Courses / Module

Welcome to the Climate Change Module! Climate has long had a significant influence on people, but the release of heat-trapping gasses into the atmosphere due to burning of fossil fuels now influences climate to such an extent that human-induced climate change is one of the most serious environmental issues facing humankind in the twenty-first century. GY162 provides students a clear and concise introduction to Physical Geography, focusing on the climate system. This is done using both global and local perspectives with no prior knowledge of Physical Geography required. The course consists of lectures, more hands-on key concepts classes, and small group tutorials. We start by looking at the basic atmospheric and oceanic processes that lead to the weather and climate we experience. The module then tackles Climate Change using the mantra: ‘simple, serious, solvable’. The basic principles of climate science are examined, including the Greenhouse effect and climate variations at different timescales (from ENSO to Paleoclimate). Then, the impacts of climate change on urban, rural, polar, and oceanic environments are explored. Building on principles first established in GY161, we investigate climate inequality, how local impacts of climate change interact with societal systems to create different vulnerabilities between and among societies, often hitting the poorest hardest. The final weeks of the course focus on climate solutions, discussing mitigation, adaptation, and negative emissions strategies to build an understanding of how we can reduce the worst impacts of climate change.