Duration
10h Th, 10h Pr
Number of credits
| Master in geography, global change, research focus | 2 crédits |
Lecturer
Language(s) of instruction
English language
Organisation and examination
Teaching in the first semester, review in January
Schedule
Units courses prerequisite and corequisite
Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program
Learning unit contents
A. The course (10h) is divided in 8 modules:
1) Surface mass balance (SMB)
- What is the (surface) mass balance of a glacier?
- Which components and processes are involved?
- How do glaciers form, flow and retreat?
- Why do glaciers melt at their base?
- How is glacier mass change measured in the field at different spatial scales (local to global)?
- How are glacier surface mass balance and associated processes modelled at different spatial resolutions?
- Which processes drive the recent Greenland ice sheet mass change?
- Which processes may accelerate the Greenland ice sheet mass change under climate warming by 2300?
- Which processes drive the recent Antarctic ice sheet mass change?
- Which processes may accelerate the Antarctic ice sheet mass change under climate warming by 2300?
- Handle data in netcdf format using Python (or equivalent)
- Map data using QGIS (or equivalent)
- Interpret the results
- Evaluation of modeled glacier surface mass balance (SMB) using observations
- Identification of processes leading to mass change
- Estimation of mass change contribution to sea-level rise
Learning outcomes of the learning unit
A. The course
- Explain primary surface and dynamical processes affecting glaciers and polar ice sheets
- Explain observational/modelling techniques to monitor/simulate glaciers and polar ice sheets mass change
- Identify key drivers of polar ice sheets mass change in the contemporary climate and under future warming projections
- Handle netcdf climate data
- Estimate glaciers/ice sheets mass change and contributon to sea-level rise using model and observational data
- Identify key processes driving glacier/ice sheets mass change based on data
- Disseminate scientific results through an oral presentation
Prerequisite knowledge and skills
Basics in physics, programming (Python-QGIS) and climatology
Planned learning activities and teaching methods
Teaching is based on the oral lecture and associated slides
Corresponding sets of slides are made available to students before/during each session
Mode of delivery (face to face, distance learning, hybrid learning)
Face-to-face course
Further information:
Course taught in person
Course materials and recommended or required readings
Platform(s) used for course materials:
- eCampus
Further information:
Teaching is based on the oral lecture and associated slides
Corresponding sets of slides are made available to students before/during each session
Exam(s) in session
Any session
- In-person
oral exam
Further information:
Assessment includes:
- An oral exam based on the lecture
- An oral presentation based on the tutorials
Work placement(s)
Organisational remarks and main changes to the course
Contacts
Brice Noël (bnoel@uliege.be)