Introducing College Undergraduates to the Role of Feedbacks in the Climate System Using Numerical Models

This work explores the use of numerical climate models in the undergraduate classroom as a vehicle toward improving student understanding of the complex nature of the climate system, specifically, the importance of feedbacks, and as a means of alleviating student misconceptions regarding the physical mechanisms of climate change. Previous work has shown that while students are familiar with the consequences of global warming, many still don’t understand the physical processes involved in warming. Many understand that there are natural processes associated with warming, but they have difficulty naming any specific processes. The assignments presented here are designed to introduce students to natural feedbacks in the climate system that enhance global warming. I present a conceptual framework for introducing introductory and advanced science undergraduate students to a range of climate models. In an introductory course, climate model results are used to introduce students to the importance of sea-ice albedo feedback. In an advanced course, students use simple spreadsheet models to explore the importance of ice-albedo feedback, and utilize global climate model output available online to examine the role of water vapor and changes in radiation fluxes in a warmer world. Student understanding of feedbacks is assessed through written homework and laboratory assignments as well as exam questions which require students to create logic diagrams depicting the feedbacks.