Courses related to ESS

* Geog 102 - Introduction to Environmental Optics in Physical Geography, 5.0, (U=S; G=T&S), Gautier, Roberts

Basic physical principles of electromagnetic radiation in the environment and their application to physical geography and remote sensing. Radiative transfer in atmosphere, oceans, snow and ice, inland waters, rock, soil, and vegetation. Spectral signatures in remote sensing. (Winter)

* Geog 134 - Earth System Science, (S), 4.0, Gautier

Description of various components of earth systems: climate and hydrologic systems, biogeochemical dynamics, ecological dynamics, human interactions and global change. Observations and modeling of earth system. (Spring)

(Password protected)

http://www.crseo.ucsb.edu/esrg/Geog134_S01/

* Geog 138 - Remote Sensing of the Atmosphere: An Introduction, (T), 4.0, Gautier

Atmospheric physics and dynamics from a remote sensing perspective. Clouds, precipitation, temperature and humidity profiles. Weather patterns and systems. (Winter)

* taught by ESSE PI

Catherine Gautier remains an active member of the ESSE community and has led in the development of several Earth system science initiatives at Santa Barbara.  She is the Director of the Institute for Computational Earth System Science (ICESS) which provides an environment in which Earth and computer science are strongly coupled. Our focus is on research and graduate education in Earth sciences, with emphasis on processes governing the environmental optics of the Earth.

http://www.icess.ucsb.edu/

Catherine also leads the Earth Space Research Group (ESRG) which has created several learning scenarios in Earth System Science education.

 ESRG Indian Ocean Monsoon Scenario - http://www.crseo.ucsb.edu/esrg/IOM2/Begin_IOM_scenario.html

Catherine leads a summer course called

* Geography 135 – Climate Summit

http://www.crseo.ucsb.edu/esrg/Geog135_Sum01/135.index.html

This climate summit course is designed to be a total "immersion" into the process (presentations, discussions and negotiations) and atmosphere of an environment summit such as those of the Conference of the Parties (COPs) that are the basis for Climate Convention Framework negotiations.

The summit is the culmination of the class while the core of the class consists of preparation for this summit.

Preparation takes place during class through a number of different activities including lectures, video presentations, group discussions and web activities, as well as outside of the class-room where students will need to plan meetings with members of their group to coordinate presentation and writing activities.

Every student plays a specific and unique role in the summit. They are either a representative of a country (or group of countries), or of a Non-Governmental organization (NGO), or of the media. In their roles, students are expected to be as authentic as possible. For instance, government representatives are expected to be partisan in favor of their particular country, while NGO representatives are expected to represent world-wide interests. Media representatives are expected to fairly and factually report events and provide analyses prior to and after the summit. Each role has particular responsibilities and obligations that are described on this website.

Evaluation of students' participation in preparation for the summit and in the summit itself by the professor and the teaching assistant has important influence on the course grade. These evaluations is made on the basis of both qualitative and quantitative participation. Qualitative participation is conceived in terms of responsiveness to opportunities, restraints imposed by particular roles and situations, realism of the behavior, negotiation effectiveness etc. Quantitative participation will be based on the time and effort put into the course. Attendance is required at each class meeting.

A spin-off of Catherine’s work is Planet Earth Science, dedicated to developing educational software that is both scientifically valid and engaging o students. Funded initially by a NASA SBIR grant, Planet Earth Science is now developing new ESS content for the commercial education market.

Diane Schweizer, originally a graduate student with Catherine, has been particularly closely involved with ESSE over the years, and attended the ESE 2000 meeting, using it as an opportunity to interview educators as part of her thesis on critical thinking in Earth system science education. Diane is now an IPA with NASA Education in Washington, DC.