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Climate History and Palaeoclimatology
Last Updated: 2026-06-03 00:07:42
Abstract
Climate history and paleoclimatology explores how the major features of the earth's climate system have varied in the past, and the driving forces and feedbacks for these changes. The major topics include the earth's CO2 concentration and mean temperature, the size and stability of ice sheets and sea level, the amount and distribution of precipitation, and the ocean heat transport.
Objective
By the end of the course, students will be able to describe the evolution of Earth’s climate and the key driving forces behind these changes. In detail students will be able to: • Describe the drivers of past expansions and retreats of high latitude ice caps, including processes influencing the rate of retreat, and their feedbacks on the climate system • Describe the key greenhouse gas-climate feedbacks (CO2 and methane) operating over the last several hundred thousand years • Interpret climate model output experiments simulating past climate states • Explain the most important processes regulating changes of the past atmospheric dynamics of ITCZ/monsoon and extratropical front precipitation • Interpret evidence for the earth’s million year timescale climate sensitivity to CO2 and evidence for state dependence of climate sensitivity • Compare the magnitudes and rates of past changes in the carbon cycle, ice sheets, hydrological cycle, and ocean circulation, with predictions for climate changes over the next century to millennia. • Critically evaluate and effectively explain the contrasting points of view of recent research on paleoclimate topic • Interpret a set of new paleoclimate observations and the interrelationships between North Atlantic climate and other globally-distributed climate systems • For a given location on land, describe the most likely changes in precipitation (trend and sign) that the region has experienced in the last 20,000 years and the relevance for modern water resources; and for a given location on land, describe the most likely changes in temperature that the region has experienced in the last 20000 years.
Content
The course spans 5 thematic modules: 1. Cyclic variation in the earth's orbit and the rise and demise of ice sheets. Ice sheets and sea level - What do expansionist glaciers want? What is the natural range of variation in the earth's ice sheets and the consequent effect on sea level? How do cyclic variations in the earth's orbit affect the size of ice sheets under modern climate and under past warmer climates? What conditions the mean size and stability or fragility of the large polar ice caps and is their evidence that they have dynamic behavior? What rates and magnitudes of sea level change have accompanied past ice sheet variations? How stable or fragile is the ocean heat conveyor, past and present? 2. Feedbacks on climate cycles from CO2 and methane. What drives CO2 and methane variations over glacial cycles? What are the feedbacks with ocean circulation and the terrestrial biosphere? 3. Atmospheric circulation and variations in the earth's hydrological cycle - How variable are the earth's precipitation regimes? How large are the orbital scale variations in global monsoon systems? What factors drive change in mid and high-latitude precipitation systems? 4. Century-scale droughts and civil catastrophes. Will mean climate change El Nino frequency and intensity? Is there evidence that changes in water availability have played a role in the rise, demise, or dispersion of past civilizations? 5. How sensitive is Earth's long term climate to CO2 and cloud feedbacks? What regulates atmospheric CO2 over long tectonic timescales of millions to tens of millions of years? The weekly two hour lecture periods will feature lecture on these themes interspersed with interactive tasks to apply new knowledge. Over the semester, student teams will each present in class one debate based on two scientific articles of contrasting interpretations. With flexible scheduling, students will participate in a laboratory activity to generate a new paleoclimate record from stalagmites. Student teams will be supported by an individual tutorial meeting to assist in debate preparation and another to assist in the interpretation of the lab activity data.
General Information
- Language
- English
- Levels
- MSC
- Frequency
- Yearly recurring
Examination
- Type
- graded semester performance
- Digital
- The examination takes place on your own device. Installation of SEB required.
Course Components
| Type | Title | Time & Place | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| lecture with exercise |
Climate History and Palaeoclimatology
There is a practical session which will be held on 25 September and 2 October.
|
No time listed | 2 h weekly |
Offered In
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Restricted Choice Modules Geology (A minimum of two restricted choice modules must be completed for the major Geology.)
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Restricted Choice Modules Mineralogy and Geochemistry (A minimum of two restricted choice modules must be completed in the major Mineralogy and Geochemistry.)
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