G 459 Quaternary Climate

Study of the causes and consequences of climate change through the Quaternary. Topics include: an overview of climate system dynamics; the geologic record of Quaternary climate and its profound glacial to interglacial cycles; the use of that record to develop conceptual models of paleoclimate interactions among land, ocean, atmosphere, and biosphere; and geologic changes during the Cenozoic (the last 65 million years) that set the stage for the Quaternary. Includes computer laboratory exercises using paleoclimate data.