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Global Climate Change in Context (GEOG30023)
Undergraduate level 3Points: 12.5Off Campus
From 2023 most subjects will be taught on campus only with flexible options limited to a select number of postgraduate programs and individual subjects.
To learn more, visit COVID-19 course and subject delivery.
About this subject
- Overview
- Eligibility and requirements
- Assessment
- Dates and times
- Further information
- Timetable(opens in new window)
Contact information
Overview
Availability(Quotas apply) | November - Off Campus |
---|---|
Fees | Look up fees |
This subject examines the nature and causes of past changes in Earth’s climate during the Quaternary Period (the last 2.7 million years), with a particular emphasis on the last glacial-interglacial cycle. It aims to place modern climate and the projections of future global warming into a longer-term perspective, and will allow students to understand why human interference in the climate system may be a legitimate cause for concern. Emphasis is placed on how Earth materials (ice, rocks, sediments, biological materials) record past climate changes, the techniques used to extract this ‘palaeoenvironmental information’, and the principles that govern how this information is interpreted.
A series of lectures covering the theoretical elements of the subject will immediately precede 10 days of field study (in either Tasmania, mainland SE Australia or New Zealand). The field component focuses on how particular environments (e.g. coastal, lake, fluvial, cave, and glacial) preserve evidence of past climate change. Additional lectures and practicals following completion of the field work will focus on the types of analytical methods employed in this field, the nature of the data that are produced and how these are processed and interpreted. By the end of the subject, students will not only appreciate the dynamics of Earth’s past climate and the mechanisms that have forced it, but also the way in which we practice this important and growing field of study.
Note this subject may be taken as the Capstone subject in the Geography major of the BSc. All students, whether they are capstone students or not, will be required to complete online introductory materials that are common across all field classes, and will be invited to a discussion session together at the end of their Capstone study and experience.
Intended learning outcomes
At the completion of this subject, students will have achieved the following objectives:
- An understanding of the nature of past climate changes, i.e. the frequency, magnitude and geographic extent;
- An understanding of the range of driving mechanisms of past climate changes, particularly how they vary according to the time scales considered;
- An understanding of how specific environments and materials preserve evidence of past climate changes;
- An understanding of the advantages and weaknesses of the various ‘palaeoclimate archives’;
- Hands-on field experience in the identification, sampling and analysis of a range of important palaeoclimate archives;
- Experience in organising, analysing and interpreting palaeoclimate data;
- Familiarity with the key literature and current debates on past climates; and
- An understanding of how the current global warming debate fits into the longer-term perspective.
Generic skills
- Ability to conduct library searches to source the latest relevant literature on key topic areas.
- Ability to comprehend some of the current debates in the field.
- Software skills for data handling and graphing, such as Excel.
- Basic introduction to state-of-the-art laboratory analytical methods (e.g. mass spectrometry, microsampling).
- Field skills, especially an ability to recognise landforms and sediments capable of preserving records of environmental change.
- Data interpretation skills, informed by the relevant literature.
- Group field and research activities.
Last updated: 31 January 2024
Eligibility and requirements
Prerequisites
One of
Code | Name | Teaching period | Credit Points |
---|---|---|---|
ERTH20001 | Dangerous Earth | Semester 2 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville) |
12.5 |
GEOG20002 | Landscapes and Environmental Change | Semester 1 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville) |
12.5 |
GEOG20009 | Landscapes and Diversity | No longer available |
OR
Approval from the subject coordinator.
Corequisites
None
Non-allowed subjects
None
Recommended background knowledge
Some background in Physical Geography and/or Earth Sciences is required. Interested students who are unsure if they possess sufficient academic background are welcome to contact the coordinator for advice: rnd@unimelb.edu.au
Inherent requirements (core participation requirements)
The University of Melbourne is committed to providing students with reasonable adjustments to assessment and participation under the Disability Standards for Education (2005), and the Assessment and Results Policy (MPF1326). Students are expected to meet the core participation requirements for their course. These can be viewed under Entry and Participation Requirements for the course outlines in the Handbook.
Further details on how to seek academic adjustments can be found on the Student Equity and Disability Support website: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/student-equity/home
Last updated: 31 January 2024
Assessment
Description | Timing | Percentage |
---|---|---|
Individual Field Report, due mid first semester
| 2 Weeks after the end of teaching | 50% |
Computer based practicals, due after completion of each session
| During the teaching period | 20% |
Research Assignment, due before field trip
| During the teaching period | 30% |
Hurdle requirement: Students must complete, or have previously completed, the online Geography learning module, in order to successfully complete this subject. | N/A |
Last updated: 31 January 2024
Quotas apply to this subject
Dates & times
- November - Off Campus
Mode of delivery Off Campus Contact hours one 10-day field trip, 24-hours of lectures weeks (including two days of pre-field trip lectures) & 8-hours of practicals during week after end of fieldwork Total time commitment 170 hours Teaching period 21 November 2022 to 9 December 2022 Last self-enrol date 29 July 2022 Census date 2 December 2022 Last date to withdraw without fail 9 December 2022 Assessment period ends 23 December 2022
Time commitment details
170 hours
Additional delivery details
An enrolment quota of 25 students (in undergraduate and post-graduate offering) applies to this subject. For detailed information on the quota subject application process, enrolment deadlines and selection preferences, refer to the Faculty of Science website: https://science.unimelb.edu.au/students/plan-your-study/quota-subjects
This subject requires all students to actively and safely participate in laboratory and field activities. Students undertake field trip experiences that will require them to be physically capable of undertaking outdoor field work in remote locations.
Students must complete, or have previously completed, the online Geography learning module.
This subject includes a field trip. Students should consult the School of Geography, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences web site for field trip dates, charges for excursions, accommodation and food, and other information including safety and behaviour requirements: https://sgeas.unimelb.edu.au/study/field-trips
Last updated: 31 January 2024
Further information
- Texts
Prescribed texts
William Ruddiman 2nd Ed (2008) Earth’s Climate: past and future. WH Freeman, New York.
Recommended texts and other resources
Michael Bender (2013) Paleoclimate, Princeton University Press; Thomas Cronin (2010) Paleoclimates: understanding climate change past and present, Columbia University Press.
- Incidental costs
The estimated cost of the field trip is in the vicinity of $900.
- Related Handbook entries
This subject contributes to the following:
Type Name Informal specialisation Science Discipline subjects - new generation B-SCI Informal specialisation Physical Geography Major Geography Major Geography Informal specialisation Integrated Geography Informal specialisation Integrated Geography Informal specialisation Physical Geography Major Environmental Geography Informal specialisation Environments Discipline subjects Major Integrated Geography Major Physical Geography - Available through the Community Access Program
About the Community Access Program (CAP)
This subject is available through the Community Access Program (also called Single Subject Studies) which allows you to enrol in single subjects offered by the University of Melbourne, without the commitment required to complete a whole degree.
Entry requirements including prerequisites may apply. Please refer to the CAP applications page for further information.
Additional information for this subject
Quota limit applied - UoM students will be given preference over CAP applicants
- Available to Study Abroad and/or Study Exchange Students
This subject is available to students studying at the University from eligible overseas institutions on exchange and study abroad. Students are required to satisfy any listed requirements, such as pre- and co-requisites, for enrolment in the subject.
Last updated: 31 January 2024