Landscape Dynamics

Course

URL study guide

https://studiegids.vu.nl/en/courses/2024-2025/AM_450331

Course Objective

- To learn and understand how environmental and climate change are recorded in (terrestrial-related) depositional environments, and to understand the recording process as a function of the dynamics of this environments. - To unravel tectonic, climatic and human impacts in fluvial sedimentary records on different regional and temporal scales (excursion). - To understand global climate change at Milankovitch to decadal time scales. - To appreciate the different climate sensitivity of low and high latitudes. - To gain an incipient overview over future climate studies and their dilemmas At the end of this course, students should be able to: - Interpret, and operate commonly used climate proxy datasets; - Critically read and question professional climate change publications; - Have (state-of-the-art) knowledge of the research field of high resolution climate archive studies, and the potential challenges that lie ahead.

Course Content

This course deals with the sedimentology, geochemistry and stratigraphy of fluvial, lacustrine, coral, cave, coastal and eolian palaeoclimate records. The focus is on those processes relevant for understanding how climate and environmental change is recorded in the terrestrial archives. In addition, the susceptibility of key aspects of those environments to climate
- change impacts will be addressed. The course will target seasonal-decadal to Milankovitch climate archive studies, including the climate phenomena and fluctuations that act onsuch time-scales. Special emphasis will be on the various (terrestrial) climate archives that record on (sub)decadal time scales and the validation of applied proxies. Using the latest research studies in discussion meetings (3x), several (paleo-)climate data-sets to perform practical exercises (3x), and a field excursion to Limburg as an instruction of the ways climate records form and can be read. Typical climate archives to be studied are:
- (Varved) sediments-for instance, lacustrine, fluvial
- Ice cores
- Speleothems
- Corals
- bivalves

Teaching Methods

Lectures, literature study and group discussions, computer practicals, and a field excursion to Limburg.

Method of Assessment

Literature discussion Essay; Report on computer practical exercises, and report of the field excursion to southern Limburg.

Literature

Course notes and selected peer-reviewed research papers (because we aim at including state-of-the-art research papers, these will be selected by teaching staff at the start of the course), Paleoclimatology-Reconstructing Climates of the Quaternary
- by Bradley.

Entry Requirements

Students are expected to have bachelor-level knowledge of:Climate science, Stable isotope geochemistry and Sedimentary environments Recommended background knowledge Bachelor courses: Sedimentary environments (AB_1093), Climate Science (450240); Master courses: Climate Systems (450185) (this is an obligatory course scheduled parallel to Landscape dynamics),
Academic year1/09/2431/08/25
Course level6.00 EC

Language of Tuition

  • English

Study type

  • Master