Course Syllabus

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Semester & Location:

Summer 2024, Session 2 - DIS Copenhagen
Type & Credits:

Core Course - 3 Credits
Study Tour:

Iceland, June 24-28
Major Disciplines:

Environmental Science, Geography, Geology
Prerequisites:

One mathematics course at university level.
Faculty Members:

Sebastian F.J. Zastruzny
Time & Place:

Mon - Fri, 9:00 - 12:00 + Field study days
Room: N7-C24

Course Description

The response of the arctic environment to future climate remains a large source of uncertainty in projections of the future climate.

This course will provide students with a basic understanding of the processes controlling Earth's climate, with a focus on the arctic region. We will cover topics like glacier movement, the transformation from snow to ice, permafrost conditions and their respective roles in the climate system.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this course you will be able to

  • Understand the core concepts of Earth’s processes, such as the energy balance, the hydrological cycle and the role of glaciers in the global climate system.
  • Identify and describe the processes that determine/govern the shape of glaciers
  • Recognize, understand and interpret geomorphological features of peri glacial landscapes
  • Apply the notion of time scales when discussing the effects of different climate phenomena
  • Discuss climate conditions as a key factor in the evolution of modern civilization
  • Create arguments in both oral, and written form, to explain the concept of climate change.

Faculty

Sebastian Zastruzny

PhD (Geography-Geosciences, University of Copenhagen). Educated in permafrost dynamics at the Centre for Permafrost, IGN. Research on permafrost cores, water samples, climate data series, process based modelling, and effects of future climate change. Conducted fieldwork and taught field courses in Greenland and Denmark multiple times.

Readings

Main textbooks:

Grotzinger, J., & Jordan, T. H. (2014) Understanding Earth. (UE)

  • Reconstructing Geologic History from the Stratigraphic Record p196-200
  • Measuring Absolute Time with Isotopic Clocks p207-209
  • Glacial Rebound p393
  • Components of the Climate System p408-413
  • The Greenhouse Effect p413-416
  • Climate Variation p416-423
  • The Carbon Cycle p423-428
  • The Geologic Cycling of Water p470-477
  • The Hydrology of Groundwater p477-482
  • The Form of Streams p500-503
  • Glaciers p588-599
  • Glacial Landscapes p598-606
  • Permafrost p606
  • Consequences of Climate Change p662-665

William F. Ruddiman: Earth’s Climate Past and Future, 3rd edition, 2013 (EC)

  • Components of the Climate System p8-10
  • Climate Forcing / Responses / Time/ Rates p10-17
  • Incoming Solar Radiation p20-21
  • Receipt and Storage of Solar Heat p21-28
  • Glacial Ice p45-48
  • Earths Biosphere p48-51
  • Climate Archives, Dating, and Resolution p56-69
  • Climate Models p69-76
  • Carbon Exchange between.... p84 – 91
  • Box 4.1 the Organic Carbon subcycle
  • Rock Exposure and ... p113-119
  • What controls the Size of Ice Sheets p196-198
  • Ice Sheet History dO18 p205-207
  • Ice Cores p216-219
  • Glacial World p254-259
  • Climate and Human Evolution p318-332
  • App1: Isotpoes of Oxygen p413-416

French, H. M. (2017). The periglacial environment. John Wiley & Sons.

  • The periglacial domain p11-13
  • The scope of periglacial geomorphology p13-15
  • Unglaciated periglacial terrain p18-25
  • Relict periglacial landscapes p25-28

Nichols, G. (2009). Sedimentology and stratigraphy. John Wiley & Sons.

