This topic covers the definitions of climate, climate variability and climate change within geological, historical, and future time frames. It introduces students to climatic classifications, the composition and structure of the atmosphere, radiation balances and the Greenhouse effect, surface heat fluxes, the general circulation of the atmosphere, the hydrological cycle, carbon cycles, the role of the ocean in the climate system, inter-annual climate variability (e.g. El Nino events), extreme events, sea level rise, climate feedback mechanisms, climate proxies and dating, climate models and climate projections for the future.
This topic aims to develop:
Timetable details for 2021 are no longer published.