GEOL 3503
Climate Change Through Time
(3 Credits) 3 Lecture, Blended, Online hours This course investigates major climate change events through Earth history, from the origin of the atmosphere to the present, as well as the data sources that enable geoscientists to recognize them. Students study various proxies used to understand past climates, including isotopes and other geo-chemical data, carbon-rich sedimentary deposits, sea-level and lake-level records, tree rings, fossil leaves, fossil assemblages, paleo-environments, and ice cores. Potential causes of climate change on geological time scales are considered, such as astronomical cycles, volcanism, meteorite impacts, ocean and atmosphere chemistry and currents, and paleogeography and tectonics, with an application to understanding “icehouse” and “greenhouse” conditions as well as current and future climate processes.