 | | |
| SPAT0027-3 | Climate change and impacts
|
|
| Duration : | 15h Th, 45h Pr |
|
| Number of credits : |
|
|
| Lecturer : | Louis François, Guy Munhoven |
|
| Coordinator : | Louis François |
|
Language(s) of instruction :
|
| French language |
|
Organisation and examination :
|
| All year long, with partial in January |
|
Course contents :
|
| This course provides a synthesis of ongoing and future climate change and of its impacts on the environment and human societies. It is mostly based upon the IPCC report, which is available from the world-wide web. The following themes are covered:
1. Overview of the climate system;
2. Greenhouse effect and radiative forcing;
3. Carbon cycle and greenhouse gas balances;
4. Climate change during the 20th century: data analysis and models;
5. Past climate changes: methods of reconstruction and synthesis of observations (last millennium, Holocene, Pleistocene)
6. Future climate change: SRES socio-econimic scenarios and IPCC climate projections
7. Climate change impacts (sea-level, hydrology, terrestrial and marine ecosystems, human societies).
|
|
Learning outcomes of the course :
|
| This course provides an introduction to the problematics of global climate change. |
|
Prerequisites and co-requisites/ Recommended optional programme components :
|
| Basic knowledge about how of physical, chemical and biological processes control Earth's evolution. |
|
Planned learning activities and teaching methods :
|
| By way of tutorials, bibliographic homeworks dealing with subjects related to various themes covered during the lectures will be proposed to students. Each student may chose a subject he/she is interested in. This way, they have the chance to improve on the basics covered by the main lectures. They are expected to produce a written text of 10 to 15 pages and to make a short oral presentation for the class or for secondary school students. |
|
Mode of delivery (face-to-face ; distance-learning) :
|
| The course is organised during the first semester and the beginning of the second semester along three modules :
- theory (15 h)
- bibliographic homeworks (40h)
- oral presentation of bibliographic homeworks and debates (5 h)
Schedule 2014-2015: Wednesday morning 9h00-13h00 during the first semester (Sep 24 to Dec 17), Monday morning 9h00-13h00 during the second semester (Feb 9 to Mar 2) ; 1st lecture Wednesday September 24th, 2014, Room 3.70, Building B6c |
|
Recommended or required readings :
|
| Online IPCC publications:
- IPCC Third Assessment Report - Climate Change 2001
- Various Special Reports ...
Fifth IPCC Assessment Report (Climate Change 2014):
- Working Group I: The Physical Basis of Climate Change
- Working Group II: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability
- Working Group III: Mitigation of Climate Change.
|
|
Assessment methods and criteria :
|
| An oral examination is organised on the theoretical module.
The bibibliographic homework (written text and oral presentation) is also evaluated.
|
|
Work placement(s) :
|
| |
|
Organizational remarks :
|
| |
|
Contacts :
|
| Louis François, Lecturer,
Unit for Climate and Biogeochemical Cycles Modelling (UMCCB),
Institute of Astrophysics et and Geophysics (B5c build.),
Phone: (+32) (4) 366-9776
e-mail: Louis.Francois@ulg.ac.be |
|
|
| Items online : |
|
| Online notes |
| On-line notes available on UMCCB website |
|
|
