GEO 101 Introduction to Weather and Climate Home Page

Tohono O'odham Community College
GEO 101: Introduction to Weather and Climate
Saturdays, 9:30am-12pm; 12:30-3pm, TOCC Main Campus Rm. 303
Registration number 27823
Spring 2005

Last updated August 30, 2005. Stay tuned for updates (use your browser's reload button).

A PDF-format presentation describing plans for this course, is here.
An invitation to an open, introductory course field trip is here. You don't have to have registered for the course to participate in the field trip.


Introduction	Class Logistics	Acknowledgements	Rules/Policies	Advice/Resources	Syllabus/Schedule	Feedback	Links	Grades

Introduction

Will it rain today? How do indigenous peoples forecast climate? Why are there seasons? Why is there a Sonoran Desert?

We will learn practical fundamentals of the science of meteorology, and discuss related aspects of Tohono O'odham culture. Class sessions will include hands-on activities, guest lectures by members of the O'odham community and their friends, and field trips. This brand-new course meets University of Arizona Tier I Natural Science requirements, and will be submitted for AGEC approval. There are no prerequisites. A pre-course, introductory, fun, half-day field trip is being planned for early January 2005. You don't have to be registered for the course to take the field trip, but we hope that the field trip tweaks your curiosity enough to register for the class! More information on this course is available here (check back for updates over the next few weeks) and from the instructor, Michael Evans.

By the end of the course, students will be able to demonstrate proficiency in related assignments, in pursuit of the following goals:

Overarching Goals	Skills Goals	Assignments
Predict local and regional weather using fundamental meteorological principles.	Apply a small set of scientific concepts to solve quantitative problems in unfamiliar contexts.	forecasting project
Explain the characteristic vegetation and soils of the Sonoran Desert as a response to the annual climatic cycle of rainfall.	Approximate solutions to quantitative problems using "order-of-magnitude" estimation techniques.	classworks, class activities
Place recent climate history within a longer-term context provided by paleoclimatic and indigenous observations.	Interpret data presented in graphs and figures; present scientific results in graphical and written form.	classworks, class activities
Investigate links between Tohono O'odham culture and Sonoran Desert weather and climate.	Take notes on and write a concise summary of guest lectures and class discussion.	summaries of guest speaker presentations; guest speaker portfolio

Acknowledgements

The development and teaching of this course is supported by a National Science Foundation CAREER grant to Michael Evans under a subaward to Tohono O'odham Community College.

At Tohono O'odham Community College, Mr. Daniel Lopez, Dr. Jesus de la Garza, Dr. Douglas M. St. Clair, and Dr. Robert G. Martin have helped with development of plans to link science topics with elements of O'odham culture. Paul Buseck has contributed lots of practical ideas about how to teach the course.

At the University of Arizona, Mary Jo Fox and Claudia Nelson of the American Indian Studies Program helped set up this project; Tom Swetnam and the LTRR donated my time in Spring 2005, as well as computing/printing/projecting resources; Jeff Imig, Gary Darnell, Heather Lares, Vanessa Estrada, and Jennifer Beamon of the Learning Technology Center assisted with videotaping, and creation of digital resources; Claudia Nelson and Anne Worthen of the Law School's Indigenous Peoples' Law and Policy Program graciously hosted the April 23rd guest speaker session with Cathy Garcia. Christine Hallman assisted with early planning and developed course content for the first month's worth of class sessions.

Danny Lopez, Paul Buseck, Philip Miguel, Bob Maddox, Frances Manuel, John Chiang, Kiyomi Morino and Cathy Garcia provided guest lectures to complement the science content of the course and to illustrate links with O'odham culture.

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Class Logistics

Registration Number: 27823

Time and Place: Saturdays, 9:30am-12pm and 12:30-3pm, TOCC Main Campus, Sells, Room 303. Field trips and guest speaker sessions may be held at other locations, with transportation provided from TOCC/Sells. This is a large block of time. We'll divide it up into short lectures, trips outside to look at the sky, field trips, classwork time, hands-on activities that demonstrate important ideas, and lots of breaks. You'll do a lot of your graded work in class, where you can ask questions and get immediate feedback.

