Our Earth’s Future is about the science of climate change and how to talk about it. You will learn from scientists in the fields of climatology, oceanography, Earth science, and anthropology who study how climate change is affecting people, populations, and ways of life. Explore the multiple lines of evidence for the human-induced climate change that is happening today, and consider what that means for the future of our planet. At the end of this course you will be able to understand key scientific principles, identify and address misconceptions, and contribute confidently to conversations about climate change.
proposé par
Our Earth's Future
American Museum of Natural History
Programme du cours : ce que vous apprendrez dans ce cours
Semaine
1Climate Change Is Happening: See It
Human-induced climate change is happening. But in order to explore the evidence for this claim, we must first ask two questions: “What is science?” and “What is climate?” Once we understand how science is done and the basic dynamics of the climate system, we’ll focus on how scientists study ice cores, and see how evidence of climate change in the past is fundamental to understanding what lies ahead.
4 vidéos (Total 49 min), 4 lectures, 1 quiz
4 vidéos
What is science? What is climate?15 min
Communicating Climate Change22 min
Scientists at Work: Greenland Ice Core7 min
4 lectures
Syllabus10 min
Resources10 min
Educator Resources10 min
Energy Balance and the Greenhouse Effect10 min
1 exercice pour s'entraîner
Week One: Check Your Climate Knowledge14 min
Semaine
2It All Comes Down to the Ocean
Both the ocean’s sheer size – it covers seventy percent of our planet’s surface – and the properties of water make the ocean a major player in Earth’s climate system. An enormous reservoir of heat, the ocean is an important mechanism of heat storage and exchange with the atmosphere, which has important implications for climate change. We’ll focus on one of the consequences of warming: melting of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets. How might this melting lead to future sea level rise? Scientists are studying geological records of past warming, and associated sea level rise, to see what the future may bring.
4 vidéos (Total 28 min), 1 lecture, 1 quiz
4 vidéos
Welcome to Week Two2 min
Melting Ice, Rising Seas7 min
Oceanography 10115 min
Arctic Sea Ice: The New Normal3 min
1 lecture
The Role of the Ocean in Climate Change10 min
1 exercice pour s'entraîner
Week Two: Check Your Climate Knowledge12 min
Semaine
3Climate Change is Happening: Model It
An important counterpart to observational evidence is computer modeling, an essential tool for investigating how the climate system works and how it will respond to continued greenhouse gas buildup in the atmosphere. How do we know that a model is accurate? One way is to consider a past event, enter the historic climate data, and see if the model successfully “hindcasts” the event in reasonable detail. Ever more detailed, today’s supercomputer models can even help identify the potential causes of climate events on a regional scale, as climatologist Dr. Michela Biasutti explains using her research on droughts in sub-Saharan Africa.
3 vidéos (Total 32 min), 2 lectures, 1 quiz
3 vidéos
Climate Change: Understanding the Forecast21 min
What are Feedback and Forcings?7 min
2 lectures
Connecting Drought in Africa's Sahel to Climate Change10 min
Climate Models10 min
1 exercice pour s'entraîner
Week Three: Check Your Climate Knowledge18 min
Semaine
4Living with Climate Change
Climate change is often framed as a future phenomenon, but it’s clear that people are already experiencing the consequences. What are the effects? It depends to some extent on where, and how, you live. For example, in the Pacific Islands, where sea level rise is threatening entire ways of life, communities have come together to prepare. What happens when there’s no place to go? Coastal communities aren’t the only ones at risk; food insecurity may one day threaten us all. And of course, humans are not the only species affected, and some will be at even greater risk in the future.
5 vidéos (Total 31 min), 2 lectures, 1 quiz
5 vidéos
Welcome to Week Four1 min
Patterns11 min
Climate Change: A View from the Pacific12 min
Declining Sea Ice Affects Caribou2 min
Protecting Wildlife in a Changing Climate3 min
2 lectures
The Impact of Climate Change on Pacific Island Peoples10 min
Consequences of Climate Change10 min
1 exercice pour s'entraîner
Week Four: Check Your Climate Knowledge12 min
4.7
Meilleurs avis
par OW•May 24th 2016
Lectures are interesting and understandable. It brought the role the ocean plays into sharp focus and told me things I had not heard before. Now if our politicians would just take the class!
par WJ•Jun 10th 2017
Good general introduction to climate change. Does a good job of highlighting both the science behind climate change as well as its impact on human communities now and in the future.
Enseignant
Debra Tillinger, Ph.D.
InstructorÀ propos de American Museum of Natural History
The American Museum of Natural History is one of the world’s preeminent scientific, educational and cultural institutions. Since its founding in 1869, the Museum has advanced its global mission to discover, interpret, and disseminate information about human cultures, the natural world, and the universe through a wide-ranging program of scientific research, education, and exhibition.
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