Desribe the components of Earth's climate system, surface energy balance, and general circulation, with an emphasis on the temporal and spatial scales over which these operate,interact, and have changed over Earth's history.

Discuss and evaluate data, theory, and numerical modeling for periods in Earth's history that exemplify the differing spatial and temporal scales of operation. Be able to discuss the evidences of and theories for Snowball Earth(s), Cretaceous hothouse, Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum, Pleistocene glaciations, Holocene stability versus variability, and post-Industrial Revolution climate changes.

Critically evaluate primary literature through a combination of assigned readings and group discussions of the readings. Write short review papers synthesizing and evaluating the scientific data, methods, and resulting theories and conclusions of the assigned readings.

Quantify the sensitivity, feedbacks, and forcings of the climate system through a series of problem sets and hierarchal numerical models. Present results of problems and modeling results orally.

Describe the types of paleoclimate proxies and the uncertainties that attend paleoclimate reconstructions from these proxies.