Instructor: Michael Evans (University of Arizona): ph (520) 626-2897, email: mevans@ltrr.arizona.edu. Mike teaches environmental science and studies tropical climate.

Office hours and location: See Mike before and after class at TOCC/Sells Campus, via email, or by appointment at Sells.

Textbook: We'll use portions of E. Aguado and J.E. Burt, Understanding Weather and Climate, 3rd ed. This book will be available from the TOCC Bookstore in Sells. Other course materials will be provided in class, or served from the course webpages in Adobe PDF format. Click here for information on how to download a free reader for this format.

Feedback

Occasionally, I will be looking for feedback as we go from you on how to best tailor this course to your needs. It's your course, after all.

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Rules/Policies

Student responsibilities: I expect you to:

Obey the College's rules as set forth in the Student Handbook (currently under construction; get a paper copy from TOCC).
Be punctual.
Treat students and teachers with respect.
Ask questions when concepts are not clear.
Turn in assignments on time.
Actively participate in class discussions and activities.
Take responsibility for managing your time (a.k.a. plan ahead).
Have fun!!!

Teacher responsibilities: You can expect your instructor to:

Make course and assignment goals and expectations clear.
Be punctual.
Answer questions clearly.
Treat students with respect.
Provide constructive and timely feedback on student work.
Challenge you to think about the course material.
Grade objectively, based on clear expectations.
Make it all fun!

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Advice/Resources

Academic resources: See TOCC's Student Link and Admissions for many sources of help and information (Or talk with me and I'll help you find what you need).

How to study: See TOCC's Erik Anderson's list of Top 5 Study Skills.

Disability resources: Do you have a physical or learning disability? No problem. Please speak with the instructors right away about accommodations. Also, call Student Services at (520) 383-8401 to find out how we can enable you to excel at your studies.
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Grading

To be based on weather observation journals, summaries of guest speaker sessions, weekly quizzes, homeworks, in-class group activities, and a final weather forecasting project.

Activity	Points each	Number	Total points
Classworks	25	11	275
Guest speaker summaries	25	6	150
Guest speaker portfolio (group activity)	200	1	200
Forecasting project (Classwork 6)	200	1	200
Total			825

Grades will be posted here.

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Schedule/Syllabus (subject to change)

Jump to: How we know Atmospheric motion Climatology Climate Change Forecasting

When Question of the Week
Guest Speaker & Topic
Topic Activity
Reading Classwork

Jan 15th The Big Picture
Danny Lopez, Paul Buseck: The two village system Introduction to course themes: links between O'odham culture and regional physical geography
Field trip: Comobabi and Kitt Peak

Jan. 22nd How do we know? Philip Miguel: How do we know what we know?
a student summary of Philip's telling of the Legend of the Wind and Rain is here.
'Western' and O'odham scientific methods [625Kb ppt; 120 Kb pdf; html])
guest lecture summary; mastermind

Classwork 1 (3.9Kb pdf)
An exemplary classwork is here; an exemplary guest lecture summary is here.

Jan. 29th How high is the sky, and what are we breathing?

Atmospheric Composition and Structure [2 Mb ppt; 803 Kb pdf; html]
Weather observations; Plotting data;
hydrostatic law experiments Aguado and Burt, selections from Ch. 1,2,4 (5Mb pdf)
Classwork 2 (103Kb pdf)
An exemplary classwork is here.

Feb. 5th Rodeo week: NO CLASS

Feb. 12th
Why do the winds blow?
Pressure, rotation and motion [1 Mb ppt; 671 Kb pdf; html]
thermodynamics experiments; atmospheric motion experiments (see for yourself!)
Hewitt, pp. 168-175 (2Mb pdf)
AB, selections from Ch. 4 (4.3Mb pdf)

Classwork 3 (46Kb pdf). An exemplary classwork is here.
Notes drawn on the board in class are here.
A guide to reading weather map symbols, from AB, p403, is here.

