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Introduction to climate physics and the impacts of climate change
The first aim of these lectures will be to give a brief overview of the physical and dynamical mechanisms which determine Earth’s climate. We will start with the atmospheric radiative transfer and the energy fluxes provided by the fluid dynamics of the atmosphere and the oceans.
Those principles will help physics master students to grasp the basic determinants of the Earth energy budget, and of the geography of climates.
With these bases, we will have a brief overview on past, current, and projected future climate. This will give keys for understanding the main conclusions of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), how they are quantified, which are the main uncertainties in the projection of future climates. We will describe and quantify the effects of anthropogenic climate change, its impact on our societies and on other living beings.
We will also briefly introduce a few contemporary scientific achievements and challenges in climate sciences.
The main originality of these lectures will be a physicist view with an emphasize on understanding key orders of magnitudes, quantification tools, their limitations and uncertainties.
Program
Introduction
Part A : Climate physics and dynamics
1. Introduction to climate science : main scientific goals, history, and contemporary challenges
2. Atmospheric Radiative Transfer and Climate
3. Atmosphere and ocean dynamics
4. Climate models
Part B : Past, present, and future climates and the impacts of climate change
5. Internal variability of the climate system
6. Paleoclimates
7. Climate sensitivity and anthropogenic climate change
8. Climate change impacts, and the energy and ecology transitions
Evaluation
Written exam
Prerequisites