Overview
Environmental Science 510: Earth System Science introduces the fundamentals of Earth system science, which is a multi-disciplinary field that studies the interactions between Earth’s major spheres—geosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere—to understand environmental changes and solve problems.
Outline
ENSC 510 is divided into six units:
- Unit 1: The Earth System
- Unit 2: The Geosphere
- Unit 3: The Hydrosphere
- Unit 4: The Atmosphere
- Unit 5: The Biosphere
- Unit 6: The Anthroposphere
Learning outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, you should be able to
- describe how Earth system science studies the entire planet as a system of interrelated parts.
- review the role played by energy in the Earth system.
- discuss plate tectonics as the unifying concept behind multiple Earth processes.
- analyze the reservoirs and pathways of the hydrologic cycle.
- investigate the pivotal role played by water in human society.
- evaluate the current composition and structure of the Earth’s atmosphere.
- analyze Earth’s natural climatic variations from the past and their causative ages.
- investigate the basic processes and necessities of life, including metabolism, reproduction, growth, and evolution.
- evaluate how life emerged on Earth and how it has affected the Earth system.
- reflect on the global-scale impacts of human activity on the Earth system.
Evaluation
To receive credit for ENSC 510, you must achieve a course composite grade of at least B– (70 percent) and a grade of at least B– (70 percent) on the midterm paper and final paper, as well as an average grade of at least B− (70 percent) on the three assignments.
The weighting of the composite grade is as follows:
| Activity | Weight |
| Assignment 1 | 15% |
| Assignment 2 | 15% |
| Midterm paper | 20% |
| Assignment 3 | 15% |
| Final paper | 35% |
| Total | 100% |
Materials
Digital course materials
Links to the following course materials will be made available in the course:
Skinner, B. J., & Murck, B. W. (2011). The blue planet: An introduction to Earth system science (3rd ed.). Wiley.