GG21110 - READING THE ICE AGE RECORD

Module Identifier	GG21110
Module Title	READING THE ICE AGE RECORD
Academic Year	2002/2003
Co-ordinator	Dr Henry F Lamb
Semester	Semester 1
Other staff	Dr Geoff Duller
Course delivery	Lecture	22 Hours 11 x 2 hour lectures
	Seminars / Tutorials
Assessment	Semester Exam	2 Hours Two essay questions to be answered from four set.	75%
	Semester Assessment	In-Course Assessment: 1 x 1 hour mid-term short-answer test.	25%
	Supplementary Assessment	2 Hours Examination only.

Learning outcomes

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

The principal methods used to obtain Quaternary Palaeoenvironmental data

How to interpret a range of palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental data

The importance of palaeoenvironmental records and their relevance to contemporary issues

Content

Introduction:
The role of Quaternary palaeoclimatic data in understanding climatic change.

The chronological framework:
Terminology and timescales.
Palaeomagnetism. Potassium-argon dating.
Radiocarbon dating; calibrating the radiocarbon timescale.

Evidence from the oceans:
Oxygen isotopes, microfossil assemblages and terrigenous input
Quaternary sea-level records.

Evidence from the continents:
Lakes and lake sediments
Diatom records of surface water acidification.
Peat stratigraphy.

Ice core records of climatic change:
Stable isotopes; dissolved and particulate matter; gas bubble contents.

European and Chinese loess sequences.

Biological evidence:
Pollen analysis: principles, methods, and data presentation.
Interpreting past vegetation and climate from pollen data

Aims

This module aims to give students an understanding of the timescales of climatic and environmental change during the last two million years. It explains and illustrates the collection, analysis and interpretation of physical and biological data from Quaternary oceanic and continental sediments, and shows how these data can be used to determine the causes of past and future global change. The module provides a background for understanding long-term processes in many subject areas, including climatology, oceanography, hydrology, geomorphology, glaciology, and biogeography.

Reading Lists

Books
Anderson, B.B. and Borns, H.W.. (1994) The Ice-Age World. Scandinavian Press
Bell, M. and Walker, M.J.C.. (1992) Late Quaternary Environmental Change - Physical and Human Perspectives. Longman
Birks, H.J.B. & H.H. Birks. (1980) Quaternary Palaeoecology. Arnold
Bradley, R.S.. (1999) Quaternary Paleoclimatology: methods of paleoclimatic. 2nd. Academic Press
Mannion, A.M.. (1999) Natural Environmental Change. Routledge