Recent Developments in Rapid Climate Change Research (Spring 2003)
GEOL 5700-9 - Geological Topics Seminar
Marchitto's seminar courses (archived)
Most are Geological Sciences courses with titles like "Seminars in Paleoclimate". ÌýAsterisks* denote courses titled "Super-Problems in Quaternary Climate"
- CO2 and Milankovitch Mysteries (Spring 2024)
- Greenhouse Forcings and Feedbacks (Spring 2023)
- Past Climate Extremes (Spring 2022)
- Presenter's Choice (Spring 2021)
- Rapid Warming, Ocean Acidification, and Anoxia: Lessons from the Past (Spring 2019)
- Paleoclimate Landmarks and Heroes (Spring 2017)
- Paleoclimate Contributions to the 5th IPCC Report (Fall 2015)
- Glacial-Interglacial CO2* (Spring 2014)
- Glacial Ocean Circulation* (Spring 2010)
- Glacial-Interglacial CO2* (Fall 2008)
- Warm Periods of the Earth's Past (Spring 2007)
- Rapid Climate Change: Holocene to Anthropocene (Spring 2005)
- Recent Developments in Rapid Climate Change Research (Spring 2003)
This course will survey and critically evaluate recent developments in the analysis of rapid climate changes during the past 150,000 years (covering the last interglacial period to the present). We will examine various modes of natural climate variability on interannual (e.g., El Niño-Southern Oscillation, North Atlantic Oscillation) to millennial (e.g., Dansgaard-Oeschger, Little Ice Age) timescales. Current and emerging theories regarding forcing mechanisms, both internal and external to the Earth system, will be discussed. Present and predicted future climate trends will be considered in the context of this past variability.
The course will be conducted in seminar format with interspersed background lectures by the instructor. Students will be required to make presentations on assigned readings from the current literature. A term project, in the form of an annotated bibliography on a relevant topic of the student's choosing, will also be required.
Instructor:
Office: RL1 152, East Campus
Phone: 2-7739
E-mail: tom.marchitto@colorado.edu
Office hours: tba
Class meetings: M/W 2:30-3:45 (M: RL3 248, W: Benson 240D)
Credit: 3 credit hours
Syllabus
M 1/13: Organization and course outline
W 1/15: Ecological responses to recent climate change
(Tom)
(Tom)
MLK Day
W 1/22: Lecture: Deep ocean circulation: modern and last glaciation
M 1/27: Deep ocean circulation during the LGM
(Trevor)
(Annie)
(Yarrow)
W 1/29: Younger Dryas and last deglaciation
(Greta)
(Ken)
(Angel)
M 2/3: Dansgaard/Oeschger events: North Atlantic and Europe
van Kreveld et al., Potential links between surging ice sheets, circulation changes, and the Dansgaard-Oeschger cycles in the Irminger Sea, 60-18 kyr, Paleoceanography 15: 425-442, 2000. (Jessica)
(Tom)
(Yarrow)
W 2/5: Dansgaard/Oeschger events: tropics/subtropics I
(Trevor)
(Ken)
(Annie)
M 2/10: Dansgaard/Oeschger events: tropics/subtropics II
(Angel)
(Angel)
Kiefer et al., North Pacific response to millennial-scale changes in ocean circulation over the past 60 kyr, Paleoceanography 16: 179-189, 2001.
W 2/12: Antarctic millennial-scale oscillations
(Trevor)
(Trevor)
M 2/17: Dansgaard/Oeschger models
(Yarrow)
Keeling and Stephens, Antarctic sea ice and the control of Pleistocene climate instability, Paleoceanography 16: 112-131, 2001 (see also Correction, 16: 330-334). (Yarrow)
W 2/19: Lecture: El Niño-Southern Oscillation and Pacific Decadal Oscillation
M 2/24: Paleo-ENSO: orbital timescales
(Annie)
(Annie)
W 2/26: Tropical Pacific and paleo-ENSO: deglaciation and D/O events
(Greta)
(Greta)
M 3/3: Paleo-ENSO: Holocene
(see also and ) (Jessica)
(Jessica)
W 3/5: Lecture: Holocene climate history
M 3/10: Holocene millennial-scale variability I
(Angel)
(Angel)
W 3/12: Holocene millennial-scale variability II
(Jessica)
(Jessica)
M 3/17: Little Ice Age and Medieval Warm Period
(Yarrow)
(Yarrow)
W 3/19: Snow day
Spring Break
M 3/31: Mini Lecture: Arctic/North Atlantic Oscillation
(Angel)
W 4/2: Solar variability
(Annie)
(Annie)
M 4/7: (EGS-AGU-EUG)
W 4/9: (EGS-AGU-EUG)
M 4/14: Last interglacial (MIS 5e)
(Jessica)
(Jessica)
W 4/16: Paleo synthesis
M 4/21: Recent climate change I
(Trevor)
(Trevor)
W 4/23: Recent climate change II
(Yarrow)
(Yarrow)
M 4/28: Recent climate change III
(Annie)
(Trevor)
W 4/30: Future climate change
(Angel)
(Angel)
IPCC Projections of Future Climate Change and