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Reports on a survey of first year university science students regarding their understanding of the ozone layer, ozone depletion, and the effect of ozone depletion on Australia. Suggests that better teaching resources for environmental issues such as ozone depletion and global warming are needed before improvements in student understanding can be expected. (Author/MM)

An equatorial beta-plane model of the middle atmosphere is used to analytically examine the effects of radiative cooling and ozone heating on the spatial and temporal evolution of the quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO). Under the assumption that the diabatic heating is weak and the background fields of wind, temperature, and ozone are slowly varying, a perturbation analysis yields expressions describing the vertical spatial modulation of Kelvin and Rossby-gravity waves in the presence of ozone. These expressions show that wave-induced changes in the diabatic heating arising from the advection of basic-state ozone reduce the local radiative damping rate by up to 15% below 35 kin. In a one-dimensional model of the QBO, eddy ozone heating increases the amplitude of the zonal wind QBO by 1-2 m [s.sup.-1] and increases the oscillation period by about two months. The significance of these results to the observed QBO is discussed.

The effects of wave and zonal mean ozone heating on the evolution of the quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) are examined using a two-dimensional mechanistic model of the equatorial stratosphere. The model atmosphere is governed by coupled equations for the zonal mean and (linear) wave fields of ozone, temperature, and wind, and is driven by specifying the amplitudes of a Kelvin wave and a Rossby-gravity wave at the lower boundary. Wave-mean flow interactions are accounted for in the model, but not wave-wave interactions. A reference simulation (RS) of the QBO, in which ozone feedbacks are neglected, is carried out and the results compared with Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite observations. The RS is then compared with three model experiments, which examine separately and in combination the effects of wave ozone and zonal mean ozone feedbacks. Wave-ozone feedbacks alone increase the driving by the Kelvin and Rossby-gravity waves by up to 10%, producing stronger zonal wind shear zones and a stronger meridional circulation. Zonal mean-ozone feedbacks (ozone QBO) alone decrease the magnitude of the temperature QBO by up to 15%, which in turn affects the momentum deposition by the wave fields. Overall, the zonal mean--ozone feedbacks increase the magnitude of the meridional circulation by up to 30%. The combined effects of wave-ozone and ozone QBO feedbacks generally produce a larger response then either process alone. Moreover, these combined ozone feedbacks produce a temperature QBO amplitude that is up to 30% larger than simulations without the feedbacks. Correspondingly, significant changes are also observed in the zonal wind and ozone QBOs. When ozone feedbacks are included in the model, the Kelvin and Rossby-gravity wave amplitudes can be reduced by ~10% and still produce a QBO similar to simulations without ozone.

A pilot implementation of an experimental interdisciplinary course on climate solutions was undertaken at San José State University in the fall semester of 2008. The course, co-taught by seven faculty members from six colleges, was approved for a general education requirement and was open to upperclass students campus-wide. A course with such a breadth of topics and range of student backgrounds was the first of its kind here. The lessons learned from the pilot effort were assessed from student, faculty, and administrative perspectives. The educational benefits to students from the interdisciplinary format were found to be substantial, in addition to faculty development. However, challenges associated with team-teaching were also encountered and must be overcome for the long-term viability of the course. The experimental course was approved as a permanent course starting in the fall semester of 2009 based on the pilot effort, and plays a role in the College of Engineering's recent initiatives in sustainability in addition to campus-wide general education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]