This course has the following aims:
1) To introduce students to the evidence for and mechanisms of ancient* climate change – what the climate change is and how the climate change is manifested (using case studies of key past events), what physical mechanisms are driving change (key factors), which palaeoclimate proxies can be used to determine nature and extent of change and how our understanding of palaeoclimate change might inform our understanding of expected future climate change.

2) To evaluate methods of research in a multi-disciplinary topic, build upon existing report writing skills, and understand selected examples of practical approaches to the study of palaeoclimate change.

*ancient – in this context means all of deep time and up to but not including the last 100 years.
An introduction to climates is included at the start of the course.

The course content will be derived mostly from active research projects in the Earth Sciences Department.

Reference lists will be provided for each individual lecture.