ES646A - Global Climate Change

Introduction to global climate: earth's climate system, time scales of climate change, climate forcing and response systems, climate feedbacks and interactions. Earths radiation budget and circulation systems: Earths tilt and seasonal radiation, hydrological cycle, atmospheric circulation, monsoonal circulation, ocean circulation, oceanic conveyor belt. Climate archives and proxies: Methods of reconstructing climate, Ice sheet, sedimentary archives, biotic proxies, geological and geochemical proxies. Global climatic models: 1D, 2D and 3D atmospheric models, Global Circulation Models (GCMs), Ice sheet model, vegetation feedback, geochemical models. Quaternary climates: Sea level changes, glacial/interglacial cycles, tectonics climate coupling, sea floor spreading, BLAG hypothesis, Uplift weathering hypothesis, carbon reservoir, vegetation dynamics, migration history, response of vegetation to climatic reversals. Geological records of climate change: Sedimentology, stable isotopes, geochemistry, geochronology relative and numerical methods, Pre Quaternary climates, evolution of climate through geological time. Impacts of climate change: impacts on water resources rivers, oceans, lakes, ecological systems, socioeconomic impacts, mitigation strategies.