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Course Announcements

Selected upcoming courses to be taught by INSTAAR Faculty

See also: Past courses taught by INSTAAR faculty

SEMINAR COURSE – SPRING 2007

WARM PERIODS OF THE EARTH’S PAST
GEOL 4700-11 / 5700-11

The Earth has experienced many past intervals of global warmth, in the absence of anthropogenic forcing. Notable examples during the Cenozoic include the Late Paleocene Thermal Maximum, the Early Eocene Climatic Optimum, the Mid-Miocene Climatic Optimum, the last interglacial period (MIS 5e), and the Holocene Hypsithermal. An improved understanding of current global warming may be gained by examining this natural variability.

The course will conducted in seminar (group discussion) format with interspersed background lectures by the instructor. Students will be required to make presentations on assigned readings from the current research literature. A term project, in the form of an annotated bibliography on a relevant topic of the student’s choosing, will also be required.

Instructor: Prof. Tom Marchitto, tom.marchitto@colorado.edu
Meets: Tues/Thurs 3:30-4:45 pm, Benson 355
Undergrad enrollment limited to juniors and seniors
3 Credits

New Course - Fall 2006

MOLECULAR TO GLOBAL
BIOGEOCHEMISTRY
ENVS 5840 / GEOL 5305

This class will address modern biogeochemistry over a variety of scales. We will cover energy, water, carbon, nitrogen and rock-derived element cycles, and use molecular to global perspectives to integrate their biochemical, ecological, evolutionary, biophysical, geochemical and geophysical aspects. The course will include lectures, problem sets and readings and discussion of the primary scientific literature. Please contact the instructors with any questions.

Instructor: alan.townsend@colorado.edu, diana.nemergut@colorado.edu

Meets: Tues/Thurs 9:30-10:45 am

3 Credits

Note: This course replaces the formerly advertised Global Biogeochemistry course taught by Dr. Cory Cleveland.

New Course - Fall 2006

MARINE CHEMISTRY AND GEOCHEMISTRY
GEOL 4700-3 / 5700-3

Examines the chemical, biological, geological, and physical processes impacting (and impacted by) the chemistry of the oceans. Topics include: major chemical inputs (riverine, eolian, hydrothermal) and outputs; the large-scale interdependence of nutrient distributions and biological productivity; the marine carbon cycle and its long-term control on atmospheric CO2; the chemistry of marine sediments, including post-depositional alteration (diagenesis); chemical tracers of modern ocean circulation; and paleochemical methods for inferring past ocean circulation and climate change.

Instructor: Prof. Tom Marchitto, tom.marchitto@colorado.edu

Meets: Tues/Thurs 9:30-10:45 am, Benson 355

Undergrad enrollment limited to juniors and seniors

3 Credits

"The chemistry of the oceans is the chemistry of life writ large"
-David Archer

Spring Semester 2005
University of Colorado at Boulder

RAPID CLIMATE CHANGE SEMINAR:
HOLOCENE TO ANTHROPOCENE
Spring 2005
GEOL 4700-5 / 5700-8

Theory and observations increasingly point to significant human impacts on modern (and future) climate, particularly through modification of the atmosphere's composition. Questions remain, however, surrounding the contribution of natural climate variability to recent changes. This course will examine current climate trends in the context of natural Holocene (past 11,500 years) variability. We will cover various modes of climate variability on interannual/decadal (e.g., El Niño-Southern Oscillation, North Atlantic Oscillation) to centennial/millennial (e.g., Medieval Warm Period, Little Ice Age) timescales. Current and emerging theories regarding forcing mechanisms, both natural and anthropogenic, will be discussed.

The course will be primarily conducted in seminar format, with detailed discussions of the current literature. Students will be required to make periodic presentations on assigned readings. A term project, in the form of an annotated bibliography on a relevant topic of the student's choosing, will also be required.

