Syllabus for Climate and Landscape

Learning outcomes

After completion of the course the student will have

• an overview and understanding of regional climate across the globe
• a deeper understanding of the interactions between climate and landscape dynamics in the context of global environmental change
• basic knowledge of El Nino dynamics, teleconnections and impacts; land use and climate in the tropics: global change interactions; warming of permafrost in polar-regions: landscape responses and couplings to global climate; earth system dynamics and monsoonal changes in Asia
• knowledge of the principles of energy exchange between the ground surface and the atmosphere at the local scale, based on both theory and own field measurements.

Content

Regional climate systems across the globe. Regional climate couplings to landscape dynamics and human activity. The dynamic landscape-climate system and global change. Local scale surface-atmosphere energy exchange.

Instruction

Lectures, seminars, fieldwork and independent study. Critical analysis and review of published literature, written and oral reporting of results from other studies and own data.

Assessment

Examination at the end of the course. A portion of the assessment is also in the form of essay work and seminar presentations. Grading on the scale 3, 4 or 5 is given provided all exercise and seminars are completed and deemed approved. A student who fails the examination can be examined again either at the beginning of the autumn or the spring term.

Written examination corresponds to 6 ECTS and compulsory events 4 ECTS.