How does the second law of thermodynamics apply to the Earth system and why is it so important? As it turns out, it dominantly shapes natural Earth system functioning, from the climate system to hydrologic cycling, the biosphere, and renewable energy resources, yielding simple, emergent functioning as a consequence of systems operating at their thermodynamic limits. This short course provides the basics to understand why entropy is so important and how it shapes Earth system functioning.
The course takes place from 19 – 21 September 2022, lectures being from 10 – 12 and 15 – 17.
Access: via the moodle system of the Universita di Firenze, which provides more details. Log in as “guest”, password is thermodynamics in Italian (small caps). Or ask in case you do not know. Slides will be available via moodle as well.
Earthsystem.org 