| Unit name | Past and Future Climate Simulation |
|---|---|
| Unit code | GEOGM1403 |
| Credit points | 10 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Professor. Dan Lunt |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
N/A |
| Co-requisites |
Other mandatory units on programme |
| School/department | School of Geographical Sciences |
| Faculty | Faculty of Science |
This unit will introduce complex climate models, such as General Circulation Models, as used extensively in the Intergovermental panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports. It will trace their development and highlight advances and cutting-edge topics, as well as their weaknesses and limitations. Studies which have used these models to investigate major transitions in Earth history (e.g. initiation of Northern Hemisphere glaciation, Pliocene warmth, Paleocene-Eocene Boundary) will be discussed. State of the art future climate predictions will also be presented. The students will gain a real appreciation of the evaluation and use of GCMs through hands-on practicals.
Describe the fundamental basis of GCMs; Discuss the limitations of GCM simulations and their interpretation; Critically assess previous studies which have used GCMs to understand past climates; Evaluate predications of future climate; Run a simple GCM experiment.
Seminars and practicals
The unit is assessed by coursework consisting of a write-up of the GCM experiments, in the style of a Climate of the Past paper.
McGuffie K and Henderson-Sellers A. (2005). A Climate Modelling Primer. 3rd Ed. Wiley Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2007, Solomon, S., D. Qin, M. Manning, Z. Chaen, M. Marquis, K.B. Averyt, M. Tignor and H.L. Miller (eds.) Ruddiman W.F (2001). Earth’s climate: past and future. W.H. Freeman and Company
