Course Description

  • Graphic of sky, ocean, land, volcano, mountains, city, farmland with arrows showing how each affects the other
    This course describes the basic components of the climate system: the atmosphere, ocean, cyrosphere, and lithosphere. We will investigate the basic physical processes that determine climate and the link between the components of the climate system.
  • Elephants passing by African field with African onlookers
    ‘The environment’ figures dominantly in our daily lives and academic pursuits—from concerns over climate change and biodiversity loss, to energy policy and agricultural development. Yet we rarely stop to consider how environmental concerns are tied
  • Graphic depicting flow of agriculture, medicine, engineering, plant growth
    In an ever-urbanizing world, having an understanding of the systems that support, maintain, and optimize human conditions will be critical in responding to a changing climate. Through the lens of Resilience, this course looks at the nexus
  • Polar bear looking into the water
    The Arctic plays a key role in the global climate system and is a region in the midst of rapid change, encompassing the land, ocean and the atmosphere. In this course you will learn about the highly varied climates and landscapes that characterize
  • Geomorphology students examine the headscarp of a recent earth flow in north Boulder