THE CLIMATE OF THE PAST

The teaching course is a 'related' teaching of the CdS in Environmental Science included in the curriculum named Global Environmental Change and allows the student to get the knowledge of the climatic conditions of the past at different spatial and temporal scales. The teaching course aims to provide the tools for evaluating the interactions between the different environmental spheres and the evolution of the climate system form the origin of Earth. The knowledge provided allow the student to elaborate and couple the main factors that can affect the past climate system, allowing the student to individuate, assess and face with a major awareness the climate changes issues at global scale.

Knowledge and comprehension
1. knowledge of the interaction mechanism in terms of mass transport and energy balance between the different environmental spheres (atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, cryosphere and litosphere)
2. knowledge of the main methods for the climate reconstructions with a particular focus on the use of proxies and dating methods
3. knowledge and comprehension of the reconstruction from climatic records based on the scientific method

Ability to apply knowledge and comprehension
1. Know how to relate the evolution of the climate system as a function of the internal and external forcing, finding the factors that operate to modify the climatic and environmental system
2. Know to individualize, based on the scientific method, the pros and cons of the different strategies used for reconstructing the climate of the past.
3. Explain properly and critically the main hypothesis formulate in paleoclimatology.

It is fundamental to have obtained the training objective pointed out in General and Inorganic Chemistry, Maths, Physics and Geochemistry.

L1. Introduction to the teaching course. The Anthropocene
L2. Climate System Today. Energy Balance
L3. Cliamte system today. Earth's sphere. Atmosphere, Hydrosphere, Cryosphere, Litosphere, Biosphere.
L4. Dating methods (radiocarbon Ar/Ar, U-series, dendrochronology, aminoacids racemization)
L5. Isotopic fractionation and climate proxies (stability, transport and sources)
L6. Archives: Ice cores, dating and proxies
L7. Archives: Marine Sediments, dating and proxies
L8. The Milankivitch theory
L9. Archives: Lacustrine sediments, dating and proxies
L10. Archives: Corals, tree-rings, loess, speleothems
L11. The Faint Young Sun Paradox
L12. Tectonic scale climate changes. BLAG hypothesis, polar position hypothesis, CO2 changes at tectonic scale.
L13. The monsoon cycles and solar radiation
L14. Millenial scale climate changes, From Last Glacial Maximum to the Holocene, The CLIMAP project. The last 2k
L15. Climate changes and human evolution.

William F. Ruddiman. Earth’s Climate: Past and Future 2nd Ed. W.H. Freeman and Company, New York. 2008.

Raymond S. Bradley. Paleoclimatology. Reconstructing the Climates of the Quaternary. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/book/9780123869135

scientific papers provided by the professor

The assessment of learning is carried out through an oral test. The student is asked to present, using a .ppt presentation and in a time between 20 and 30 minutes, the main issues and the factors that affected the climate system of the past, focussing on a specific topic chosen by the student. The evaluation is based on the following parameters: the topic chosen by the student; the use of a proper language; the ability of evaluate critically the cause-effect relationship between the forcing and the climate changes.

The teaching course is presented by lectures. Moreover, the student are asked to write papers and comments that are anonimously shared with the class throughout a blog managed by the teacher. Every student has the possibility to comment anonimously the papers of the class. This activity has a twofold purpose: (i) increase the ability of communication of the students (ii) stimulate the critical evaluation of a paper.

English

Attending the lectures is not mandatory and does not affect the final evaluation. Nevertheless, the attendance is warmly suggested.

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