Courses taught in the 2007/2008 year
These are in the Arctic Studies Program of the University of LaplandKASP6001 Global Change and the Arctic 2 ECTS cr.
Aim: The aim of the course is to deepen students' understanding of global change from the multidisciplinary perspective and to examine its potential consequences for northern ecosystems and societies.
Contents: The course will have alternative focuses on global change in the Arctic according to available lecturers, and may include such themes as global change and northern forests, glaciers and climate, or the global change debate - science and politics from a northern perspective.
Methods: Lectures (12 h) and group work.
Requirements: Active participation in lectures and a group work.
Literature: To be announced later.
Evaluation: Grades 1-5/fail
Timing: To be announced later.
Tutors: Professors Bruce Forbes, PhD, and John Moore, PhD, Arctic Centre
Language of instruction: English
This course deals with media and public perceptions of climate change
KASP6002 Climate Change: Synthesis and Mechanisms 2 ECTS cr.
Aim: The aim of the course is to present the main climate change actors. The changes produced by these elements and the complex, essentially non-linear nature of the climate system.
Contents: The course will provide a short introduction to atmospheric composition, and feedbacks with the hydrosphere, cryosphere and biosphere, with the focus on scales of change and response times. Particular emphasis is placed on impact of volcanic eruptions, the Arctic Oscillation and Dansgaard-Oeschger cycles representing the range of scales from yearly to decadal to millennia. Simple computer modelling e.g., the water and carbon cycles, planetary greenhouses; and principles of extraction of climate signals from observed data sets are discussed. Modelling capabilities and limitations are exemplified by Anthropogenic change (the greenhouse effect, and ozone depletion).
Methods: Lectures (12 h), and a written assignment.
Requirements: Active participation in lectures and case studies and successful completion of a written assignment.
Literature: To be announced later.
Evaluation: Grades 1-5/fail
Timing: To be announced later.
Tutor: Professor John Moore, PhD, Arctic Centre
Language of instruction: English
This course deals with mechanisms of climate highlighting the major atmospheric circulation patterns and important climate forcing factors
KASP1201 Introduction to the Physical Features and Processes of the Arctic 2 ECTS cr.
Aim: The aim of the course is to familiarise students with Arctic terrestrial and marine environments and their distribution as well as past and present changes of climate.
Contents: Introduction to Arctic terrestrial environment and their distribution, with emphasis on soil processes and peatlands; climate and climatic systems, climate history of the Earth and the Arctic; climatic variability on Earth over the last 2 million years; Arctic marine environment: processes, global feedbacks and productivity.
Methods: Lectures (12 h) and seminar.
Requirements: Active participation in lectures and a seminar.
Literature: To be announced later.
Evaluation: Grades 1-5/fail
Timing: To be announced later.
The aim of the course is to familiarise the students with Arctic terrestrial and marine environments, and to give an overview of the special physical features and processes of the Arctic regions and of their global significance.
EU Snow and Ice Practical Training Courses
The final course in the GlacioEuroLab series has now finished
GlacioEuroLab5 - Arctic Glaciology, Tarfala, March 27-April 3 2003
Future course details will be available here if and when funded
GlacioEuroLab4 - Alpine Glaciers, Obergurgl, August 21-28 2002
GlacioEuroLab3 March 1-8 2002 Snow in North European Environment. Schedule and Exam
Course
Reports from the GlacioEuroLab 2 April 1-8 2001 are available here
data
and images are located here
Future course details will be available here if and when funded
GlacioEuroLab4 - Alpine Glaciers, Obergurgl, August 21-28 2002
GlacioEuroLab3 March 1-8 2002 Snow in North European Environment. Schedule and Exam
Course
Reports from the GlacioEuroLab 2 April 1-8 2001 are available here
data and images are located here
Course Reports from the GlacioEuroLab 1 (September 2000) are available here.
Course Photos and Data from the GlacioEuroLab 1 (September 2000) are available here.
One important aspect of my work in recent years has been a series of
5 EU training courses funded under the TMR
program of the Fourth Framework. That ended in 1999, and
a report is presented here with links a to a few of the student project
reports carried out on the various courses.