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Unit 6: The Atmosphere
A. Read the following selections from the
Margin Notes by clicking on each link.
B.
Watch these presentations. When you click on one of the links below, a new screen will pop up. Use the scrollbar on the side of the
new screen to navigate.
You need Adobe Reader to view PDF files .
C. (Optional) Read the following chapters from the
textbook.
Chapters 03 - 08
D1
Print the Required Links
documents below and include them in your field manual. (See Field Manual Protocols,
available as a download on the Unit 8 page.)
D2. The
following Optional Links will help you do better in your course but they are not required.
E. Critical Thinking Essay (20 points)
A critical thinking essay isn't difficult to write but it is a very structured piece of writing so it’s important that you read and follow the
steps below
in order.
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Read
What is Critical Thinking? before you do any work on your essay.
We cannot take the time to fully explore what is meant by critical thinking. You do, however, need to have some general idea what critical thinking means in order to write a good critical thinking essay.
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Read
What is a Critical Thinking Essay? before you go any farther.
A critical thinking essay is very similar to an exploratory essay -- a type of writing with which you may be familiar. It has a specific focus and a specific structure. Don’t try to wing this assignment!
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Look at your topic carefully and make sure you understand it. Try rewriting it using your own words but keeping the meaning the same
Topic
 Hurricane intensity is influenced by sea surface temperature, wind currents and atmospheric moisture levels. Though the
number of hurricanes year to year is relatively consistent, 2005 was a record-breaking hurricane season in terms of the number of
powerful hurricanes. Storms tend to be stronger when the oceans are warmer. Between 1970 and 2005, global ocean temperatures increased 0.5° C — an enormous change in historic terms — and the number of
powerful hurricanes doubled.
Topic: Do those data offer enough evidence to make a connection between global warming and the intensity of hurricanes?
There is no right or wrong answer to the question posed by your topic
and I'm not as interested in your answer as I am in your rationale. For
example, go back to an example I used earlier. You start out in favor of the death penalty because you believe it has a deterrent effect but all of the research shows there is
no deterrent effect. If you end your essay still in favor of the death penalty, that's okay. If you end your essay still in favor of the death penalty because it has a deterrent effect, that's not okay since your rationale is not consistent with factual information.
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Look at the
information and research about your topic in the margin notes
and presentations from your course and in the links below. Use the information from these sources to write your essay. However, do NOT use any
direct quotes, citations or references from these sources. The essay is too short for direct quotes ... use your own words. As for references, I've given you the sources so I'll know where the information came from. (I've tried to give you a wide range of sources and opinions in the reference list below. Inclusion on the list does not constitute an endorsement of either the sources or the opinions.)
What is the impact of climate change on hurricanes?
Did Climate Change Intensify Hurricane Harvey?
A ‘Hyperactive’ Hurricane Season Is About to Strike
Hurricanes growing stronger, more intense; climate change may be a
factor, federal study says
Tropical cyclones are already getting stronger, new dataset shows
Anthropogenic Effects on Tropical Cyclone Activity
Summary Statement on Tropical Cyclones and Climate Change (PDF)
Real Climate's
Hurricanes and Climate Change section
Hurricane and Cyclone News
from Science Daily
Recent Hurricanes Not Matched Since Middle Ages
GFDL Visualization Gallery
Hurricane Visualizations
27 Storms: Arlene to Zeta
Towers in the Tempest
Climate Change Is Making Hurricanes Stronger, Researchers Find
Irma, and the Rise of Extreme Rain
Real Climate: Hurricanes and Global Warming: Is There a Connection?
Models Foresee More Intense hurricanes
Hurricanes And Climate Change
Kerry Emanuel’s paper in Nature (PDF)
Normalized Hurricane Damage in the United States: 1900-2005 (PDF)
Effect of Remote Sea Surface Temperature Change ...
Has Global Warming Affected Atlantic Hurricane Activity?
Hurricanes and Climate Change
Hurricanes in a Warmer World
Will Global Warming Make Hurricanes Stronger?
Past and Future Hurricane Intensity Change along the US East Coast
Global Warming and Hurricanes
Changes in Hurricanes | National Climate Assessment
Could climate change make Atlantic hurricanes worse?
Humans Are Making Hurricanes Worse. Here's How.
North Atlantic Hurricane Activity: Past, Present and Future
Hurricanes and Global Warming – Is There a Connection?
Why This Hurricane Season Has Been So Catastrophic
How climate change is making hurricanes more dangerous
Hurricane Modeling
National Center for Atmospheric Research
National Hurricane Center
National Weather Service
Rare Hurricane-Force Mediterranean Cyclone Heads for Greece
"Hurricanes
Growing Fiercer." Current Science 94.8 (2008): 14. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO.
Warren, Luke. "Global Warming and Hurricanes."
Mother Earth News 213 (2005): 22.
Academic Search Complete. EBSCO.
download
free Adobe PDF reader
Online Databases: Some of the links above may take you to an article's abstract rather than the complete article. If you want to see the entire article but the site requires registration and/or payment, try your college library's online database. Almost all articles can be accessed through a database ... that's why colleges purchase databases for student use. Call your college librarian and ask for your username
and password and for directions.
I do not expect you to
use additional sources of information on your topic. If you do, you MUST cite and reference any additional sources
using one of the following formats.
APA (American Psychological Association): regularly used by most social scientists
APSA (American Political Science Association): used (in conjunction with APA) by political science publications
MLA (Modern Language Association): not generally used by social scientists but if you are a humanities major you may be more familiar with this format
CMS (Chicago Manual of Style)
Turabian: a variation of the CMS
You can find style sheets and/or links for each of these styles on the
Writing page, the link for which is at the top of the main
Online Courses page.
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You may use any font and line spacing you wish when
formatting your essay but the
content of your essay must be a minimum of 750 words. You must also adequately cover your topic, though, and you may find it difficult to completely cover your topic in 750 words unless you are extremely concise. If you feel you need more length to cover your topic, you are welcome to write a longer essay. However, you are only required to write an essay the content of which is 750 (not 749) words in length. If the content (that does not include your name, type of assignment, citations, etc ... only the content of the paper itself) is not at least 750 words in length I will return your paper to you unread.
Your critical thinking essay should follow a specific outline. Before you begin the writing phase of your essay, read
What Makes A Paper Good? and
Critical Thinking Essay Format. The outline given
in the second link is the one you need to follow in your essay. Too, take your time proofing your essay for spelling and grammar mistakes. If spelling and grammar are not among your talents, ask a friend who is good with spelling and grammar to proof your essay. “A” papers do not have spelling and grammar mistakes!
Under the Optional Links section at the top of this page, I have posted
a link to my grading rubric for the critical thinking essay.
Essay Submission Instructions
By the deadline shown in the Course Schedule on the main page of the syllabus:-
Send your Critical Thinking Essay in the body of a new email to
dramyglenn@gmail.com. -
Put only your name and Essay at the beginning of your email. -
Use the correct subject line. -
Late essays will lose one point per day late, including weekends and holidays.
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