THE UNIVERSITY of EDINBURGH

DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2021/2022

Draft edition - due to be published on 22/Apr/2021

Information in the Degree Programme Tables may still be subject to change in response to Covid-19

University Homepage
DRPS Homepage
DRPS Search
DRPS Contact
DRPS : Course Catalogue : School of Geosciences : Earth Science

Undergraduate Course: Global Environmental Change (EASC10050)

Course Outline
SchoolSchool of Geosciences CollegeCollege of Science and Engineering
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate) AvailabilityAvailable to all students
SCQF Credits10 ECTS Credits5
SummaryCourse description
This is a student-seminar based course, discussing hot topics in Global Environmental Change. These topics will be introduced by the lecturer, read about by all students, using recent articles in the literature, then will form the basis for student seminars and general group discussion.

The class will meet for a four-hour session, every Wednesday, 9:00-13:00 for six weeks during Semester 2, Block 3 in Room 304B Grant Institute. Staff member will give a brief introduction to a topic, highlighting some of the key issues that remain to be fully resolved. They will provide a list of sub-topics, along with a reading list of papers for each. Students will then volunteer to present a 15-minute presentation on each of the sub-topics (one sub-topic each). Topics will be assigned to the students on the first meeting and subtopics will be assigned to students on a first-come-first-serve basis after the introductory lectures so that an even distribution of student talks is achieved and all topics are covered sufficiently. The student seminars will act as the platform for a general class discussion. Students are expected to initiate discussion by asking questions and contribute to the discussion by what they understood by reading the papers. The staff members will fill in where and when necessary.

Important Notice: It is important for students taking this course to attend the first meeting. Topics for student presentations are assigned during the first meeting. Failing to attend may restrict your choice of topics.
Course description Themes will vary with year, depending on what is topical. Examples of topics from past years are as follows.

1. Climate stability and climate change on geologic timescales.
2. Recent climate variability
3. What caused the glacial-interglacial changes in CO2?
4. Mechanisms of abrupt climate change.
5. Contemporary climate change and ongoing global warming.
6. Dangerous climate change and extreme weather
7. Future climate change predictions.
8. Stability of ice sheets.
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Students MUST have passed:
Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements Note to personal tutors: This is a compulsory course for Environmental Geoscience (BSc Hons) degree. Students taking this course as an option should enrol in EASC10022 Topics in Global Environmental Change instead.
Additional Costs None
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisitesNone
High Demand Course? Yes
Course Delivery Information
Not being delivered
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. To develop a critical understanding of the science underpinning Global Environmental Change, the principal agents and mechanisms that drive environmental change, and the limitations in specific methodology used in studying them
  2. To help further develop the student's skills in self learning and critical assessment of scientific literature so that they are able to critically identify and analyse complex problems
  3. To help develop a student's presentation skills and to practise making formal presentations about specialised topics to an informed audiences.
  4. The essay assessment will give students the opportunity to critically review and consolidate their understanding of a specialised topic and offer professional level insights.
Reading List
Reading list provided through Learn.

Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills Not entered
KeywordsGEC_Global Environmental Change
Contacts
Course organiserDr Raja Ganeshram
Tel: (0131 6)50 7364
Email: R.Ganeshram@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMs Katerina Sykioti
Tel: (0131 6)50 5430
Email: Katerina.Sykioti@ed.ac.uk
Navigation
Help & Information
Home
Introduction
Glossary
Search DPTs and Courses
Regulations
Regulations
Degree Programmes
Introduction
Browse DPTs
Courses
Introduction
Humanities and Social Science
Science and Engineering
Medicine and Veterinary Medicine
Other Information
Combined Course Timetable
Prospectuses
Important Information