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The aim of this course is to explain how the broad global system operates, in the context of life. We will study the interactions of biota, climate, oceans and rocks in the present-day world, and over the Earth's long
history.
We will also consider how the system may change over the coming centuries as a result of human influence.
Topics to be dealt with include: The role of life in the Precambrian world, mass extinctions, biotic
interactions
in ice ages, the Gaia Hypothesis, the role of the biota in the geological and contemporary carbon cycle, biological effects on ocean, atmospheric and rock chemistry, the greenhouse effect in relation to biological
processes,
biological acceleration of rock weathering, vegetation-climate feedbacks, role of fire, effects of El Nino and NAO on the biosphere, and desertification and salinization.
COURSE FORMAT: Lecture
Level: UGRD Credit: 1 Gen Ed Area Dept: NONE Grading Mode: Graded
Prerequisites: NONE Links to Web Resources For This Course.
Last Updated on MAR-19-2004
Copyright Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, 06459