Instructor: Tom Marchitto
E-mail: tom.marchitto@colorado.edu

Meets: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 3:30-4:50 pm, Benson Earth Sciences 355
3 credits

Meeting time subject to change; e-mail instructor to express interest
Undergraduates restricted to juniors and seniors

Fall Semester 2004
University of Colorado at Boulder

Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology
Fall 2004
GEOL 4700-1 / 5700-1
ENVS 4100-2 / 5100-2

An understanding of the modes and mechanisms of past climate variability is a vital prerequisite for understanding our current and future climate. Past changes in oceanic and atmospheric circulation are known to have far exceeded the range of variability observed during the instrumental period. Such past changes offer important insights into the basic workings of the Earth's climate. In addition, dramatic paleoclimate shifts have occurred over periods as short as a decade, a time scale of obvious societal interest. Could similar shifts recur in a "Greenhouse" world?

We will examine scientific tools, data, and theories related to the dramatically varied past climate of the Earth. Focus will be on marine records of climate change and ocean circulation, but ice core and continental archives will also be discussed. Course will cover the Cretaceous Period to the present, with particular emphasis on the past 150,000 years (the last glacial-interglacial cycle).

This will be primarily a lecture course, with readings from the research literature. Assignments will consist of problem sets plus a term paper and class presentation.Instructor: Tom Marchitto, tom.marchitto@colorado.edu

Meets: T/Th 11:00-12:15, Benson 355
Please e-mail instructor to express interest

Spring Semester 2003
University of Colorado at Boulder

Mechanics and Dynamics of Glaciers
Spring 2003
CVEN 4838/5838, 3 hrs

'Mechanics and Dynamics of Glaciers' is offered in the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering as CVEN 4838/5838, and is open to all advanced undergraduates and graduate students. There are no specific prerequisites, but a knowledge of calculus (and elementary differential equations) and basic physics is strongly recommended. This 4000/5000 level course is focussed on the development of a quantitative physical basis for understanding the functions of snow, ice and glaciers in the environment. We will concentrate on the physical characteristics of snow and ice, including mechanical, thermodynamic, and hydrological properties, and investigate how these properties influence the interaction of snow, ice, and glaciers with their environment. We will also investigate methods of measurement in snow and ice. Part of the motivation for this course will be to gain a deeper understanding of continuum mechanics and thermodynamics and their application to Earth systems.

For more information please contact W.T. Pfeffer, or go to http://tintin.colorado.edu and follow the link to 'Courses'

Instructor: W.T. Pfeffer, Associate Professor, Department of Civil, Environmental,and Architectural Engineering
Phone:303 492 3480
E-mail: pfeffer@tintin.colorado.edu
Class location: ECCR 131
Time: MWF 0200PM-0250PM
Credit: 3 hrs

Paleoceanography -CANCELLED
Spring 2003
GEOL 5700-006

This course will examine methods of reconstructing past ocean circulation, climate and chemistry and key records of oceanographic change, with emphasis on the Late Quaternary. The course will be conducted in lecture format, with required problem sets.

Instructor: Scott Lehman
Meeting time: Tues./Thurs. 2 - 3:15
First organizational meeting: Tues., January 14th
Location: Rm 269 (INSTAAR Conference Rm.) RL1, East Campus
Credit: 3 hrs.

Topics in Global Change Literature:
Chemical and isotopic constraints on the recent carbon cycle
Spring 2003
GEOL 5700-010

This course will survey recent developments in efforts to quantify the sinks, stability and sources of carbon in the post-industrial epoch. Emphasis will be given to chemical and isotopic constraints at large spatial scales and comparison of these to estimates from large scale inversions and inventories. The course will be conducted in seminar format.

Instructor: Scott Lehman
Meeting time: Tues. 2 - 5, RL1 Room 269
First organizational meeting: Tues., January 14th
Location: Rm 269 (INSTAAR Conference Rm.) RL1, East Campus
Credit: 3 hrs.

