Z8876 Paleoclimatology

Faculty of Science
autumn 2021
Extent and Intensity
2/1/0. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
doc. Mgr. Daniel Nývlt, Ph.D. (lecturer)
prof. RNDr. Petr Dobrovolný, CSc. (lecturer)
Zbyněk Cincibus (assistant)
Mgr. Marek Lang, Ph.D. (assistant)
Guaranteed by
prof. RNDr. Petr Dobrovolný, CSc.
Department of Geography – Earth Sciences Section – Faculty of Science
Contact Person: doc. Mgr. Daniel Nývlt, Ph.D.
Supplier department: Department of Geography – Earth Sciences Section – Faculty of Science
Timetable
Mon 8:00–9:50 Z2,01032
  • Timetable of Seminar Groups:
Z8876/01: Mon 13:00–13:50 Z1,01001b, P. Dobrovolný, D. Nývlt
Prerequisites
Basic knowledge of physical geography and historical geology
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.

The capacity limit for the course is 25 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/25, only registered: 0/25
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
Climate of the planet Earth is a very dynamic system that has changed since the beginning of the Earth's atmosphere at different time scales in connection with changes in external and internal climate forcings. The main internal forcings of climate change in the past of the planet Earth were geotectonic evolution of continents and oceans influencing volcanic activity and subsequently also oceanic and atmospheric dynamics. The main external forcings are astronomical factors associated with changes in Earth's orbital parameters and solar radiation intensity. The lecture aims to summarize the main causes of Earth's climate changes on different time scales from geotectonic cycles lasting hundreds of millions of years up to inter-annual changes recorded in selected natural and anthropogenic archives. In addition to the role of climate forcing factors, attention will also be paid to fluctuations related to internal variability of the climate system. Climate changes in Earth's history are compared with current global climate change and its probable causes. An overview of available databases for climate reconstruction and an overview of the main methods used for quantitative climate reconstruction, including uncertainty estimates, are provided. The course follows and further develops the information taught in course Z0151 Climate variability and climate change.
Learning outcomes
After finishing of this course student will be able to: - understand relationships between Earth's geological history and climate formation; - explain the causes and consequences of climatic changes leading to climate change on different time scales; - apply basic palaeoclimatic techniques in the study of natural and anthropogenic archives.
Syllabus
  • 1. Planet Earth’s climate evolution on geological scales (DN) 2. Dating methods (DN) 3. Ice core records and changes in global glaciation (DN) 4. Aquatic environments, marine and lake sediments (DN) 5. Terrestrial environment, loess series, organic sediments (DN) 6. Abiotic proxies in natural records - physical and chemical methods (DN) 7. Biological proxies in natural records (DN or external) 8. Dendroclimatology (PD) 9. Use of anthropogenic archives for climate reconstruction (PD) 10. Statistical analysis of palaeoclimatic data I, Principles of quantitative reconstruction (PD) 11. Statistical analysis of palaeoclimatic data II, Verification and uncertainty estimates (PD) 12. Palaeoclimatic modelling (PD)
Literature
    recommended literature
  • MÉLIÈRES, Marie-Antoinette and Chloé MARÉCHAL. Climate change: past, present and future. Translated by Erik Geissler - Catherine Cox. First published. Oxford, UK: Wiley Blackwell, 2015, xvii, 391. ISBN 9781118708514. info
  • BRADLEY, Raymond S. Paleoclimatology : reconstructing climates of the quaternary. 3rd ed. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 2015, xx, 675. ISBN 9780123869135. info
  • Climate change 2013 : the physical science basis : Working Group I contribution to the Fifth assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Edited by Thomas Stocker. 1st pub. New York, N.Y.: Cambridge University Press, 2014, xi, 1535. ISBN 9781107661820. info
  • CRONIN, Thomas M. Paleoclimates : understanding climate change past and present. New York [N.Y.]: Columbia University Press, 2010, xviii, 441. ISBN 9780231144940. info
  • RUDDIMAN, W. F. Earth's climate : past and future. 2nd ed. New York [N.Y.]: W.H. Freeman and Company, 2008, xx, 388. ISBN 9780716784906. info
  • WALKER, M. J. C. Quaternary dating methods. Chichester, West Sussex, England: J. Wiley, 2005, xvii, 286. ISBN 0470869275. URL info
Teaching methods
The course will be taught in the form of lectures together with seminars, in which the students will present their own presentation on selected topic and practically examine the procedures of quantitative reconstruction with selected proxy data. Additional literature is recommended for each lecture block.
Assessment methods
Lecture 2 hours a week; seminars 1 hour per week. Hourly training of seminars will be used for student presentations of selected topics, which will be evaluated.
Language of instruction
Czech
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2019, Autumn 2020, Autumn 2022, Autumn 2023, Autumn 2024.
  • Enrolment Statistics (autumn 2021, recent)
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