Reconstructing Environmental Change

3 Credits

Lectures, seminars, and in-depth discussion on current issues and selected topics in Quaternary paleoecology and paleoclimatology. Survey of techniques in studying and reconstructing environmental changes and biological responses. Use of multiple proxy data from paleo-archives (e.g., ice cores, lake sediments) to address nature of past climate variability. Quantitative analyses of paleo-records to test paleoecological hypothesis (e.g., multivariate analysis) and to infer possible causes and forcing mechanisms of past climate change (e.g., time series analysis). May include field and laboratory exercises.