ATM 620: Climate Journal Club (Focus on Climate Extremes), 3 credits 
Department of Atmospheric Sciences
University of Alaska Fairbanks
Spring 2015

Instructor of record: Ums S. Bhatt (474-2662, usbhatt@alaska.edu, Akasofu 307)
When: FRIDAY 3-4 PM, 319 Akasofu
CRN: 34359
Office Hours: N/A

Syllabus available: here

Prerequisites: Graduate Standing and a basic knowledge of meteorology and/or oceanography, climate, such that the student is able to read and comprehend current journal articles reasonably well.          

Course Description:
We will read and discuss current scientific literature on the topic of the climate extremes!! You will not only learn the science but we will also work on writing skills! We will critique the writing of the chosen papers in the context of this excellent book on scientific writing!

Materials needed:

• Required Text Book: Writing Science by J. Schimel
• Resources: pdfs will be provided of weekly papers

Course Goals:
 To become familiar with the current state of the topic of extreme climate and improve your scientific writing.

Course Policies:
Students are expected to do the reading for each class and be prepared to discuss a) chapter from ‘Writing Science’ and then b) discuss the paper of the week. The students should have a cogent evaluation of the paper and apply the advise from ‘Writing Science’ to evaluating the writing of the paper of the week.

Instructional Methods:
This course will be a discussion class where each week half of the time will be spend discussing chapters of the book ‘Writing Science’ and the other half discussing the paper of the week. The topics for a given week from ‘Writing Science’ will be applied to the discussion of the paper that pertains to the quality of the writing.

Expected Proficiencies (Student Learning Outcomes):

• Learn to discuss science in an effective manner
• Develop skills to read papers critically
• Improve scientific writing skills with a focus on paper structure
• Improve the quality of your presentations

Timetable: Papers will be chosen for weeks 3-15 as the semester progresses.

Evaluation:
Students are expected to attend the class, do the required reading, participate and lead one class discussion. Each student will lead a discussion for at least one journal article while the instructor will teach the part of the class about writing each week. The class will be graded Pass/Fail. A passing grade requires an overall percentage of 80% or greater. 50% of the grade will be based on attendance and class participation, while the other 50% will be based on the class presentation (paper led by the student).

Support Services:
Additional help can be obtained from the instructor, DAS faculty, and DAS students who have expertise on the topic of concern.

Disabilities Services:
The Office of Disability Services implements the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and insures that UAF students have equal access to the campus and course materials. We will work with the Office of Disabilities Services (203 WHIT, 474-7043) to provide reasonable accommodation to students with disabilities.