Program Overview

Program Overview

The University of Copenhagen offers a comprehensive program in Climate Physics, designed to introduce students to the fundamental geophysics applied in climate science. The program is based on physics with relatively simple mathematics and serves as a foundation for later courses in geophysics and climate.

Program Details

• The program covers various topics, including:
  • The hydrological cycle and carbon cycle.
  • Earth's climate history, with a focus on climate development as seen in ice cores from Greenland and Antarctica.
  • The observed climate and its natural variations.
  • Hydrostatic balance in the atmosphere.
  • Thermodynamic relationships, such as the application of the first and second laws of thermodynamics to understand the atmosphere.
  • Radiation processes and the significance of aerosols.
  • Radiation balance and climate sensitivity.
  • Cloud microphysics, including condensation, droplet formation, growth, and precipitation.
  • The general circulation of the atmosphere and oceans.
  • The cryosphere, including ice caps and their significance in past and future climate changes.
  • Weather systems, including their variability and dynamics.
  • Feedback mechanisms in the climate system and human-induced climate changes.
  • Simple modeling of past and future climate changes.

Learning Objectives

The program aims to enable students to understand, reproduce, and explain the physics behind:

• Earth's energy budget and energy flows.
• The greenhouse effect.
• Radiation processes related to the greenhouse effect.
• Hydrostatic balance.
• Thermodynamic relationships, including the first law of thermodynamics, on specific atmospheric conditions.
• The different roles of water/ice and water vapor in atmospheric physics.
• The development of clouds and precipitation, and relating this to the atmosphere's content of solid particles.
• Basic force balances for horizontal flow.
• Large-scale ocean circulation.
• Human-induced and natural climate changes/variability.
• Simple climate models.
• The development of ice caps and their role in the Milankovic theory of ice ages and interglacial periods.

Course Structure

• The program includes lectures, calculation exercises, and experimental exercises.
• The estimated workload is 206 hours, distributed among:
  • Lectures: 35 hours.
  • Preparation: 97 hours.
  • Exercises: 50 hours.
  • Examination: 24 hours.

Assessment

• The program is assessed through a 25-minute oral exam, including a presentation and discussion of a chosen topic.
• All aids are allowed during the exam.
• The assessment is based on a 7-point scale, with no external censorship.

Program Information

• Language: Danish.
• Course code: NFYB21001U.
• ECTS points: 7.5.
• Level: Bachelor.
• Duration: 1 block.
• Placement: Block 1.
• Schedule group: C.
• Course capacity: No limitation, unless enrolled during the late enrollment period or as a merit or single-course student.

Responsible Institutions

• Study Board: Study Board for Physics, Chemistry, and Nanoscience.
• Offering Institute: Niels Bohr Institute.
• Offering Faculty: Faculty of Natural and Biochemical Sciences.
• Course Responsible: Bo Møllesøe Vinther.