Unit name | Tracing and Observing the Earth System (10cps) |
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Unit code | EASCM0039 |
Credit points | 10 |
Level of study | M/7 |
Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1A (weeks 1 - 6) |
Unit director | Professor. Robinson |
Open unit status | Not open |
Pre-requisites |
N/A |
Co-requisites |
N/A |
School/department | School of Earth Sciences |
Faculty | Faculty of Science |
This unit will be presented in 20 lectures by lecturers from three Schools and will cover the major observational and analytical approaches used to trace earth and environmental processes, thereby underpinning our understanding of the Earth System. These include the use of isotopic and chemical tracers that track movement of energy and mass around the major reservoirs of the surface Earth (biosphere, lithosphere, geosphere) and the transformations of chemical state that govern the Earth’s environment. We will seek to understand the major controls on these tracers on the modern Earth with a view to using them to understand the past, particularly, but not limited to Pleistocene, Holocene and Anthropocene timescales. We will also discuss the major changes that the ocean-atmosphere-climate system has undergone over Earth history and the context that provides for understanding the modern climate system.
On successful completion of the unit you will be able to:
Lectures/Seminars
This unit will be assessed through a combination of a 3-hour exam in January (90%) and through participation in literature based discussion sessions (10%). Assessment will be completed in accordance with the University Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes, available online at http://www.bristol.ac.uk/esu/assessment/codeonline.html