News 2021: Spring into climate science

Introduction to Climate course offers an in-depth look at the effects of climate change.

If you’ve been paying attention to the news, you’ve noticed an increasing concern about the effects of climate change. Perhaps you are already taking action to help slow the effects of it, or maybe you need clarity around why it’s important to understand how it is impacting you, your community, and the environment as a whole.

An undergraduate course, Introduction to Climate (MAR 115) will shed light on the various impacts of climate change. “The course will explore a variety of topics, such as the effects of rising temperatures, the greenhouse effect as related to carbon footprint, how warmer air and temperatures brought on by climate change impact environments, and how global sea-level rise might affect our coastal megacities,” said Dr. Avijit Gangopadhyay, Professor of Oceanography at SMAST.

Students will have the opportunity to investigate the set-up of an extreme force of recent hurricanes and their increasingly devastating power, current mitigation efforts, and future preparedness for such events in the background of a changing climate. In addition, the students will dive into the latest findings and recommendations of the IPCC.

The three-credit course is ideal for undergraduate biology, business, liberal arts, and STEM-studies majors, and students interested in climate change. The course satisfies Cluster Requirement 2B, Science in the Engaged Community (proficiency in thinking and understanding policy information related to climate). The course does not require mathematical skills to grasp the concepts.

The course is being offered in spring of 2022. Prerequisites are not required.

About Avijit Gangopadhyay

Dr. Gangopadhyay’s research focuses on the effects of climate change on the Gulf Stream, and in turn, how climate change affects the weather in the United States and Europe, and impacts the marine ecosystem on the New England shelf.

“The course will explore a variety of topics, such as the effects of rising temperatures, the greenhouse effect as related to carbon footprint, how warmer air and surface temperatures..."