GVMCLC: Climate Change

Module code: GVMCLC

Module provider: Geography and Environmental Science; School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Science

Credits: 20

Level: Postgraduate Masters

When you'll be taught: Semester 2

Module convenor: Professor Maria Shahgedanova, email: m.shahgedanova@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2024/5

Available to visiting students: Yes

Talis reading list: Yes

Last updated: 20 May 2024

Overview

Module aims and purpose

To examine the nature of climate change, its impacts, and methods of adaptation with respect to various parts of the world and different environments and communities.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to:

1. Give a reasoned account of forcings driving climate change including solar, volcanic, and greenhouse gas forcings and various feedbacks in the climate system;
2. Give a detailed and reasoned account of evidence of the historical and recent past climate change;
3. Demonstrate knowledge concerning detection and attribution of climate change; Demonstrate knowledge concerning projection of climate change; Demonstrate knowledge concerning vulnerabilities to climate change, adaptation and barriers to adaptation;
4. Acquire an awareness of direct and indirect impacts generated by major environmental disruptions such as global warming and to demonstrate an ability to predict and analyse potential impacts.

Module content

The course will introduce students to the changes in global and regional climates that occurred in the last 1000 years with emphasis on the recent (150 years) past. The course will examine natural and anthropogenic factors driving climate change such as changes in solar activity, aerosol concentrations in the atmosphere with emphasis on volcanic aerosol, and changes in greenhouse gas concentrations as well as feedbacks amplifying climate change. Considerable attention will be given to the short-term natural climatic variability forced by ENSO and North Atlantic Oscillation, anomalous weather and extreme weather events caused by it, and differentiation between natural climatic variability and the signals of climate change. The course will discuss methods of climate change detection, attribution and projection, and associated uncertainties. Numerous examples of impacts of climate change - direct and indirect – on natural and managed systems and components of the environment will be discussed. This will include impacts of climate change on glaciers, water availability, urban environments, and many other. Vulnerabilities to climate change will be examined with reference to both magnitude of climate change and socio-economic conditions of countries, regions, and communities. Different approaches to and methods of adaptation to climate change and potential barriers to adaptation will be examined with reference to examples from both developed and developing world. In addition to lectures given by the module convenor, there will be a number of guest lectures focusing on case studies providing the most up-to-date, state-of-the-art knowledge.

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

Two sessions (two-hour lectures and one-hour seminar) per week in Semester 2. Seminars will focus on the practical aspects of climate data analysis and discussions. There will be several guest lectures delivered by researchers reporting their latest work and practitioners. 

Study hours

At least 30 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 50% to pass this module.

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three working days;
• the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three working days of the deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: https://www.reading.ac.uk/cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

Students submit a short plan of their coursework in Week 4.

Reassessment

Additional costs