Global Climate Change in Context

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2012:

124 hours

At least some background in Physical Geography and/or Earth Sciences is strongly recommended. That is, students are expected to have completed one or more 2nd year physical geography/earth science subjects. Interested students who are unsure if they possess sufficient academic background are welcome to contact the coordinator for advice: rnd@unimelb.edu.au.

It is University policy to take all steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the University's programs. This course requires all students to enrol in subjects where they must actively and safely contribute to laboratory activities and field trips. Students who feel their disability will impact on meeting this requirement are encouraged to discuss this matter with the Subject Coordinator and Disability Liaison Unit.

This subject examines the nature and causes of past changes in Earth’s climate during the Quaternary Period (the last 2.7 million years), with a particular emphasis on the last glacial-interglacial cycle. It aims to place modern climate and the projections of future global warming into a longer-term perspective, and will allow students to understand why human interference in the climate system may be a legitimate cause for concern. Emphasis is placed on how Earth materials (ice, rocks, sediments, biological materials) record past climate changes, the techniques used to extract this ‘palaeoenvironmental information’, and the principles that govern how this information is interpreted. Part of the subject will run prior to the start of semester one. A series of lectures covering the theoretical elements of the subject will take place concurrently with 6 days of field study in either Tasmania, mainland SE Australia or New Zealand. The field component focuses on how particular environments (e.g. coastal, lake, fluvial, cave, and glacial) preserve evidence of past climate change. Further lectures and practicals will be conducted during the first 6 weeks of semester, and will focus on the types of analytical methods employed in this field, the nature of the data that are produced and how these are processed and interpreted. By the end of the subject, students will not only appreciate the dynamics of Earth’s past climate and the mechanisms that have forced it, but also the way in which we practice this important and growing field of study.

Student numbers are subject to a quota. Quota forms can be obtained from the Dept. of Resource Management and Geography at 221 Bouverie St and should be completed after consultation with the co-ordinator. The estimated cost of the field trip is in the vicinity of $800. The field trip will take place in the week prior to the first week of Sem. 1.

At the completion of this subject, students will have achieved the following objectives
- An understanding of the nature of past climate changes, i.e. the frequency, magnitude and geographic extent;
- An understanding of the range of driving mechanisms of past climate changes, particularly how they vary according to the time scales considered;
- An understanding of how specific environments and materials preserve evidence of past climate changes;
- An understanding of the advantages and weaknesses of the various ‘palaeoclimate archives’;
- Hands-on field and laboratory experience in the identification, sampling and analysis of a range of important palaeoclimate archives;
- Experience in producing, organising, analysing and interpreting palaeoclimate data;
- Familiarity with the key literature and current debates on past climates;
- An understanding of how the current global warming debate fits into the longer-term perspective.

Individual Field Report (2,000 words), Due mid first semester - 50%, Computer based practicals (800 words), Due after completion of each session - 20%, and Research Assignment (1,200 words), Due before field trip - 30%.

William Ruddiman 2nd Ed (2008) Earth’s Climate: past and future. WH Freeman, New York.

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

- ability to conduct library searches to source the latest relevant literature on key topic areas;
- ability to comprehend some of the current debates in the field;
- software skills, such as Excel and more specialised software;
- basic introduction to state-of-the-art laboratory analytical methods (e.g. mass spectrometry, microsampling);
- field skills, especially an ability to recognise landforms and sediments capable of preserving records of environmental change;
- data interpretation skills, informed by the relevant literature;
- group field and research activities.