Global Change, GEOS 478/578

Presentation schedule and readings

September 18 - Climate change and impacts

1. Southwest climate change and water impacts
Hazel Cox and David Barnes
Mentor: Chet Phillips

Suggested readings listed here

2. Future climate change and heat waves
Dat Nguyen and Steven Humble
Mentor: Kate Heckman

Suggested readings listed here

3. Future climate change and hurricanes
Margeret Neff and Lauren Steel
Mentor: Catherine Hulshof

Suggested readings listed here

September 20 - Energy and other drivers

1. Nuclear Energy - the new "green" option?
Dawna Lee-Olsen and Ross McLean
Mentor: Alyson Cartwright and Stefan Kreitmeier

Readings:

MIT Study on the Future of Nuclear Power (executive summary) (full report on the web)
Dawson, 2003 (Physics Today report on MIT study)
Letters to Physics Today about the study (including from the Study's co-chair, Ernest Moniz)

2. Peak Oil - are we there, and why do we care?
Raymond Markus and Christopher D'Alessandro
Mentor: Alison Drain and Melanie Meyers

Readings:
Peak Oil Forum, World Watch Magazine (2006)

3. Energy/Population/Consumption topic
Kelly Donithan and Janae Coston
Mentor: Nick McKay

Readings:
Baer et al (2000), Equity and Greenhouse Gas Responsibility, Science, 291: 827-828.
Raymond et al. (2006), Cutting the Gordian Knot in Climate Change Policy, Energy Policy 34, 655-658.
Athanasiou et al., (2006), Greenhouse Development Rights (a report by EcoEquity).

November 8 - Tropical forest issues (deforestation, methane)

1. Do plants make methane?
Jeniveve Reichert and Megan Howe
Mentor: Henry Adams

Readings:
Keppler 2006: "Methane emissions from terrestrial plants under
aerobic conditions" -- the first report that plants emit methane, and that it could be a large fraction of the global methane budget
Nature 2006: "The Methane Mystery" -- an overview of the intial finding
Dueck 2007: "No evidence for substantial aerobic methane emission by terrestrial plants: a 13 C-labelling approach"
Nature 2007 Report on the Dueck result

Optional background: Bosquet et al., 2006, Contribution of anthropogenic and natural sources to atmospheric methane variability, Nature.

2. Deforestation in Africa (?) - what drives this?
Morgan Helfrich
Mentor: Sarah Hartwell

Readings:TO BE ADDED SHORTLY

3. Commercial logging in the Amazon - how big a factor is this in deforestation?
Nicholas Crowder and Nicholas Walter
Mentor: Steph McAfee and Emily Mortazavi

Readings:
Asner et al., 2005: "Selective Logging in the Brazilian Amazon"
Geist 2002: "Proximate Causes and Underlying Driving Forces of Tropical Deforestation"
Rudel, 2007: "Changing agents of deforestation: From state-initiated to enterprise driven processes, 1970–2000"

November 13: Ecosystem issues

1. Is climate change affecting fires regimes in the western US?
Sarah Jorgenson and Kristen Denzine
Mentor: Erica Bigio and Jennifer Katcher

Readings:
Westerling et al. (2006): Warming and Earlier Spring Increase Western U.S. Forest Wildfire Activity
Running (2006): Is Global Warming Causing More, Larger Wildfires? (Sciene perspective on the above Westerling et al paper)

2. Ecosystem responses to climate
Tahia Farooque and Zachary Hayes
Mentor: Adam Csank and Jose Romo

Readings: