Over the course of one week, students will apply and evaluate concepts in the context of their local community, culminating in the formulation and evaluation of Hazard Mitigation Plan recommendations presented in stakeholder position papers. These position papers, which will also serve as the summative assessment of the Major Storms and Community Resilience Module, will be presented and assessed during a Town Hall Meeting. In this role-playing activity, students apply and evaluate concepts in the context of assigned stakeholder positions from their local community. Over the course of the week, students formulate and evaluate Hazard Mitigation Plan recommendations for major storms, and then present those recommendations in a town hall-style meeting. These assignments demonstrate students' ability to develop strategies and recommendations to mitigate local community vulnerabilities to storms with specific emphasis on different sectors and/or stakeholders in that community. Instructors will assess student achievement of the learning goals through a formal oral presentation and a team policy position paper. As such, the culmination of Unit 3 in the Town Hall Meeting serves as the summative assessment for the Major Storms module.

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After an opening discussion of systems thinking and models, student use webDICE , an online Dynamic Integrated Climate Economy model developed by Center for Robust Decision Making on Climate and Energy Policy at the University of Chicago. Students will manipulate input parameters and interpret output in small groups in-class and individually out of class to complete the major mid-module assignment. The goal is to develop their understanding of the sources of uncertainty around future predictions of climate change and its impacts. Students are also introduced to the concept of Social Cost of Carbon (SCC) which is central to subsequent units in this module.

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In this unit, students will design a survey (TLS and/or SfM) of a fault scarp. After conducting the survey in the field, students will analyze the data to identify the number and magnitude of possible fault displacement(s) by measuring offsets in the point cloud as well as calculate the recurrence interval of the fault based on either a known age or scarp morphometric age (or both). The goal is to create a brief report summarizing the methods used and Quaternary history of displacements on the fault. An optional extension exercise (Unit 3.5) has the students conduct a hillslope diffusion analysis is using MATLAB. Fault scarps are the topographic evidence of earthquakes large and shallow enough to break the ground surface, and are evidence of Quaternary fault activity. A primary goal of studying exposed scarps is to gain insight into the magnitude and frequency of fault slip. Scarps typically begin as step-shaped landforms and deteriorate with age through erosion. In some cases, the form of the scarp may record evidence of more than one earthquake, distinguished by a change in scarp slope. Assuming the same surface processes, the relative age of fault scarps can be determined by their morphology (shape).

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Students will be introduced to a few of the different methods used in paleoclimatology, including isotopic ratios as paleotemperature proxies. They will investigate the greenhouse gas connections of two ancient climate episodes, the cold "Snowball Earth" of the Neoproterozoic and the hot "Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum" (PETM) of the Cenozoic.
The unit emphasizes the grand challenges of energy resources and climate change by grounding these issues in an understanding of ancient climate from a systems thinking perspective. Students will gain a more robust appreciation for the record of the movement of carbon between atmosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere over geologic time, and how various components of the Earth system respond to those perturbations. The unit practices geoscientific habits of mind, such as comparing modern processes to ancient analogues recorded by geologic processes, as well as the importance of converging lines of evidence, and recognition of Earth as a long-lived, dynamic, and complex system.

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What is the contribution of melting ice sheets compared to other sources of sea-level rise? How much is the sea level projected to increase during the twenty-first century? In this unit students will use Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) ice-mass loss time series from Greenland and Antarctica to calculate sea-level rise due to the addition of freshwater inputs from melting ice sheets, and use Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) ice-velocity data to extrapolate which regions of the ice sheets are losing the greatest mass. Sea-level rise from melting ice sheets is then contrasted to the other dominant causes of sea-level rise, including thermal expansion, melting glaciers, and changes in land water storage. Lastly, students will extrapolate how much sea-level rise will occur by year 2100 based on recent observed rates of sea-level rise and compare these values to sea-level rise projections from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

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Online-ready: The exercise is electronic and could be done individually or in small online groups. Lecture is best done synchronously due to the technical nature. Discussion would be better that way too.

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How can we tell what style of faulting was responsible for a particular earthquake? Especially in cases where there is limited instrumentation in a region, or where geologists have difficulty accessing the affected areas? What if the fault responsible does not break the surface? In this unit, we will show how modern space geodesy allows us to measure movements of Earth's surface over wide areas without the need to visit the region in question, and we will demonstrate the various Earth processes that we are able to measure and monitor in this way. Specifically, we will show how a technique known as Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) has revolutionized our ability to study earthquakes on the continents, by allowing us to measure where, over what spatial extent, how far, and in what direction, earthquakes have caused the ground to move.

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Online-ready: The exercise is electronic and could be done individually or in small online groups. Lecture can be done in an online format. A synchronous session is recommended.

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This unit introduces systems modeling, which allows students to quantify and manipulate system components to create system responses. Students use a simple systems model of a bathtub to explore the effect of flow rates on system equilibrium. To complete the unit, students will need a method for creating and sharing diagrams (whiteboards, posters, etc.), and will ideally have access to free systems modeling software.

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This unit shows how GPS records of surface elevation can be used to monitor groundwater changes. Students calculate secular trends in the GPS time series and then use the original and detrended records to identify sites that are dominated by the elastic response to regional groundwater changes versus those dominated by local subsidence. They then compare the magnitude and timescales of fluctuations in Earth's surface elevation that result from sediment compaction, regional groundwater extraction, and natural climatic variability. This unit provides students with hands-on experience of the challenges and advantages of using geodetic data to study the terrestrial water cycle. The case study area is in California and the GPS records include the period of the profound 2012 -- 2016 drought.

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Note: Although the term GPS (Global Positioning System) is more commonly used in everyday language, it officially refers only to the USA's constellation of satellites. GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) is a universal term that refers to all satellite navigation systems including those from the USA (GPS), Russia (GLONASS), European Union (Galileo), China (BeiDou), and others. In this module, we use the term GPS even though, technically, some of the data may be coming from satellites in other systems.

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Online-ready: The exercise is electronic and could be done individually or in small online groups. Lecture is best done synchronously due to the technical nature. Discussion would be better that way too.

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Students will be able to identify the functional roles that organisms play in ocean ecosystems. How do human-induced changes in ocean conditions affect biodiversity, and thereby the health and resilience of a coral reef? Students explore and discuss the direct and indirect impacts that ocean acidification can have on species, food web dynamics, ecosystem function, and commercial resources. At the end of this unit the students should be able to articulate how changes in ocean chemistry can create negative outcomes for humans who depend on living ocean resources.

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In this unit students will explore surface water and its relationship to the water cycle via watersheds and drainage divides. These topics will inform their analysis of the social and environmental impacts of the planned increase of hydroelectric dams in the Amazon. Case studies include the Ene River and the MaraÃÃn River in Peru.

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In this unit, students will develop protocols for the collection of sensory data (scents and/or sounds), plan and execute the field collection of sensory data using developed protocols, analyze collected data, and create a map that communicates findings and impacts on the local population.
The advantage of using sensory data is that students are equipped with the analytical equipment (ears and nose) and are familiar with its use. However, students may not have taken the time to consider the variety of perceptions that occur within a group of people who are sharing a sensory experience and the impact that variation can have when collecting and analyzing data and subsequently communicating the results.
In this unit, as in the entire module, sensory data is considered in two contexts: First, as an indicator of environmental conditions, and, in some instances, environmental disruption. Second, as a proxy for data that is not as easily collected or as readily analyzed such as air or water samples. One of the challenges of developing these protocols will be discerning individual components from a complex system and developing an approach for systematically recording these data. This, though, gives students important exposure to the challenges of understanding and characterizing today's societal problems, which tend to include many interrelated dynamic causes.

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Unit 3 communicates the critical need for management of fresh water and ways in which citizens may take part in its conservation and restoration. Students explore the relationships between watersheds, drainage divides and the hydrologic cycle using a case study from the Hawaiian Islands involving surface water diversions from a region inhabited by indigenous people to a region comprised of large-scale agricultural fields.

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Students will identify potential stakeholders and assess the importance of communication and interaction among these groups to make recommendations on how to define and develop prepared communities.

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Unit 3 addresses concepts related to urban-atmosphere interactions. The content explores how urban landscapes and atmospheric constituents modify or interact with the atmosphere to affect temperature, clouds, rainfall, and other parts of the water cycle. Fundamental concepts of weather and climate are established. The unit then transitions to focus on the "urbanized" environment and its complex interactions with the atmosphere. Students will learn about interactions such as 1) urban modification of surface temperature and energy exchanges; 2) water cycle components; 3) cloud-rainfall evolution within urban environments; and 4) applications to real societal challenges like urban flooding. The unit integrates basic meteorological/climatological analyses, geospatial thinking, and integration of scientific concepts within a real world context.

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In this unit, student groups will evaluate different environmental case studies to critically investigate qualitative and quantitative data analysis, collection, and inquiry. Students will begin to consider different forms of sensory-related data collection and how experiential knowledge informs the ways in which one forms analytical, evaluative questions. Student expert groups are provided one case study (different expert groups will examine at least two different cases) that has a number of different kinds of resources that students will examine (e.g. journalistic, scientific, narrative, visual, auditory). Students will use cooperative learning methods to engage with problem-based inquiry rather than have the case study information delivered via instructor-based lecture. Given that students across disciplinary contexts may not have been exposed to scientific methods of investigation, this unit encourages systems thinking alongside other methods of investigation. As students consider the variety of perceptions that occur within a group of people sharing an environmental experience, students are able to consider the impact that different types of data have on one's perception of data collection and its analysis. This exercise also demonstrates the utility of interdisciplinary thinking -- by examining data sets from multiple academic disciplines, students gain a more complete understanding of the case study compared to what they would have understood by examining data from a single research approach. The activity also provides students with an opportunity to practice interdisciplinary thinking and collaboration skills. The cases address several key environmental challenges: soil contamination, water resources, and the impacts of industrial agriculture.
A collaborative learning method is used in conjunction with guided class and group discussion to critically examine different types of data and encourage consistency of data analysis between student groups. This unit uses a group exploration and presentation activity to ensure equal distribution of materials and accountability among class participants. In essence, the students teach each other about the case studies with the instructor providing questions to elicit depth and synthesis between groups as well as to ensure that critical data analysis is undertaken.

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Feedbacks are a critical part of many systems. In this unit, students use a systems model to explore the effect of positive (reinforcing) and negative (balancing) feedbacks on system behavior. Model results are then used as a basis for interpreting Arctic sea ice data. To complete the unit, students will ideally have access to free systems modeling software.

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In this unit, students will gain a deep-time perspective on how life evolves on a dynamic planet. They will use the Equidae (horse family) as a case study to examine the relationship among climate, biomes, and fossils to determine how changing environmental conditions influenced horse morphology and diversity through time. After a brief introduction, students will work in groups to examine data and formulate ideas about why changing climatic conditions and an increase in grasslands led to changes in horse morphology and diversity. This example of adaptive radiation and extinction within one well-known group of organisms in response to changes in Earth's interrelated systems demonstrates how the geologic record provides an important context for understanding modern patterns of biodiversity. Students will also use the data to evaluate earlier and more recent ideas about Equidae evolution to appreciate how scientific ideas can change over time based on new evidence.

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Students will read and summarize an article that details scientific studies on behavioral changes of gray whales. Discussed are their feeding behavior, migratory behavior, and breeding patterns in the Pacific. Students will examine the whales' responses and discuss in small groups how the responses relate to climate change. By interpreting potential links between gray whale behavior and changed ocean conditions, students will be able to infer the ecological role that gray whales play within a community and an ecosystem. Students will summarize the main concepts, scientific evidence, data and observations cited, and justify why gray whales can be considered "ecosystem sentinels."

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Volcanoes typically give warning that they are coming out of dormancy and entering an eruptive phase. Being able to recognize those warning signs and take appropriate actions (e.g. evacuations) are important strategies for mitigating risk due to volcanic eruptions. In this activity, students document and interpret ground deformation and seismic activity associated with the 2010 eruption of Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano, from its pre-eruption dormancy, through precursor activity, through the eruption and back into dormancy. Students learn how to recognize data characteristic of an imminent eruption and discover the time frame of precursor activity.

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In this unit, students explore water privatization and freshwater access issues within the geophysical and cultural context of Cochabamba, Bolivia. Students identify topographical features that create rain shadows and their relationship to the water cycle. As they discuss several alternative models for supplying water to the residents of Cochabamba, they link concepts of environmental justice to the Cochabamba Water Wars of 2000.

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