PALEOCLIMATE RECONSTRUCTIONS

Degree course: 
Corso di Second cycle degree in ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
Academic year when starting the degree: 
2023/2024
Year: 
2
Academic year in which the course will be held: 
2024/2025
Course type: 
Compulsory subjects, characteristic of the class
Credits: 
6
Period: 
First Semester
Standard lectures hours: 
64
Detail of lecture’s hours: 
Lesson (32 hours), Exercise (16 hours), Laboratory (16 hours)
Requirements: 

basic knowledge of geomorphology, climatology and botany

Final Examination: 
Orale

The final test will be oral based on the discussion of a paperwork illustrating the work in the field excursion and the laboratory analyses and at least 1 question for each module,

Assessment: 
Voto Finale

THe course will present the different techniques to reconstruct the paleoclimate, in particular of the Holocene and Pleistocene. EXPECTED RESULTS
The student will achieve the capacity of select the best tecniques of paleoclimate reconstruction and the best site considering the examining period

The course will be composed by 3 main units:
1) Choice of the study site, geological and isotopical tecniques to recosntruct the paleoclimate (12 hours);
2) in the hours dedicated to paleolimnological reconstruction, the use of diatoms and other fossils present in lake sediments will be analyzed in detail. (12 hours)
3) Paleoclimatic reconstructions through pollen analyses (tassonomy, data analyses and interpretation) 12 hours

32 hours of lectures on the three main units with presentation of slides; 16 hours of laboratory analyses to recognize diatoms, pollens and other macrorests and to practize with the sampling tecniques of the cores. 14 hours of field escursions to sample cores and to chose the sites ( 2 daily excursions may be also virtual)

The course will be organized with three professors:
Module 1: mauro.guglielmin@uninsubria.it
module 2: paleolimnology
Roberta.bettinetti@uninsubria.it
module 3: Contract Prof to be defined