Feb 19th
Will it rain tomorrow? winter weather

Winter Storms [14 Mb ppt; 5 Mb pdf; html] try predicting winter weather for yourself
AB, pp. 275-283; 289-294 (4.6 Mb pdf). Classwork 4 (5Kb pdf). An exemplary classwork is here.
Notes drawn on the board in class are here.

Feb 27th (NOTE SPECIAL SUNDAY MTG)
Will it rain this afternoon?
summer weather Danny Lopez: Rain ceremony Summer storms [1 Mb ppt; 494 Kb pdf; html] properties of atmospheric moisture; guest lecture summary
NOAA report on the North American Monsoon (724 Kb pdf). More on the dew point (p. 139-141) is here (1.7 Mb pdf). Classwork 5 (3Kb pdf). An exemplary classwork is here.
An exemplary guest lecture summary is here.

March 5th (class to meet in Tucson; meet at 9am at TOCC for ride to Sells) The science and art of weather forecasting
Field trip to University of Arizona/Atmospheric Sciences (guest speaker: Bob Maddox) Weather observations, instruments, and the art of forecasting Now you try it; winter weather forecasting
AB pp. 385-389; 401-402; 407-408 (3.2 Mb pdf)

Current weather conditions at the University of Arizona are here.
Classwork 6 (adapted from the WW2010 project at the University of Illinois/Urbana-Champaign). An exemplary classwork is here.

March 12th
Why are there seasons?
Frances Manuel: Medicinal plants Annual cycle [2.8 Mb ppt (contains animations); 1.4 Mb pdf; html] calculate rainfall and temperature climatologies; guest lecture summary
Ingram (2000) from Natural History of the Sonoran Desert (5.1Mb pdf) Classwork 7 (3Kb pdf). The MS Excel-format file we'll use is here.
An exemplary guest lecture summary is here; an exemplary classwork is here.

March 19th
(meet at 9:30am for ride from TOCC to Schuk Toak District)
Why is there a Sonoran Desert? Philip Miguel: O'odham agricultural systems past, present and future Adaptations of Sonoran Desert vegetation; desert agriculture and range management Field trip to San Isidro/Crow Hang Selections from Nabhan, The Desert Smells Like Rain (1982) (1 Mb pdf); Selections from Nabhan, Gathering the Desert (1985) (4.6 Mb pdf) Classwork 8 (8Kb pdf).
An exemplary guest lecture summary is here; an exemplary classwork is here.

March 26th
Spring Break: NO CLASS

Apr. 2nd Review
Review of meteorology and links to cultural elements [2.8 Mb ppt; 1.4 Mb pdf; html] Review and discussion; begin to think about guest speaker portfolio
Results of mid-course informal evaluations, as summarized by Mike, are here.
Classwork 9 (26Kb pdf)
An exemplary classwork is here.

April 9nd
Is the climate constant?
John Chiang (UC-Berkeley: indigenous forecasting in the Peruvian Andes Why the climate varies over time, especially in the southwest US; El Nino [my intro: 1.7 Mb ppt; 2 Mb pdf; html; John's lecture: 13.7 Mb pdf]
Orlove et al., (2002) (196Kb pdf)
Classwork 10 (132 Kb pdf)
An exemplary guest lecture summary is here; an exemplary classwork is here.

Apr. 16th (class to meet in the TOCC/Sells computer classroom)
Independent worktime (Mike is in Tempe for Space Grant Symposium)

Class discussion and review of guest speaker sessions Time to work on guest speaker portfolio

Apr. 23rd (class to meet in Tucson; catch van at 9:00am for transportation to/from Sells provided) Has the climate changed before? Field trip to University of Arizona
(Cathy Garcia: Calendar sticks; Kiyomi Morino: tree-rings) Southwestern environmental history from calendar sticks [Cathy's 4.5Mb pdf; html] and tree-rings [Kiyomi's 2.8Mb ppt; 605K pdf; html]. Climate history intercomparison; Are events connected to El Nino activity? Selections from Russell (1908) (378Kb pdf); Johnson and Murphy (2004) (1 Mb pdf)
Classwork 11 (7 Kb pdf)
An exemplary guest lecture summary is here; an exemplary classwork is here.

