on climate.
- Office:
- 208 West Stadium (to find it, go up the stairs at Gate 15 on the west side of the football stadium).
- Phone:
- 621-6466 (has answering machine).
- E-mail:
- katie@LTRR.arizona.edu
- Office hours:
- 3 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. on Mondays and 9:30 - 10:30 a.m. on Wednesdays (or by appointment). Office Hours
will be held in my office in the Tree-Ring Lab (208 West Stadium). I am also readily accessible by e-mail
on most any day of the week and I can usually get a response back to you within 24 hours.
Teaching Assistants
Gary Bolton (Ecology and Evolutionary Biology & Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research) a PhD
candidate who has interests in plant ecology and forest dynamics. His current research involves human impacts
on forest sustainability in Nepal.
- Office:
- 216 West Stadium
- Phone:
- 621-6464
- E-mail:
- ghbolton@ccit.arizona.edu
- Office hours:
- 2:30 - 4:30 p.m. on Wednesdays (or by appointment) Office hours will be held
The Global Change Computer Lab, Harshbarger (Old Geology), rm 118-D.
Michelle L. Wood (Geosciences Department & Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research) an M.S. candidate
who has interests in flood climatology in Louisiana and the Southwest. Her current research involves tree-rings
and extreme flood events in Central India.
- Office:
- 294P West Stadium
- Phone:
- 621-9731
- E-mail:
- mlwood@LTRR.arizona.edu
- Office hours:
- 2:30 - 4:30 p.m. on Tuesdays (or by appointment). Office hours will be held in
The Global Change Computer Lab, Harshbarger (Old Geology), rm 118-D.
Prepared by Katie Hirschboeck -- katie@LTRR.arizona.edu -- Last updated September 5,
1995