The University of Rhode Island’s Department of Geosciences is offering a new specialization that focuses on climate and water sciences.
The program was built around research that members of the department conduct in regard to climate and hydrology, according to Ambarish Karmalkar, a visiting assistant professor of geosciences.
“We wanted to add another dimension to the department that reflects what we do and then, on the other side, and I think what’s more important is to respond to what the students are thinking,” Karmalkar said. “There are lots of students who are thinking about climate change, trying to understand what it means and how it impacts us and what can be done about it.”
New England is one of the fastest-warming regions across the United States and has also seen an increase in the number of extreme rainfall events, according to Karmalkar.
For this reason, having a track that specializes in climate and water sciences is important specifically to Rhode Island, according to Karmalkar. This specialization will also help students when entering the workforce.
“Now, if you think about the workforce, there’s a clear need [for] people who understand how climate change works,” Karmalkar said.
In 2023, Karmalkar helped to create three new climate classes for this specialization.
GEO 280: Introduction to Climatology, is a required course for the specialization that gives students a broad, but in-depth, understanding of how the climate system works, according to Karmalkar. GEO 420: Regional Climate Dynamics and Modeling teaches students how climate dynamics are understood at regional scales.
The third class, GEO 422: Applied Climate Science, takes the knowledge learned in previous courses and students start asking questions about the climate and what they can do, according to Karmalkar.
“We’re moving more into applications of climate models and how they can be used to make projections and all of the different layers to kind of help get a better understanding of where the climate system is and where it’s going,” second-year geoscience major Ella Gibson said.
Each of the 400-level courses includes lab components where students learn how to work with data, according to Karmalkar.
“Climate science is something that’s currently super valuable and it’s something that’s just going to keep gaining popularity and necessity,” Gibson said.
Having this area offered as a specialization also opens students up to more opportunities when it comes to getting their graduate degrees or applying to work on research projects, according to Gibson.
“I also think that just having a specialization as specific as this is going to be really valuable for employers looking for people who can give a well-rounded stance on climate issues in all fields,” Gibson said.
Being a coastal state, students also have the opportunity to gain hands-on experience and go exactly where these problems are happening, according to Geosciences Professor Thomas Boving.
“I hope we’re touching a nerve with students,” Boving said. “Like I said before, there wasn’t really a program that deals with these really important issues.”
This program will be open to students starting this fall.
