Paleoceanography

The course examines the ocean's response to external climatic forcing such as solar luminosity and changes in the Earth's orbit, and to internal influences including atmospheric composition, the hydrological cycle, the cryosphere, and atmospheric and ocean circulation, using deep-sea sediments, corals, ice cores and other paleoceanographic archives. An analysis of the assumptions underlying the use of climate proxies and their interpretations will be presented. Particular emphasis will be placed on amplifiers of climate change during the alternating ice ages and interglacial intervals of the last few million years, such as natural variations in atmospheric "greenhouse gases" and changes in deep water formation rates, as well as mechanisms of rapid climate change during the late Pleistocene. The influence of changes in the Earth's radiation distribution and boundary conditions on the global ocean circulation, Asian monsoon system and El Nino/Southern Oscillation frequency and intensity, as well as interactions among these systems will be examined using proxy data and models. This course complements GU4937 Cenozoic Paleoceanography and is intended as part of a sequence with GU4330 Terrestrial Paleoclimate for students with interests in Paleoclimate.