BENG 59603 — Modeling Environmental Biophysics
Interactions between the biosphere and the atmosphere. Connecting the physical environment of solar energy, wind, soil, and hydrology to the biosphere through plant ecophysiology. Boundary layer meteorology, photosynthesis and boundary layer modeling strategies, and the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum. Instrumentation, measurement and modeling strategies for understanding leaf-, landscape- and regional behaviors; and, the transfer, kinetics, and balance of momentum, energy, water vapor, CO2, and other atmospheric trace gases between the landscape (vegetation and soil) and the atmosphere. Applications in sustainable agriculture, irrigation, land and water resources, and modeling plant water use and carbon uptake strategies. A working knowledge of calculus and a discipline related to the course is expected. Three hours of lecture per week. Students may not earn degree credit for both BENG 49603 and BENG 59603 . Prerequisite: Instructor consent. (Typically offered: Spring Even Years)