April 30th Is the climate changing?
The science and controversy of climate change research [753Kb ppt; 640 Kb pdf; html] Greenhouse warming experiment Slides and testimony to Congress by Daniel Albritton, March 14, 2001 are here. Classwork 12 (17 Kb pdf); An exemplary classwork is here.

May 7th
Special time: May 11th 6-8pm
Putting it all together Class Participants
Grand Review; Presentation of guest speaker portfolio [ppt; html; pdf] by students; wrap-up
final chance to ask questions!
Potluck: plates, forks, spoons, cups (Eva), beans (June), tortillas (Natalie), chile (Damascus), drinks (Fred), dessert (Mike)

Jump to:	How we know	Atmospheric motion	Climatology	Climate Change	Forecasting

When	Question of the Week	Guest Speaker & Topic	Topic	Activity	Reading	Classwork
Jan 15th	The Big Picture	Danny Lopez, Paul Buseck: The two village system	Introduction to course themes: links between O'odham culture and regional physical geography	Field trip: Comobabi and Kitt Peak
Jan. 22nd	How do we know?	Philip Miguel: How do we know what we know? a student summary of Philip's telling of the Legend of the Wind and Rain is here.	'Western' and O'odham scientific methods [625Kb ppt; 120 Kb pdf; html])	guest lecture summary; mastermind		Classwork 1 (3.9Kb pdf) An exemplary classwork is here; an exemplary guest lecture summary is here.
Jan. 29th	How high is the sky, and what are we breathing?		Atmospheric Composition and Structure [2 Mb ppt; 803 Kb pdf; html]	Weather observations; Plotting data; hydrostatic law experiments	Aguado and Burt, selections from Ch. 1,2,4 (5Mb pdf)	Classwork 2 (103Kb pdf) An exemplary classwork is here.
Feb. 5th	Rodeo week: NO CLASS
Feb. 12th	Why do the winds blow?		Pressure, rotation and motion [1 Mb ppt; 671 Kb pdf; html]	thermodynamics experiments; atmospheric motion experiments (see for yourself!)	Hewitt, pp. 168-175 (2Mb pdf) AB, selections from Ch. 4 (4.3Mb pdf)	Classwork 3 (46Kb pdf). An exemplary classwork is here. Notes drawn on the board in class are here. A guide to reading weather map symbols, from AB, p403, is here.
Feb 19th	Will it rain tomorrow? winter weather		Winter Storms [14 Mb ppt; 5 Mb pdf; html]	try predicting winter weather for yourself	AB, pp. 275-283; 289-294 (4.6 Mb pdf).	Classwork 4 (5Kb pdf). An exemplary classwork is here. Notes drawn on the board in class are here.
Feb 27th (NOTE SPECIAL SUNDAY MTG)	Will it rain this afternoon? summer weather	Danny Lopez: Rain ceremony	Summer storms [1 Mb ppt; 494 Kb pdf; html]	properties of atmospheric moisture; guest lecture summary	NOAA report on the North American Monsoon (724 Kb pdf). More on the dew point (p. 139-141) is here (1.7 Mb pdf).	Classwork 5 (3Kb pdf). An exemplary classwork is here. An exemplary guest lecture summary is here.
March 5th (class to meet in Tucson; meet at 9am at TOCC for ride to Sells)	The science and art of weather forecasting	Field trip to University of Arizona/Atmospheric Sciences (guest speaker: Bob Maddox)	Weather observations, instruments, and the art of forecasting	Now you try it; winter weather forecasting	AB pp. 385-389; 401-402; 407-408 (3.2 Mb pdf) Current weather conditions at the University of Arizona are here.	Classwork 6 (adapted from the WW2010 project at the University of Illinois/Urbana-Champaign). An exemplary classwork is here.