  • Terrigenous Clastic Sediments p5-27
  • Processes of Transport p44-50
  • Glacial Environments p102-110
  • River Forms p131-141

Other required texts:

  • AMAP, 2021. Arctic Climate Change Update 2021: Key Trends and Impacts. Summary for Policy-makers. Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP), Tromsø, Norway. 16 pp
  • IPCC, 2019: IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate [H.-O. Pörtner, D.C. Roberts, V. Masson-Delmotte, P. Zhai, M. Tignor, E. Poloczanska, K. Mintenbeck, A. Alegría, M. Nicolai, A. Okem, J. Petzold, B. Rama, N.M. Weyer (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK and New York, NY, USA, 755 pp. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009157964.
  • IPCC, 2021: Summary for Policymakers. In: Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Masson-Delmotte, V., P. Zhai, A. Pirani, S.L. Connors, C. Péan, S. Berger, N. Caud, Y. Chen, L. Goldfarb, M.I. Gomis, M. Huang, K. Leitzell, E. Lonnoy, J.B.R. Matthews, T.K. Maycock, T. Waterfield, O. Yelekçi, R. Yu, and B. Zhou (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA, pp. 3−32, doi:10.1017/9781009157896.001.

Scientific Papers

  • Abbott, B. W. (2022). Permafrost climate feedbacks. In Global Arctic: An Introduction to the Multifaceted Dynamics of the Arctic (pp. 189-209). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
  • An, N., Hemmati, S., & Cui, Y. J. (2017). Assessment of the methods for determining net radiation at different time-scales of meteorological variables. Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, 9(2), 239-246.
  • Belart, J. M., Magnússon, E., Berthier, E., Gunnlaugsson, Á. Þ., Pálsson, F., Aðalgeirsdóttir, G., ... & Björnsson, H. (2020). Mass balance of 14 Icelandic glaciers, 1945–2017: spatial variations and links with climate. Frontiers in Earth Science, 8, 163.
  • Bonnaventure, P. P., & Lamoureux, S. F. (2013). The active layer: A conceptual review of monitoring, modelling techniques and changes in a warming climate. Progress in Physical Geography, 37(3), 352-376.
  • Brander, M., & Davis, G. (2012). Greenhouse gases, CO2, CO2e, and carbon: What do all these terms mean. Econometrica, White Papers.Christiansen, H. H., Sigsgaard, C., Humlum, O., Rasch, M., & Hansen, B. U. (2008). Permafrost and periglacial geomorphology at Zackenberg. Advances in Ecological Research, 40, 151-174.
  • Ciais, P., C. Sabine, G. Bala, L. Bopp, V. Brovkin, J. Canadell, A. Chhabra, R. DeFries, J. Galloway, M. Heimann, C. Jones, C. Le Quéré, R.B. Myneni, S. Piao and P. Thornton, 2013: Carbon and Other Biogeochemical Cycles. In: Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Stocker, T.F., D. Qin, G.-K. Plattner, M. Tignor, S.K. Allen, J. Boschung, A. Nauels, Y. Xia, V. Bex and P.M. Midgley (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.
  • Cogley, J.G., Hock, R., Rasmussen, B., Arendt, A., Bauder, A., Braithwaite, R.J., Jansson, P., Kaser, G., Moller, M., Nicholson, L., & Zemp, M. Glossary of Glacier Mass Balance and related terms. Paris: IHP-VII Technical Documents in Hydrology No. 86, IACS Contribution No. 2, UNESCO-IHP. 124 (2011).
  • Dearing, J. A. (2006). Climate-human-environment interactions: resolving our past. Climate of the Past, 2(2), 187-203.
  • Edwards, P. N. (2011). History of climate modeling. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, 2(1), 128-139.
  • Hansen, B. U., Elberling, B., Humlum, O., & Nielsen, N. (2006). Meteorological trends (1991–2004) at Arctic Station, Central West Greenland (69 15'N) in a 130 years perspective. Geografisk Tidsskrift-Danish Journal of Geography, 106(1), 45-55.
  • Hansen, J., Sato, M., Glascoe, J., & Ruedy, R. (1998). A common-sense climate index: Is climate changing noticeably?. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 95(8), 4113-4120.
  • Kurylyk, B. L., & Hayashi, M. (2016). Improved Stefan equation correction factors to accommodate sensible heat storage during soil freezing or thawing. Permafrost and Periglacial Processes, 27(2), 189-203.
  • Lawrence, Mark G., 2005: The relationship between relative humidity and the dewpoint temperature in moist air: A simple conversion and applications. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 86, 225-233. doi: http;//dx.doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-86-2-225
  • Obu, J., Westermann, S., Bartsch, A., Berdnikov, N., Christiansen, H. H., Dashtseren, A., Delaloye, R., Elberling, B., Etzelmueller, B., Kholodov, A., Khomutov, A., Kaab, A., Leibman, M. O., Lewkowicz, A. G., Panda, S. K., Romanovsky, V., Way, R. G., Westergaard-Nielsen, A., Wu, T., ... Zou, D. (2019). Northern Hemisphere permafrost map based on TTOP modelling for 2000-2016 at 1 km2 scale. Earth-Science Reviews, 193, 299-316.
  • Oxford physics p341-349: Sun and the solar constant in: Bowen-Jones, M., & Homer, D. (2014). Oxford IB Diploma Programme: Physics Course Companion. Oxford University Press-Children.
  • Peng, X., Zhang, T., Frauenfeld, O. W., Mu, C., Wang, K., Wu, X., ... & Luoto, M. (2023). Active layer thickness and permafrost area projections for the 21st century. Earth's Future, 11(8), e2023EF003573.
  • Refsgaard, J. C., & Henriksen, H. J. (2004). Modelling guidelines––terminology and guiding principles. Advances in Water Resources, 27(1), 71-82.
  • Riseborough, D. W. (2003, July). Thawing and freezing indices in the active layer. In Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Permafrost (Vol. 2, pp. 953-958). Rotterdam: AA Balkema.
  • Schuur, E. A., Abbott, B. W., Commane, R., Ernakovich, J., Euskirchen, E., Hugelius, G., ... & Turetsky, M. (2022). Permafrost and climate change: carbon cycle feedbacks from the warming Arctic. Annual Review
  • Stephens, G. L., Li, J., Wild, M., Clayson, C. A., Loeb, N., Kato, S., ... & Andrews, T. (2012). An update on Earth's energy balance in light of the latest global observations. Nature Geoscience, 5(10), 691-696.
  • Vincent, W. F., Lemay, M., & Allard, M. (2017). Arctic permafrost landscapes in transition: towards an integrated Earth system approach. Arctic Science, 3(2), 39-64.
  • Xu, C., Kohler, T. A., Lenton, T. M., Svenning, J. C., & Scheffer, M. (2020). Future of the human climate niche. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117(21), 11350-11355.

