„Climate Change“ is a term that is seen or heard daily associated with teenage activists, politicians, television documentaries, real or so-called ‚fake news‘. 

After completion of this interdisciplinary lecture, students will know the physical science associated with climate change from the beginning of the earth to the predictions for the future. They will understand the methods employed by climate scientists, the various processes that lead to climate changes on different timescales, and the sensitivity of earth‘s climate to changes in greenhouse gases. The students will comprehend the role that the climate has played in shaping human evolution, as well as anthropogenically-forced climate change.

Overview of Climate Science

Earth’s Climate System Today

Methods for Studying Climate Change

Climate Change on Deep Geological Time

Climate Change in the Recent Geological Past

Climate and Human Evolution

Human Impact on the Climate

Instrumental Record of Climate Change

Future Climate Change

Lectures, discussion groups, in-class exercises

Coursework, seminar, final exam

Ruddiman: Earth’s Climate: Past and Future

Melieres and Marechal, Climate Change: Past, Present and Future

IPCC 2013: Summary for Policy Makers

Stocker et al., 2013 In: Climate Change, 2013: The Physical Science Basis

An interest in the physical science of climate change.

This is an interdisciplinary bachelor-level lecture intended to promote exchange across the institutes in the Faculty of Geo- and Atmospheric Sciences. It will be taught in English.