Undergraduate Course: Ice and Climate (GEGR10119)
Course Outline
| School | School of Geosciences |
College | College of Science and Engineering |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | Ice plays a fundamental role in the climate system, with impacts ranging from watershed control in mountain regions and regulation of ocean circulation and temperatures, to global sea level and the onset and termination of glacial cycles. This course will examine the major components of the cryosphere: glaciers and ice caps, ice sheets, and sea ice. All of these components have undergone recent change, and it is important to understand this change in the context of the larger climate system. The students will learn about the methods of measure and the observations of recent changes affecting the Cryosphere and how they relate to changes in other parts of the climate system, such as air and ocean temperatures. Building on this information, the causes and underlying physical mechanisms behind these changes and interactions will be investigated through governing principles and simplified models, and the implications for ice in the climate system under future global warming scenarios will be discussed. |
| Course description |
See Course Rationale/Short Description above.
Week 1
Overview of ice in the climate system, historic and recent observations of glaciers and icecaps
Week 2
Principles of ice formation, melting, and movement; physics of glaciers
Week 3
Ice sheets ¿ observation
Week 4
Ice sheets ¿ theory
Week 5
Ice shelves and tidewater glaciers - observations
Week 6
Ice shelves and tidewater glaciers - theory
Week 7
Subglacial environment - observations
Week 8
Subglacial environment ¿ theory
Week 9
Sea ice observations and trends
Week 10
Sea ice ¿ role in climate
Week 11
Review
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
| Additional Costs | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
|
| Academic year 2014/15, Available to all students (SV1)
|
Quota: 25 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 22,
Supervised Practical/Workshop/Studio Hours 6,
Summative Assessment Hours 40,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
128 )
|
| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
60 %,
Coursework
40 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Exam 60%; Coursework 40% |
| Feedback |
Not entered |
| Exam Information |
| Exam Diet |
Paper Name |
Hours & Minutes |
|
| Main Exam Diet S2 (April/May) | | 2:00 | |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Understand the distinguishing characteristics of glaciers, ice sheets, and sea ice; and why, although they are all composed of the same material, they differ greatly in behaviour and response to climate change
- Understand basic principles behind Earth Observation of the cryosphere, and be familiar with the basic physical mechanisms by which ice evolves
- Have experience working with, manipulating, and interpreting Earth Observation data and with running computer simulations of ice dynamics and ice-climate interactions, and interpreting the results
- Enhance specialist knowledge and understanding, including a range of established techniques and research methodologies.
- Interpret, use and evaluate a wide range of specialist data.
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Reading List
Cuffey, K., and Paterson, W. The Physics of Glaciers,
4th ed. Elsevier, 2010
Van der Veen, CJ. Fundamentals of Glacier Dynamics, 2nd ed. CRC Press, 2013.
Thomas, D., and Dieckmann, G. Sea Ice, 2nd ed. Wiley-Blackwell, 2010
Campbell, J.B. (2002). Introduction to remote sensing. (3rd edition). Taylor and Francis (or Guildford), London. 622pp.
Rees, W. G., (2001) Physical principles of remote sensing 2nd ed, CUP.
Rees, W. Gareth (2006), Remote Sensing of Snow and Ice, CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida, pp. 1-22.
http://www.climatechange2013.org/images/uploads/WGIAR5_WGI-12Doc2b_FinalDraft_Chapter04.pdf
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Analytical skills, manipulating and interpreting earth observations, running and interpreting simplified climate models |
| Special Arrangements |
None |
| Keywords | Ice, Climate, Cryosphere, Earth Observation, Models |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Noel Gourmelen
Tel: (0131 6)50 2662
Email: Noel.Gourmelen@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Beth Muir
Tel: (0131 6)50 9847
Email: beth.muir@ed.ac.uk |
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