Readings and Assignments:
Topics will be introduced in class to lay the foundations for the understanding of a topic. Each class has accompanying reading material allowing the students to follow up on the material covered in the classroom and to gain a deeper understanding.

Format

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

Study Tour

Students will travel to Iceland, where they will study the glaciers first-hand. Planned activities include the hike on a glacier and terminal moraines at Vatnajökull, a visit to the glacier tunnel in Langjökull glacier and periglacial streams and features along the way. Furthermore, students will interact with local researchers who monitor and model the glaciers and study how glaciers have shaped the landscape of South Iceland.

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

Student Report (25%): During the first part of the course we will have several assignments evaluating the climatic conditions, glacier mass balance and geomorphological development of a region. The individual assignments will be joined in a final report, requiring the student to integrate theory from the classes and apply it on concrete evidence.

Iceland Field Journal (25%):
Medium report written in pairs, reporting on the visited stops of the excursion to Iceland and a short section covering the theories linked to the visits. The report will graded based on scientific correctness, completeness of requirements and presentation.

Poster Presentation (25%):
Scientific poster and presentation, based on a larger student project prepared in groups that uses knowledge gained during the assignments in a larger context. The poster presentation will graded based on scientific correctness, completeness of requirements and presentation.

Participation (25%):
We expect and encourage active participation in class, on the field trips, and in online activities. Active participation consists of...

  • being a part of the discussions by asking/answering
  • contributing to group work
  • working on the assignments/exercises
  • presenting results in class

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