The University of Hawaii at Hilo is poised to lead the state and Pacific Basin in Earth system science/global environmental change studies due to three factors:
1. The unique physical and biological environments available on the island,
2. The strong faculty in the environmental sciences, and
3. The large population of Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders to whom global change issues are immediately relevant.
Two upper division global change courses will be developed using as a model the Àhupuaà system of land management practiced by Native Hawaiians. One course will discuss global environmental change causes and consequences, and will stress primary research. The second course will apply predictive computer models to understanding global change processes, and will focus on the applications and limitations of models.
Course A: Global Environmental Change. This senior level environmental science course will focus on teaching the current state of knowledge and controversies in global change research. The objectives of the course are to:
1. Outline the basic causes and consequences of global change,
2. Highlight current research and key limitations in scientific understanding, and
3. Use Hawaiì and the Pacific, through the Àhupuaà model, to relate global change at a local scale.
The Àhupuaà system of land management recognized the linkages between terrestrial and aquatic systems and that land use practices used in one ecological zone could potentially affect others. The interconnections between the atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, and biosphere will be an underlying theme of the course.
Course B: Earth System Modeling. This course will be designed as an active learning interdisciplinary senior level class focusing on learning how science is studied using models. Active participation of students will be carried out via small projects under faculty supervision.
The primary objectives of the course are to introduce students to the systems approach to learning and doing research in science and technology. The course will develop basic competence in the use of integrative computer modeling and mapping. It will promote a "learn by doing" environment by using group assignments that follow the scientific method.
Specific topics covered in the course will include:
* Temporal and spatial trends
* Geographical analysis application problems and data issues
* Statistical and artificial neural networks
* Diffusion modeling
* Application of global climate models towards forecasting.
The geotechniques component of the course will focus on pertinent aspects of geographical analysis of environmental systems and change, including:
* Examination of questions asked of large environmental databases
* Characteristics of major environmental databases
* Examination of the major analytical tools being used in global change analysis
* Design and implementation of application problems.
