The Quaternary Period comprises the last 1.5 million years of Earth history, an interval dominated by climate fluctuations and the waxing and waning of large northern hemisphere ice sheets. This course will cover the many types of geologic evidence, from glacial geomorphology to deep-sea geochemistry, that are used to reconstruct ocean and atmospheric conditions (e.g., temperature) through the Quaternary. We will also consider recent non-glacial deposits and landforms, including coastal features, but the general emphasis is on how the landscape has evolved within the context of Late Quaternary climate variability.
Meetings comprise three class hours per week of lecture, discussion and hands-on data analysis.
| Week |
Topic |
| 1 |
Current
issues in climate change (role of paleoclimatology). |
| 2 |
INDICATORS: Glaciations: ice volume extent, temperature |
| 3 |
Glaciations 2: aridity, atmos. composition |
| 4 |
Glaciations 3: ocean chemistry, ocean circulation/ventilation |
| 5 |
CLOCKS: radiocarbon chronology, annual (varves, tree rings) |
| 6 |
Other radiogenic clocks (U-Th, K-Ar) |
| 7 |
Planetary clocks and "sundials", cosmogenic production clocks |
| 8 |
RECORDS: Pre-Quat-- 55 Ma of Polar cooling |
| 9 |
Milankovitch Orbital cycles & the last 160,000 years |
| 10 |
D-O / H-events & last glacial termination (i.e., 20 - 7 ka) |
| 11 |
PHYSICS: Water vapor, Ocean Circulation, Fresh H2O triggers |
| 12 |
PHYSICS: Mode switch mechanisms, External Forcings |
| 13 |
Group Project: Compile/Synthesize a Regional Climate Record |
| 14 |
Presentations: Synthesis of Quat. Climate Records (Workshop) |
| 15 |
Exam week: Paper (your contribution to group project) due |
Class meets in Room 259 PSB, 7 - 9pm Mon., and 10 - 11am Wed.
Grades are based on:
Primary Text: Broecker, 1993, The Glacial World According to Wally. Eldigio Press, Palisades, NY. 318pp, plus appendices. This book can be xeroxed (author has expressly granted permission) so you may purchase a bound xeroxed copy from our Geology Dept. for $25 (this covers our xeroxing and binding cost only).
Your final paper will describe and synthesize the available, published data from your specific type of paleoclimatic proxy record for the region and time interval that we choose to work on as a class project. We'll discuss and choose the region/time for which we'll reconstruct climate later in semester*, and you’ll choose a particular type of proxy data once you have a feel for this sort of thing.
NOTE: The paper must include at least two figures created by you to accompany it (one of which must be a map); additional figures from other sources are acceptable, so long as they are properly referenced). You must construct figures that compile, correlate and illustrate data from at least 3 published sources. If possible, acquire the actual paleoclimate data from National Geophysical Data Center Paleodata site (www.ngdc.noaa.gov) and make fresh plots of your own for use in your paper.
* the final presentations will be organized and presented during the final week of classes as if we’re holding a topically focused workshop aimed at reconstructing the paleoclimate for a particular region over a particular time interval (e.g., climate of central Australia from 60 – 20 kyrs BP).
Other selected readings will come from journals, including the following: Science, Nature, Paleoceanography, Earth & Planetary Science Letters, Geology (all of which are in Collier, and most of which are online. Each week, the potential outside reading topics for the following week will be discussed and we’ll decided upon them as a group (but I have veto / redirect power). The preferred reading will be announced by email, along with questions for consideration while reading. Any materials not available on-line will be xeroxed (in accord with Fair Use).
We'll also read chapter excerpts from several books (including Bradley,1999, Paleoclimatology, Peixoto and Oort, 1992, Physics of Climate, Schlesinger, 1997, Biogeochemistry, and Kunzig, 2000 Mapping the Deep). These will be on reserve and selected portions will be xeroxed (in accord with Fair Use).