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| Unit name |
Tracing and Observing the Earth System (10cps) |
| Unit code |
EASCM0039 |
| Credit points |
10 |
| Level of study |
M/7
|
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1A (weeks 1 - 6)
|
| Unit director |
Professor. Robinson |
| Open unit status |
Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
N/A
|
| Co-requisites |
N/A
|
| School/department |
School of Earth Sciences |
| Faculty |
Faculty of Science |
Description including Unit Aims
This unit will be presented in 20 lectures by lecturers from three Schools and will cover the major observational and analytical approaches used to trace earth and environmental processes, thereby underpinning our understanding of the Earth System. These include the use of isotopic and chemical tracers that track movement of energy and mass around the major reservoirs of the surface Earth (biosphere, lithosphere, geosphere) and the transformations of chemical state that govern the Earth’s environment. We will seek to understand the major controls on these tracers on the modern Earth with a view to using them to understand the past, particularly, but not limited to Pleistocene, Holocene and Anthropocene timescales. We will also discuss the major changes that the ocean-atmosphere-climate system has undergone over Earth history and the context that provides for understanding the modern climate system.
Intended Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the unit you will be able to:
- outline the basic logic behind the use of a range of isotopic and chemical tracers of Earth System processes;
- quantitatively analyse data on a range of chemical and isotopic tracers, including mass balance calculations, simple box models etc;
- understand the application of these tracers to the study of the present and past Earth system;
- outline the basic strategies for the remote observation of the Earth and to choose between different methods for different applications;
- synthesise data from a range of scientific sources (especially journal articles) into a quantitative understanding and presentation of the operation of key tracers of the Earth system.
Teaching Information
Lectures/Seminars
Assessment Information
This unit will be assessed through a 3-hour exam in January. Assessment will be based on faculty criteria.
Reading and References
- Seinfeld, J.H. and Pandis, S.N. (2006) Atmospheric Physics and Chemistry, 2nd edition, John Wiley and Sons, 1203pp.
- Sarmiento, J.L. and Gruber, N. (2006) Ocean biogeochemical dynamics, Princeton University Press, 526pp.
- Zeebe, R.E. and Wolf-Gladrow, D. (2001) CO2 in seawater: equilibrium, kinetics, isotopes, Elsevier Oceanography Series 65, Amsterdam, 346pp.
- Ruddiman, W.F. (2000) Earth’s climate: past, present and future, W.H. Freeman, New York, 465pp.
- Keeling, R.K. (2006) The Atmosphere, Treatise on Geochemistry, vol. 4, Elsevier, 364pp.
- Killops S. and Killops V. (2005) Organic Geochemistry 2nd Ed., Blackwell Publishing, 393pp.
- Talley, Pickard, Emery and Swift, Descriptive Physical Oceanography An introduction (sixth Edition) (2011) Elsevier Ltd.
- Elderfield, H. (ed.) (2003) The oceans and marine geochemistry, Treatise on Geochemistry, volume 6 (series editors Holland, H.D. and Turekian, K.K.), Elsevier, Amsterdam.
