Intro to the Arctic

所在平台: Coursera

课程主页: https://www.coursera.org/learn/intro-to-the-arctic

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课程简介

课程名称：北极入门 课程概述：本课程首先介绍北极作为地理区域的特征及其居民，以及北极的历史与探险历程。接着，课程重点关注北极环境的关键特征，包括气候与天气、海洋特征、海冰、陆地和格林兰冰盖，以及一些快速变化的现象。 学习目标：理解北极的悠久历史及其居民；识别和回顾北极的自然地理特征。 课程大纲： 1. **北极概述**：学习北极的地理特征，以及快速变暖、海冰覆盖减少和永冻土融化等北极正在发生的显著变化。探讨历史如何为我们提供北极知识的背景，包括早期探险家的悲惨结局以及冷战时期的相关事件。 2. **北极气候基础**：了解北极系统及其深刻变化所需的基本气候驱动因素和特征，包括太阳能、极夜和极昼。学习北极的温度、降水和云量模式及其变化。 3. **北极海洋**：北极是一个被陆地环绕的大部分被冰覆盖的海洋。课程介绍北极海洋的基础知识，如浅海与深盆，以及浮冰覆盖的特征。学习北极海冰的季节性变化及其运动特征。 4. **北极陆地**：北极的陆地不仅仅是无树的荒原。格林兰是世界上最大的岛屿，主要被高达3200米的冰盖覆盖，正在失去质量并导致海平面上升。探讨北极地区的森林、山脉和河流，以及永冻土的现状及其对基础设施的威胁。 5. **北极大气**：北极的气候多变且迷人，寒冬的暴风雪与夏季的雷暴共存。研究北极天气在北半球气候系统中的作用，以及天气与气候的互联关系。理解北极能源预算的概念，即北极内部及大气与海洋之间能源的流动。 该课程为学生提供了对北极这一独特地区的全面理解，涵盖了其地理、气候和环境变化等各个方面。

课程大纲

Name:Introduction to the Arctic

Description:With so much going on in the Arctic, it can be a challenge to decide where to start. This week we provide an overview of the Arctic as a geographic region, followed by some of the pronounced changes unfolding in the North, such as rapid warming, the shrinking sea ice cover and thawing permafrost. History provides context. As such, we need to explore how we built our knowledge of the Arctic, starting with the sometimes tragic ends of early explorers searching for the fabled Northwest Passage, then moving through the Cold War and into the present.

Name:Arctic Climate Basics

Description:To understand the Arctic system and the profound changes taking place, we need to become familiar with some of the basic climate drivers and features of the region, starting with solar energy, polar night, and the midnight sun. Attention then turns to patterns of temperature, precipitation and cloudiness and how they vary across the Arctic.

Name:The Arctic Ocean

Description:A defining feature of the Arctic is that it is a largely ice-covered ocean surrounded by land. While by area, it is the smallest of the world's oceans, it is by far the most interesting of them all. This week, we focus on the Arctic Ocean starting with some basics - its shallow seas and deep basins, and then move on to discuss the Arctic Ocean's floating ice cover. As we will learn, the Arctic sea ice cover, which ranges from a thin veneer to more than five meters thick, grows and shrinks with the seasons. The ice cover is in near constant motion, with ice flows squeezing together to form pressure ridges and pulling apart to form leads. Unlike other oceans, the Arctic Ocean has an intriguing vertical structure, with fresh cold water at the top and warm salty water below.

Name:The Arctic Lands

Description:The Arctic lands are much more than treeless, windswept tundra. Greenland, the largest island in the world, is mostly covered by an ice sheet up to 3,200 meters thick. It is losing mass and contributing to sea level rise. While much of the Arctic lands are indeed covered by tundra, the Arctic is also home to large swaths of forest and extensive mountain ranges. Some very large rivers drain into the Arctic Ocean, discharging massive amounts of fresh water. Almost all of the Arctic lands are covered with perennially frozen ground called permafrost. However, this permafrost is now thawing, changing the landscape and putting infrastructure at risk.

Name:The Arctic Atmosphere

Description:While blizzards, whiteouts and extreme winter cold are a part of living in the Arctic, summer thunderstorms are common over land. Arctic weather is varied and fascinating, but the Arctic region plays a bigger role in the climate system by helping to shape weather patterns across the Northern Hemisphere. Arctic weather and climate is also shaped by teleconnections, such as the North Atlantic Oscillation, that link weather conditions across widely separated locations. Another important framework for understanding the Arctic is its energy budget, which refers to the flows of energy into and out of the Arctic and between the atmospheric ocean.

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