Warm Periods of the Earth's Past (Spring 2007)
GEOL 5700-12 - Seminar in Paleoclimate
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)
The Earth has experienced many past intervals of global warmth, in the absence of anthropogenic forcing. Notable examples during the Cenozoic include the Late Paleocene Thermal Maximum, the Early Eocene Climatic Optimum, the Mid-Miocene Climatic Optimum, the last interglacial period (MIS 5e), and the Holocene Hypsithermal. An improved understanding of current global warming may be gained by examining this natural variability.
The course will be conducted in seminar (group discussion) format with interspersed background lectures by the instructor. Students will be required to make presentations on assigned readings from the current research literature. A term project, in the form of an annotated bibliography on a relevant topic of the student’s choosing, will also be required.
(due May 7)
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Meets: Tuesdays and Thursdays 9:30-10:45, Benson Earth Sciences 340E
Professor:, tom.marchitto@colorado.edu
Office Hours: Tuesdays 10:50-11:30 in Benson 435, or by appointment in 152
Grading: 40% Presentations, 30% Participation, 30% Project
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Pertinent questions to be addressed
What caused past global warmth?
What forcings were important besides CO2?
Did all warm periods have high CO2? (and were all high-CO2 periods warm?)
Are there any good natural analogues for the anthropogenic climate "experiment"?
How did past warm climates differ from today, and why? Some predictions for future climate that may have examples in the past:
Higher sea level?
Less sea ice?
Less permafrost?
Altered hydrologic cycle?
Altered El Nino characteristics?
Increased storminess?
Weaker/different deep ocean circulation?
Decreased marine carbonate saturation?
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Class schedule (subject to change)
T 1/16: Introduction and class overview
Th 1/18:
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Medieval Warm Period
T 1/23: Global temperatures over the past millennium (Ursula)
Th 1/25: Atmospheric circulation during the MWP (Laura)
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Early Holocene Optimum
T 1/30: Arctic temperatures (Corey)
Th 2/1: Indian monsoon (Sarah)
T 2/6: African Humid Period (Steve)
Th 2/8:
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Last Interglacial Period (MIS 5e)
T 2/13: Arctic warmth (Benet)
Th 2/15: Ice sheets (Jason)
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Marine Isotope Stage 11
T 2/20: Analog orbital forcing (Alex)
Th 2/22: No Class
Pliocene
T 2/27: ENSO (Laura)
Th 3/1:
T 3/6: African vegetation (Sarah)
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Miocene Climatic Optimum
Th 3/8: Southern Ocean temperatures (Corey)
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Early Eocene Climatic Optimum
T 3/13: Eocene CO2 and Arctic salinity (Alex)
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Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM)
Th 3/15: PETM temperatures (Jason)
T 3/20: PETM hydrologic cycle (Ursula)
Th 3/22: PETM carbon cycle (Alex)
T 3/27, Th 3/29: Spring Break
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Paleocene
T 4/3: Vegetation (Benet)
Th 4/5: Insects and plants (Steve)
T 4/10, Th 4/12, T 4/17: No Class
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Cretaceous
Th 4/19: Atmospheric CO2 (Laura)
T 4/24: Marine temperatures (Sarah)
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Triassic
Th 4/26: Carbon cycle (Corey)
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Pre-Cambrian
T 5/1: Atmosphere (Benet)
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Synopsis
Th 5/3: (Tom)