Subject Discipline: Climate

Chris Stokes: Professor, Department of Geography, Durham University.

This course provides an introduction to climate science, with a particular focus on the physical science of climate change across a range of timescales – past, present and future. The course will begin with an overview of the modern climate system, then examine the science of climate change, including the patterns and causes both in the past and at present. A particular focus will be on recent ‘global warming’ and some of the observed changes in the atmosphere and ocean, together with some of the most serious impacts of a warming planet. This will include observed changes in the cryosphere (glaciers, permafrost, sea ice) and associated sea level rise, but will also cover some of the human health impacts, including extreme weather events such as drought and heatwaves, and efforts to address the current climate ‘emergency’ (e.g. the Paris Climate Agreement). The course will end with a consideration of how climate science is communicated and the role of the media, including discussion of some of the major misconceptions / controversies around anthropogenic climate change.

Classroom version: A 1.5-day course comprising a mix of lectures, case studies and exercises. The manual will be provided in digital format and participants will be required to bring a laptop or tablet computer to follow the lectures and exercises. 

Virtual version: Three 3.5-hour interactive online sessions presented over 3 days. A course handbook and exercise materials will be distributed to participants before the course. Some reading and exercises are to be completed by participants off-line and in preparation for sessions.

Fundamental. The course is intended for industry professionals and those interested in climate science from both the public and private sectors, or with a personal interest in understanding climate change. It is suitable for penultimate-year undergraduate university students and above.

You will learn to:

1. Understand the physical science underpinning past, present and future climate change, including the attribution of recent warming to human activities.
2. Understand how and why global climate has changed and will change, and be able to assess uncertainties.
3. Describe the key impacts of climate change on various physical systems (e.g. the oceans and cryosphere), the linkages between them and their relevance to human activities.
4. Understand how climate change impacts extreme weather events and human health.
5. Evaluate and interpret various climate and paleoclimate datasets, including future climate scenarios and their associated uncertainties.
6. Critically evaluate the various misconceptions and controversies around ‘global warming’, including the role of the media and efforts to communicate climate science.
7. Assess the effects and importance of mitigation scenarios (such as the Paris Climate Agreement) on global climate change and the role of the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change).