Teaching

🌱 GEOL 4397/6397 Land-Atmosphere Interactions: From Soil to Sky

How does the atmosphere interact with land surface? Why do these interactions matter, and how do they shape weather extremes, climate feedbacks, ecosystem dynamics, and the future of human systems? This course explores the dynamic exchange of energy, water, and carbon between the land and the atmosphere —from soils, vegetation, and water at the surface to boundary-layer processes and global climate responses.

Course Objectives and Student Learning Outcomes:

Through a mix of interactive lectures, real-world case studies, and hands-on data analysis, students will:

  • Understand the key physical, ecological, and biogeochemical processes that link the atmosphere and land surface through the exchange of energy, water, and carbon — and learn why they matter for climate and society.
  • Explore how soil moisture, vegetation, and land cover change influence evapotranspiration, greenhouse gas fluxes, and land–climate feedbacks, including droughts, heatwaves, and floods.
  • Work hands-on with climate data and models, gaining practical skills in analysis and interpretation.
  • Connect science to solutions, examining how land–atmosphere interactions inform climate adaptation, mitigation, and sustainability strategies.

Textbook:

Gordon B. Bonan, Ecological Climatology: Concepts and Applications (3rd Ed.)

Lecture Topics:

This course will include the following topical (content) areas:

  • Introduction to the Earth system and global biogeochemical cycles
  • The global energy cycle
  • The atmospheric boundary layer and turbulence
  • The global water cycle
  • Drought and flooding
  • Soil physical and biogeochemical properties
  • Ecosystem ecology and vegetation dynamics
  • Land cover change and climate interactions
  • Greenhouse gas dynamics at the land surface
  • Urban land-atmosphere interactions
  • Wildfire and post-fire recovery
  • Modeling of land-atmosphere systems
  • Nature-based climate solutions


🌍 GEOL 1302/1102 Introduction to Climate Science

Utilizes scientific methods to analyze data and observations relevant to Earth’s climate system, including historical climate records and climate models. Examines the physical processes and interactions among the atmosphere, oceans, land, and ice, as well as the roles of greenhouse gases, solar radiation, and orbital variations in influencing Earth’s climate.

Textbook:

Chad M. Kauffman – American Meteorological Society, Our Changing Climate: Introduction to Climate Science. American Meteorological Society, 2015.

Lecture Topics:

This course will include the following topical (content) areas:

  • Earth’s Climate as a Dynamic System
  • Observations of Earth’s Climate System
  • Tools for Investigating Earth’s Climate
  • Radiation and Energy Balance
  • Water in Earth’s Climate System
  • Global Atmospheric Circulations
  • Atmosphere-Ocean Relationships
  • The Carbon Cycle
  • Forcings and Feedbacks in the Climate System
  • Paleoclimate Analysis and Historical Climate Variation
  • Climate Modeling and Future Projections
  • Impacts and Adaptations to Climate Variation