Undergraduate - UnitAZA2550 - Climatology

This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2014 only. For students planning to study the unit, please refer to the unit indexes in the the current edition of the Handbook. If you have any queries contact the managing faculty for your course or area of study.

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6 points, SCA Band 2, 0.125 EFTSL

Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered, or view unit timetables.

Level	Undergraduate
Faculty	Faculty of Arts
Offered	South Africa First semester 2014 (Day)
Coordinator(s)	Mr Marshall Mdoka

Synopsis

The unit is linked to the subject of climatology which is the science that seeks to describe and explain the nature of climate, why it differs from place to place, and how it relates to other elements of the natural environment and to human activities.

Outcomes

In order to successfully complete the unit the student will need to:

Understand basic atmospheric processes and how they lead to weather and climate over Southern Africa;
Appreciate the land surface-ocean-atmosphere interactions and how they affect the weather and climate of southern Africa;
Be able to apply climate knowledge to a range of practical and social problems;
Understand the concept of climate change and how this varies from climate variability;
Show an awareness of the social and political context to climate change and the impacts, adaptation and mitigation of such change;
Develop knowledge and skill of weather and climate interpretation and forecasting.

Assessment

1. Tutorial or practical exercises: (10%)
2. Class test: (15%)
3. Essay assignment: 2000 words (25%)
4. Examination: (50%)

Chief examiner(s)

Mr Marshall Mdoka

Workload requirements

One 2-hour lecture per week + One 1-hour tutorial per week

This unit applies to the following area(s) of study

Geography and environmental science

Prerequisites

First year sequence in Geography and environmental science

Prohibitions

AZA3550, ATS2550, ATS3550