Topics in Global Change Literature:
Recent Developments in Rapid Climate Change Research
Spring 2003
GEOL 5700-009

This course will survey and critically evaluate recent developments in the analysis of rapid climate changes during the past 150,000 years (the last interglacial period through the present). We will examine various modes of natural climate variability on decadal (e.g., El Niño-Southern Oscillation, North Atlantic Oscillation) to millennial (e.g., Dansgaard-Oeschger, Little Ice Age) timescales. Current and emerging theories regarding forcing mechanisms, both internal and external to the Earth system, will be discussed. Present and predicted future climate trends will be considered in the context of this past variability.
     The course will conducted in seminar format with interspersed background lectures by the instructor. Students will be required to make presentations on assigned readings from the current literature. A term project, in the form of an annotated bibliography on a relevant topic of the student's choosing, will also be required.

Instructor: Tom Marchitto (tmarchit@ldeo.columbia.edu)
Prerequisites: None. College-level Earth science, chemistry, and physics strongly recommended.
Organizational meeting: Monday, January 13, 2003 at 1:00 pm, Benson 240D
If you are interested in this course but cannot attend the first meeting, please e-mail the instructor (tmarchit@ldeo.columbia.edu), indicating whether or not you intend to enroll for credit.
Credit: 3 credit hours

Fall Semester 2002
University of Colorado at Boulder

Glacial Geology
Fall 2002
GEOL 4360/5360, 3 hr

This class will focus on a "historical" treatment of many of the major branches of glacial geology over the last 40 years with the aim of setting present paradigms within the context of the evolution of thought, methods, technques, and the influence of other disciplines. Some guest lectures will be included.

Some of the topics that will be discussed are:
1) Changing concepts of the extent and geometry of the Laurentide Ice Sheet;
2) Local, regional, and global controls on relative sea levels.
3) Issues related to the reconstructions of past ice sheets.
4) Ice sheet/ocean interactions: Heinrich events and the instability of ice sheets.
5) Sediment transport and provenance
6) Moraine formation and the link with chronology
7) Processes of glacial and glacial marine sedimentation: from under the ice to deep-sea basins.
8) Dating glacial events---methods and problems.

Instructor: John Andrews
Rm 258, RL1, East Campus
phone: 2-5183
e-mail: andrewsj@spot.colorado.edu
Class location: Benson Earth Sciences
Time: Tues, Thurs
Credit: 3 hrs.

Spring Semester 2002
University of Colorado at Boulder

Quaternary Paleoclimatology & Paleochemistry
Spring 2002
GEOL 5700, section 006, 3 hrs

This course will survey established and developing geochemical measures of oceanic and atmospheric composition, dynamics, and temperature as applied to understanding of recent and ice age climates and environments. Following a brief introduction to Earth's energy balance and energy transport, topics to be addressed will include: quantification of past oceanic and atmospheric temperatures; geochemical proxies of the oceanic nutrient cycle and ocean circulation; reconstruction and modeling of the global 14C balance; competing constraints on atmospheric CO2 levels, and; geochemical methods of stratigraphic correlation. The course will be conducted in seminar format. Prerequisites: at least 1 year undergraduate chemistry and physics or instructor consent.

Instructor: Scott Lehman
Rm 156, RL1, East Campus
phone: 2-8980
e-mail: Scott.Lehman@colorado.edu
office hours: TBA
initial class meeting: Tues., January 15th, 2-5 PM
location: Rm 269 (INSTAAR Conference Rm.) RL1, East Campus
Credit: 3 hrs.

Arctic Archeology
Spring 2002
ANTH 4011/5011

Provides an overview of the archeology of northern North America and adjacent regions including Siberia and Greenland from the late Pleistocene to contact with Euro-American cultures. Environmental data provide ecological contexts essential to understand, appreciate, and respect the complex cultural development and adaptations of Northern people and their roles in world prehistory.

Instructor: James Dixon
phone: 735-7802
e-mail: jdixon@spot.colorado.edu
Class location: Henderson building (CU Museum)
Time: 9:30 - 10:45 am Tues & Thurs

http://instaar.colorado.edu/education/courses_new.html
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