GEO310 Paleoenvironment and Climate Change

The Quaternary (~2.6 million years) was characterized by dramatic changes in climate over multiple glacial-interglacial cycles. This course provides an introduction into how we can reconstruct the history of environmental change, over the Quaternary, using a range of techniques used to reconstruct past environments from a number of archives (eg, glaciers, sediments, pollen). The course has a particular focus on the Late Quaternary in the Arctic and sub-Arctic in the Northern Hemisphere and will enhance students' understanding through a series of lectures and seminars which uses up-to-date research papers addressing these topics.

After completing the course, the student shall have the following learning outcomes:

Knowledge: The students should have a deeper understanding of the cause and effects of Quaternary environmental change. In particular, discuss the long-term and recent climatic changes that have occurred in the Arctic and sub-Arctic, consequences of long-term and current sea-level change, relative and numerical dating techniques along with their uncertainties, as well as a number of other proxies widely used to reconstruct environmental change (eg, glaciers, sediments, pollen).

Skills: This course will help you develop skills to enhance your employability potential and career development through:

• Discussing scientific studies published in international research journals.
• engage in inquiry-led learning through exploring topics of long-term environmental and climate change.
• Developing your communication skills and portfolio by delivering presentations, and a written report.
• Developing good practice of contributing to and working in groups through practical exercises
• Encouraging you to think critically about the ways in which knowledge is applied and communicated in the media, literature and online

General competence:

• Communicate subject matter and the relevance of Quaternary geology and contemporary climate change both to specialists and the general public.