Take Home Final Exam for EES 359 -- (hand in by Wednesday May 14, 2008, midnight in paper form or carefully labeled with your name in electronic form)

1. Give a sequence of calculations how ‘in the old days’ scientists calculated the solar constant S without being able to go outside the atmosphere and measure it. Discuss the nature of Planck’s Law, Wien’s Law and Boltzmann’s Law and how they relate to each other. We also defined a parameter labeled S*: provide insight on how that one is derived.

2. Give the radiative balance diagram (as in the ‘square earth’ diagram) and discuss each of the terms in this picture. Discus the very nature of the greenhouse effect.

3. The amount of CO₂ in the atmosphere varies over time, which we know from direct measurements and ice core data. Broadly sketch the record of the last 400,000 years, with increasing precision towards modern times. Discuss the short carbon cycle in some detail with a diagram that also provides insights into the characteristic times of exchange between the carbon pools.

4. Radiocarbon is a useful tracer of time and for processes in the short carbon cycle. Discuss the formation and decay of ¹⁴C, its use in climate studies and in studies of the short carbon cycle.

5. Climate skeptics come up with a number of arguments why CO₂ can not be an important driver of modern climate change. Discuss a few of the arguments that are going around.

6. Discuss the rationale and contents of the Kyoto treaty – what are the sticking points and how useful would it be if it was ratified by all nations.

7. Discuss the possible nature of the younger Dryas, the possibly associated extinction events, and movements of American tribes at the time.

Scores per question 1 – 10; 2 – 25; 3 – 20; 4 – 15; 5 – 10; 6 – 10; 7 – 10.

Open book, open notes, open computer, but you are supposed to work alone!

Class grading: prob set: 5%; presentation: 20%; project paper: 25%; final:50%