The earth's climate system. Climate archives and proxy records useful for palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic reconstructions Tectonics, climate and eustatism. Short and long term climate changes. From greenhouse to icehouse. The Messinian salinity crisis. The Cenozoic glaciations. Insolation influence on monsoon and the expansion of ice caps. The last glacial maximum. Global warming. Future human impact on climate and weather.
Earth’s Climate Past and Future, second edition (2008), William F. Ruddiman, W.H. Freeman and Company New York
Material included in the lectures (powerpoint, articles).
Learning Objectives
The course provides methodological and scientific knowledge on causes, modalities and time of natural climatic changes on the Earth by the study of the geological record (natural archives) and with respect to the future climatic changes including their impact on the environment
At the end of the course students should be able to:
1. Integrate complex data for summary palaeoclimatic reconstructions.
2. Correlate several biological and physical-chemical data.
3. Understand the applicability and potential of the main palaeoclimatic analyses.
Teaching Methods
Lectures (with multimedia content integration) and seminarial activities.
Ongoing learning: student-instructor interaction and student-student interaction.
Development of microprojects by students.
Further information
Frequency of lectures, practice and lab: attendance is highly recommended, but not mandatory; attendance is expected at least 2/3 of practical classes and at lab classes as well.
Type of Assessment
Oral test
Course program
Ocean-atmosphere system. Role of atmosphere, iosphere and ocean in climate regulation. Climate archives and proxy records useful for palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic reconstructions: marine and terrestrial sediments, ice sheets, corals, dinocysts, foraminifera, coccoliths, tree rings, ice cores, phytolites, packrat middens, pollen, isotopes, ... Tectonics, climate and eustatism. Short and long term climate changes. Climate models. From greenhouse to icehouse. The Messinian salinity crisis. The Cenozoic glaciations. Insolation influence on monsoon and the expansion of ice caps. The last glacial maximum. Global warming. Future human impact on climate and weather.