Unit name | Environmental Change 3: Warm Climates |
---|---|
Unit code | GEOG35240 |
Credit points | 20 |
Level of study | H/6 |
Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
Unit director | Professor. Rachel Flecker |
Open unit status | Not open |
Pre-requisites | |
Co-requisites |
N/A |
School/department | School of Geographical Sciences |
Faculty | Faculty of Science |
1.Element 1 : Warm climates of the past (Dr Rachel Flecker. This element of the course will ask students to consider why investigating past climate is important. It will also provide an introduction to how climate proxies are used to reconstruct past climate. The course ends by considering the evidence for warm climates in the past and questions how well we can model them.
2.Element 2: Future Climatic Change (Prof. Paul Valdes)This element focuses on future climate change. The lectures discuss the science behind concerns about future climate change and the impacts on all aspects of society. It includes a consideration of how climate has changed, the potential causes, and the likely consequences of further changes.
Aims:
On completion of this Unit students should be able to:
Lectures
Computer Practicals
Extensive use of Blackboard’s discussion facility for coursework support
2-hour written exam (70%) – linked to learning outcomes 3 and 4 Quantify the uncertainties associated with interpreting past sea surface temperature from published analysis of climate proxy (d18O) data (formative) – linked to learning outcome 2 2000 word report assessing the results of a climate model simulation (30%) – linked to learning outcome 1
1. Stocker, et al. (eds.) (2013) Climate Change 2013: The Scientific Basis Contribution of Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Cambridge University Press, UK, To be published. Also available at http://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/wg1
2. Souch C (2003) Getting information about the Past: palaeo and historical data sources. Clifford, N.J. and Valentine, G. (eds), Key Methods in Geography. Sage 195-208