Weizmann Institute of Science - 2026

 

Introduction to the Global Climate System

 

Lecturer: Eli Galanti 

eli.galanti@weizmann.ac.il

 

Monday 9:15-11:00 WSoS, Rm A

TA: Or Hess

or.hess@weizmann.ac.il

 

Thursday 13:15-14:00 WSoS, Rm A

 

 

 

 

Syllabus

o   Motivation, rational, and ordering

 

Lectures

o   Lecture 1: Introduction (Notes)

o   Lecture 2: Global energy balance (Notes)

o   Lecture 3: Atmospheric radiative transfer (Notes)

o   Lecture 4: Energy balance at the surface & Hydrological cycle (Notes 1 & 2)

o   Lecture 5: Atmospheric general circulation I (Notes 1 & 2)

o   Lecture 6: Atmospheric general circulation II (Notes)

o   Lecture 7: Oceanic general circulation

o   Lecture 8: El Nino – Southern Oscillation

o   Lecture 9: Past climates

o   Lecture 10: Climate models

o   Lecture 11: Climate feedbacks

o   Lecture 12: Anthropogenic climate change

 

Tutorials

o   Week 1 (Notes)

o   Week 2 (Notes)

o   Week 3 (Notes)

o   Week 4 (Notes)

o   Week 5 (Notes)

o   Week 6 (Notes)

 

Homework

o   HW 1 (Moodle)

o   HW 2 (Moodle)

o   HW 3 (Moodle)

o   HW 4 (Moodle)

o   HW 5 (moodle)

o   HW 6 (moodle)

 

Reading

 

 

Admin

o   Global Physical Climatology (Dennis L. Hartmann, Academic Press, pp. 411)

 

 

Prerequisites:

o   This is a basic introductory breadth course and should be accessible to all Weizmann graduate students, given that they took university-level introductory courses in linear algebra and calculus.

 

Requirements:

o   Attendance of at least 80% of the lectures.

o   Submission of all 13 homework assignments by the deadline.

o   Successfully passing the final exam

 

Grading:

o   Maximum of 70 points for the home assignments and 30 points for the final exam.

 

 

 

Ext. links

o   NASA Earth Observatory

o   GISS Surface Temperature Analysis (GISTEMP)