March 12th	Why are there seasons?	Frances Manuel: Medicinal plants	Annual cycle [2.8 Mb ppt (contains animations); 1.4 Mb pdf; html]	calculate rainfall and temperature climatologies; guest lecture summary	Ingram (2000) from Natural History of the Sonoran Desert (5.1Mb pdf)	Classwork 7 (3Kb pdf). The MS Excel-format file we'll use is here. An exemplary guest lecture summary is here; an exemplary classwork is here.
March 19th (meet at 9:30am for ride from TOCC to Schuk Toak District)	Why is there a Sonoran Desert?	Philip Miguel: O'odham agricultural systems past, present and future	Adaptations of Sonoran Desert vegetation; desert agriculture and range management	Field trip to San Isidro/Crow Hang	Selections from Nabhan, The Desert Smells Like Rain (1982) (1 Mb pdf); Selections from Nabhan, Gathering the Desert (1985) (4.6 Mb pdf)	Classwork 8 (8Kb pdf). An exemplary guest lecture summary is here; an exemplary classwork is here.
March 26th	Spring Break: NO CLASS
Apr. 2nd	Review		Review of meteorology and links to cultural elements [2.8 Mb ppt; 1.4 Mb pdf; html]	Review and discussion; begin to think about guest speaker portfolio	Results of mid-course informal evaluations, as summarized by Mike, are here.	Classwork 9 (26Kb pdf) An exemplary classwork is here.
April 9nd	Is the climate constant?	John Chiang (UC-Berkeley: indigenous forecasting in the Peruvian Andes	Why the climate varies over time, especially in the southwest US; El Nino [my intro: 1.7 Mb ppt; 2 Mb pdf; html; John's lecture: 13.7 Mb pdf]		Orlove et al., (2002) (196Kb pdf)	Classwork 10 (132 Kb pdf) An exemplary guest lecture summary is here; an exemplary classwork is here.
Apr. 16th (class to meet in the TOCC/Sells computer classroom)	Independent worktime (Mike is in Tempe for Space Grant Symposium)		Class discussion and review of guest speaker sessions	Time to work on guest speaker portfolio
Apr. 23rd (class to meet in Tucson; catch van at 9:00am for transportation to/from Sells provided)	Has the climate changed before?	Field trip to University of Arizona (Cathy Garcia: Calendar sticks; Kiyomi Morino: tree-rings)	Southwestern environmental history from calendar sticks [Cathy's 4.5Mb pdf; html] and tree-rings [Kiyomi's 2.8Mb ppt; 605K pdf; html].	Climate history intercomparison; Are events connected to El Nino activity?	Selections from Russell (1908) (378Kb pdf); Johnson and Murphy (2004) (1 Mb pdf)	Classwork 11 (7 Kb pdf) An exemplary guest lecture summary is here; an exemplary classwork is here.
April 30th	Is the climate changing?		The science and controversy of climate change research [753Kb ppt; 640 Kb pdf; html]	Greenhouse warming experiment	Slides and testimony to Congress by Daniel Albritton, March 14, 2001 are here.	Classwork 12 (17 Kb pdf); An exemplary classwork is here.
May 7th Special time: May 11th 6-8pm	Putting it all together	Class Participants	Grand Review; Presentation of guest speaker portfolio [ppt; html; pdf] by students; wrap-up	final chance to ask questions! Potluck: plates, forks, spoons, cups (Eva), beans (June), tortillas (Natalie), chile (Damascus), drinks (Fred), dessert (Mike)

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Links:

NY Science Times (Tuesdays) NASA Earth Observatory National Weather Service Tohono O'odham Community College
University of Arizona National Science Foundation

NY Science Times (Tuesdays)	NASA Earth Observatory	National Weather Service	Tohono O'odham Community College	University of Arizona	National Science Foundation

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