Climate Change and Human Activities-E2 :Introduction to Humanosphere
| Numbering Code | U-LAS61 10021 LE14 | Year/Term | 2022 ・ First semester | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Credits | 2 | Course Type | Lecture | |
| Target Year | Mainly 1st & 2nd year students | Target Student | For all majors | |
| Language | English | Day/Period | Fri.4 | |
| Instructor name | Luce，Hubert (Research Institute for Sustainable Humanosphere Professor) | |||
| Outline and Purpose of the Course | The knowledge of the past climates on the Earth and the understanding of the mechanisms responsible for their variations are crucial for a better insight of the current global warming. The purpose of this lecture is thus to give students the necessary background for discussing wisely (a) the natural and anthropogenic causes of the current climate change, and (b) the possible societal and environmental impacts of a climate change based on historical examples. The course mainly describes: (1) the known past climates on Earth, (2) the scientific methods used for identifying the past climates and for monitoring the current climate, (3) the natural mechanisms responsible for climate changes, (4) a historical example of climate change impacts on human societies: The Little Ice Age, (5) the growing evidence of anthropogenic effects on the current climate. | |||
| Course Goals | In this lecture, the students will understand the natural and anthropogenic causes of the present climate change. They will get some tools for appreciating possible impacts of the present climate change on human societies from the analysis of historical and recent events of climate variations. This lecture tackles topics of concern of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of the United Nations (SDG13: climate action). | |||
| Schedule and Contents |
Weeks 1-7 1) The climate. 1.a The primitive Earth’s atmosphere and its evolution until today. - From the formation of the Earth to the formation of the oceans, and the successive biogeochemical processes leading to development of life over land. - The uniqueness of the Earth in the solar system: comparisons with the other telluric planets (Mercury, Venus, Mars –and the Moon) and the reasons of the differences. 1.b The present structure of the Earth’s atmosphere and climate. 1.c The past climates - How do we know? (data sources in ice, sediments, …) - Climates over geological eras and the last 10 000 years. - The natural causes of the climate changes and time scales. Variations of: (i) the solar constant, (ii) the Earth’s orbit around the sun and of the orientation of its rotation axis, (iii) albedo, (iv) greenhouse effect gas Weeks 8-10 2) Societal impacts due to a climate change: Example of the Little Ice Age (~1300-1850) 2.a Description of the phenomenon. 2.b The possible (natural) causes (using lessons from 3c.) 2.c The collapse of the Native American population with the arrival of European settlers: the first human impact on climate? 2.d Impacts on economy and human cultures and societies in Europe, America and Japan: starvations and revolutions. 2.e Other examples of societal and economic impacts due to natural climate variations (e.g. the Dust Bowl in USA (~1930)) Weeks 11-12 3) The climate change since the industrial era (past ~150 years) 3.a How do we know? (observation methods) 3.b Indicators of the climate change: observation records, changes in physical and biological systems (from melting glaciers to the behavior of migratory birds) 3.c Growing evidence of the human impacts on the climate change Weeks 13-14 4) What lessons from the past about the possible societal impacts of the climate changes due to the global warming? what can we fear and what solutions? Week 15 Final examination Week 16 5) Summary, conclusions and feedback |
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| Evaluation Methods and Policy |
Evaluation will be: Active participation in class: 20 pts Assignments/projects at home: 40 pts Final examination: 40 pts |
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| Course Requirements | This lecture only requires scientific backgrounds in natural sciences of high school levels | |||
| Study outside of Class (preparation and review) |
Course materials are made available before class. Students are encouraged to study materials before and after each class for assimilating technical or uncommon words. Depending on the topic, the study of the lecture and the preparation of the report for the evaluation may take a few hours a week. |
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| Textbooks | Textbooks/References | There is no specific textbook for this course. Its content will be based on multiple references (books, websites) that will be mentioned during the course. | ||
