CAMBIAMENTO CLIMATICO E PALEOCLIMA
Knowledge of physical geography and geomorphology (with particular attention to the cryosphere) is requested.
Main goals of the course will be the understanding of the main climate types and of the methods of analyses of the climate, paleoclimate and of the impacts of the climate change on cryosphere, hydrosphere and geosphere.
The course is divided in 4 main units:
The climate: definitions, climate elements; monitoring methods.Main climatic regional phenomena (NAO;AAO,AO,ENSO)
The climate of the Past: definitions and descriptions of the main proxy data. Methods of analyses of the proxy data.Pollens, macrorests, fossils, varvae, speleotems, geochemical records in lacustrine sediments and icecores, stabile isotopes etc. Absolute dating: Cosmogenic nuclides, 14C, U-Th.
The Climate Change: definitions and climate data treatment. Causes of the Climate Change: natural; extraterrestrial cyclic (Mylankovich and Lunar periods) and acyclic (meteorites); terrestrial (vulcanic eruptions). Anthropogenic: GHG, other pollutants;surface cover changes.
Impacts of the climate change; 1) on the cryosphere (snow, glaciers, permafrost)as glaciers shrinkage; permafrost degradation and feedbacks; 2) on the hydrosphere (flooding; erosion, sea level); 3) on the geosphere (landslides; desertification, soil erosion).
Moreover during the course the students can do examples of data analyses both of climatic series and impacts series (glaciers tongue variations; active layer thickness etc) and field labs in order to apply some of the methods of monitoring the CC impacts.
Slides and scientific references papers will be available at the beggining of the cours
The Cryosphere 2011, Shawn J. Marshall, ISBN: 9780691145266; 312 pp
Understanding the Earth System. Global Change Science for Application 2012
Edited by: S E. Cornell,I. C. Prentice, J. I. House, C. J. Downy, ISBN:9781107009363, 291 pp.