EA30410 - VOLCANIC ACTIVITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE

Module Identifier	EA30410
Module Title	VOLCANIC ACTIVITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE
Academic Year	2001/2002
Co-ordinator	Dr John Grattan
Semester	Semester 2
Course delivery	Lecture	22 Hours 11 x 2 hours
Assessment	Course work	Coursework to be submitted by the end of week 9.	50%
	Exam	2 Hours Written examination.	50%
	Resit assessment	Resit: Examinations will have the same format. Students who fail the continuous assessment component of the module will be set a recovery assessment which will take the form of an extended essay to be submitted to the Institute of Geography and Earth Sciences General Office by the day of the resit examination.

Module objectives / Learning outcomes

On completion of this module students should be able to demonstrate :-

research skills

the ability to construct a synthesis from often conflicting research

confidence in academic writing

the ability to construct their arguments in a coherent, academic fashion

an ability to use research concepts, in particular the use and application of multiple working hypotheses

the value of historical research as a tool in the reconstruction of environmental change

confidence in the use of computers in the investigation of environmental change.

the use of electronic information systems accessed via the internet

Module Aims

1. Knowledge of the subject: Students are expected to acquire a clear understanding of the mechanisms by which volcanic eruptions may bring about environmental change. Related to this will be the understanding of a wide range of environmental, climatic, sedimentary and ecological systems.

2. Core concepts: Students will develop a clear theoretical and philosophical framework, which will allow them to assess the degree of inter relationship between different environmental systems. Central to this will be an understanding of the sensitivity of environmental systems to external forcing mechanisms.

Module Outline (Lecture Themes)

1. Volcanoes and Climate

2. Tephra versus Sulphur. How do Volcanic eruptions generate climate change?

3. Circulation Response.
North Atlantic circulation. The El Ni?o. Monsoon disruption.

4. Ice Sheet and Glacier Response.
Do ice sheets respond to volcanic activity? What is the link between volcanic activity and the Pleistocene glacial advances?

5. Palaeoecological Data.
Does independent ecological data verify or contradict assumptions re volcanic eruptions and climate?

6. The Laki eruption of 1783.
Climate response.

7. The environmental impact of volcanic eruptions.

8. The Eruption Of Tambora And The Year Without A Summer.

9. The Distal Impact Of Volcanic Aerosols.

10. The Hekla eruptions. Direct impact on the British Isles?

11. The extinction of the Dinosaurs.

12. Mt. Pinatubo, impacts on climate and stratospheric ozone.

13. Sun and dust versus greenhouse gases.

14. Summary and roundup.

Reading Lists

Books
Francis, P.. (1993) Volcanoes. A planetary perspective.. Clarendon, London.
Harington, C.R. (ed.). (1992) The year without a summer.. Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa.
Chester, D.. (1993) Volcanoes and Society. Edward Arnold, London.

Articles
Grattan, J.P. & Chapman, D.J.. (1994) Non climatic Factors and the environmental impact of Volcanic volatiles: Implications of the Laki Fissure eruption of AD 1783.. The Holocene. 4(1). 101-106