METR 3346 Paleoclimatology
The climates across the face of the Earth have been changing since Earth's atmosphere was first formed. Earth's climate history can be a valuable resource for understanding the magnitude of potential effects of natural and manmade climate forcing mechanisms, for gaining a greater appreciation for the feedbacks that occur between the various components of the Earth's system and for evaluating climate models. Students will survey major events in the history of Earth's climate, and methods of interpreting the geological, paleontological, and paleobotanical climate proxies. There will also be an introduction to numerical modeling of climate, and the utility of using models to reconstruct past climates.