Course Syllabus

DIS Logo


IMG_1638_small.jpg

Semester & Location:

Summer 2021, Session 2 - DIS Copenhagen

Type & Credits:

Core Course - 3 Credits

Core Course Study Tours:

Denmark

Major Disciplines:

Environmental Science, Geography, Geology

Prerequisites:

One mathematics course at university level.

Faculty Members:

Susanne Lilja Buchardt (current students please use the Canvas Inbox)

Program Director:

Neringa B. Vendelbo - nb@dis.dk

Time & Place:

F24-403

Course Description

The response of ice sheets and glaciers to future climate changes remains a large source of uncertainty in projections of future sea-level changes. This course will provide students with a basic understanding of glaciers and their role in the climate system. We will cover topics like glacier mass balance, the transformation from snow to ice, ice flow, and the conditions required for glaciers to form and ‘survive’. A significant part of the course will consist of student projects, where students will be exploring and further developing a simple computer model to investigate the behavior of glaciers.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this course you will be able to

  • Explain the role of glaciers in the global climate system
  • Identify and describe the processes that determine/govern the mass balance of a glacier
  • Identify and describe the processes that determine/govern the shape of glaciers
  • Use simple glacier models to investigate the response of glaciers to changes in climate
  • Explain key processes of importance when modeling glaciers
  • Identify areas of uncertainty in the contribution from glaciers to future sea-level rise

Faculty

Susanne Lilja Buchardt: PhD in Glaciology (University of Copenhagen). Educated at Centre for Ice and Climate, Niels Bohr Institute and works with ice core analysis and ice flow models. Participated in ice core drillings in Greenland and Antarctica since she was a grad student. With DIS since 2013.

Readings

All readings are provided by DIS through the Canvas course page. Main readings come from the following sources:

Textbooks (abbreviations used in the lecture plan are in parentheses):
Benn and Evans (B&E): Glaciers and Glaciations, 2nd edition, 2010.
Cuffey and Paterson (C&P): The Physics of Glaciers, 4th edition, 2010.
C. Dym (Dym): Principles of Mathematical Modeling, 2004.
Hambrey and Alean (H&A): Glaciers, 2nd edition, 2004.
P. Knight (Knight): Glaciers, 1999.
S. Marshall (Marshall): The Cryosphere, 2012.

Other required texts
AMAP, 2017. Snow, Water, Ice and Permafrost in the Arctic (SWIPA) 2017. Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP), Oslo, Norway. xiv + 269 pp.

Björnsson et al.: Surges of glaciers in Iceland, Annals of Glaciology 36, 82-90, 2003.

Grindsted et al.: Sea level rise projections for northern Europe under RCP8.5, Clim Res Vol. 64: 15–23, 2015.

Hvidberg: Polar Caps, in Water on Mars and Life, 2005.

Pattyn: GRANTISM: An ExcelTM model for Greenland and Antarctic ice-sheet response to climate changes, Computers & Geosciences 32 (2006) 316–325.

Format

Lectures, group work, discussions, field studies, student projects and presentations.

Study Tour

The course includes an academic study tour in Denmark. Even though there are no glaciers in Denmark today, the landscape still shows clear signs of the presence of glaciers here thousands of years ago, and the coastline is affected by the melting of glaciers elsewhere in the world today. We will explore these topics in Odsherred (Northwest Zealand) and in Thy (Northwest Jutland) on a 5-days study tour. Please bring rain gear, good waterproof footwear suitable for light hiking and warm clothes!

Evaluation

To be eligible for a passing grade in this class you must complete all of the assigned work. The overall grade will come from the following:

Grading

Participation (25%): Students are expected to participate in all classes and field studies. Furthermore, active participation in class is required in order to get a good grade for participation. Examples of active student participation: volunteer to sum up key points from last class (2-3 min), ask questions about readings, lectures etc., start and/or participate in class discussions relating to the subjects treated.

Study tour assignment (25%): A selection of questions and assignments to be carried out during the 5-days study tour. 

Student Project (50%): Student projects will be carried out in small groups. Each group will choose a subject and use and further develop an existing glacier model to investigate this subject. The final product will be a report and an oral presentation of the project results. Required elements of each project is that students familiarize themselves with the model they are using and give a thorough description and evaluation of the model and the assumptions it is based on.

Academic Regulations 

Please make sure to read the Academic Regulations on the DIS website. There you will find regulations on:

 

 

Course Summary:

Date Details Due