Department of Geography

Earth Environments 2: Climate and the biosphere

• Credits: 3
• Level: Undergraduate, Year 1
• Semester: 2
• Status: Core course
• Pre-requisites: CAPE Geography (Units 1 & 2) at grade 3 or above, OR equivalent.
• Course coordinator: Prof. Paul Shaw

Course coverage

Earth systems, atmospheric processes, biogeography.

Significance/Rationale

Level I Physical Geography introduces students to university-level geography and provides a broad foundation to help them critically understand the world in which they live. This course introduces basic knowledge, ideas, theories and concepts appropriate to first year university physical geography and exposes students to a range of methods and techniques to enhance their learning experiences. The UWI Geography degree allows for the progressive intellectual development of students through Levels I to III, so this course is an essential foundation for Level II Geography.The course contributes to the preparation of UWI geography graduates for the 21st century, by exposure to critical thinking, effective communications and self-motivated learning. The course provides students with wide-ranging knowledge relevant to Earth systems and the physical environment.

Course description

This course adopts a modern holistic approach to the study of the earth system. It introduces climate science and examines the processes operating within the atmosphere and biosphere including general circulation of the atmosphere, ocean-atmosphere interactions and global climate systems. It places particular emphasis on the impacts and consequences of human-environment interactions. Students will gain an understanding of the spatial and temporal variability of these processes on local, regional and global scales. The course will examine the primary causes, both natural and human, and consequences of climate change and the impact of a changing climate for communities both within and outside the Caribbean Region.  Particular emphasis is placed on the impacts of climate change on the biosphere as well as their implications for agricultural systems. The course also introduces the study of biogeography, focusing on the geographical features of biodiversity at different geographical scales and reviews ideas about ecosystem processes and vegetation disturbance and succession.