This course will give you a valuable understanding of the science behind climate change. Climate is the long-term average of weather experienced at a particular site over tens, hundreds, thousands or millions of years. Climate is fundamentally controlled by the balance of energy received and given back by the planet. We will start by taking a quantitative look at Earth’s climate system based on the first principles of the Earth’s energy balance. Energy to Earth is provided from the sun, but how constant is this energy flux and what happens to this energy once it reaches the planet? We will discuss the link between this energy balance and atmospheric temperature, and how this feeds into the conditions we experience at the Earth’s surface. We will look at different climatic drivers such as carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, what timescales these drivers operate over and the feedback loops in place to control these. How has human industrial and agricultural activity affected the energy balance, how can the natural system respond, and over what timescales might balance be restored?
In the second part of the course we will look at how we use geochemical proxies to learn about climate in the past. There is a unique record of temperature and atmospheric changes hidden in the polar icecaps, whilst the sediments of the deep sea record climate back through millions of years. Reading these longer-term records we will gain an insight into how the tiniest changes to our planetary orbit can have a profound effect on our energy budget. We will look at how to estimate atmospheric carbon dioxide levels over the past 500 million years and how this links to the evolution of the biosphere.
Interactive lectures and practical exercises will introduce the concepts, ending hopefully with a visit to the Godwin Climate Lab at the University of Cambridge (current restrictions at the time allowing).
Learning outcomes
The learning outcomes for this course are:
- To gain a more quantitative understanding of climate change, the drivers behind it and the feedback loops that control it
- To be able to understand the current climate changes within a long term context
- To better understand the climatic evolution of our planet over the last 500 million years
Classes
1. Lecture and practical exercise: Earth’s Energy balance.
Looking at solar energy in from the sun, vs energy loss from the planet.
2. Lecture and discussion: Forcings and feedbacks.
Timescales for drivers and positive and negative feedback loops
3. Lecture: Climate Proxies and the long-term climate record
The records from ice and seafloor sediments, orbital forcing and tipping points.
4. Lecture: reading long term record
Icehouse and Greenhouse Worlds
5. Visit:
The Godwin Laboratory, or an exercise to demonstrate practical climate science techniques
Required reading
Archer, D., 2011. Global Warming: Understanding the Forecast (2nd edition). Wiley. 228 pages.
Typical week: Monday to Friday
For each week of study you select a morning (Am) and an afternoon (Pm) course, each course has five sessions, one each day Monday to Friday. The maximum class size is 25 students. Your weekly courses are complemented by a series of two daily plenary lectures, exploring new ideas in a wide range of disciplines. To add to the learning experience, we are also planning additional evening talks and events.
| c.8.00am-9.00am |
Breakfast in College (for residents) |
| 9.00am-10.30am |
Am Course |
| 11.15am-12.30pm |
Plenary Lecture |
| 12.30pm-1.45pm |
Lunch |
| 1.45pm-3.15pm |
Pm Course |
| 4.00pm-5.15pm |
Plenary Lecture |
| c.6.00/6.15pm-7.15/7.30pm |
Dinner in College (for residents) |
| c.7.30pm onwards |
Evening talk/event |
Evaluation and Academic Credit
If you are seeking to enhance your own study experience, or earn academic credit from your Cambridge Summer Programme studies at your home institution, you can submit written work for assessment for one or more of your courses.
Essay questions are set and assessed against the University of Cambridge standard by your Course Director, a list of essay questions can be found in the Course Materials. Essays are submitted two weeks after the end of each course, so those studying for multiple weeks need to plan their time accordingly. There is an evaluation fee of £65 per essay.
For more information about writing essays see Evaluation and Academic Credit.
Certificate of attendance
A certificate of attendance will be sent to you electronically within a week of your courses finishing.
