Course Details

The focus of this course is on the basic science of glacier and ice-sheet change due to changes in the climate system. We will address the state of science on the land-ice contribution to sea-level change, both what we know from the past and the projections for the future. This is an active area of ice and climate research, and one that is also evolving quickly – both because the science is advancing and because the ice is changing in new ways each year.

Coupled to these scientific observations is an imperative to society: improved understanding of the ice-sheet change is necessary in order to make the best possible projections – adaptation and mitigation strategies depend on the science. Major global impacts are projected, and are already being seen in some parts of the world. Climate-change policy is explicitly tied to mitigation efforts, but an additional challenge for sea-level rise is that ice sheets do not respond immediately. The responsibility of response is complicated by the political and economical circumstances of the people affected. Sea-level rise is a multi-faceted global challenge that requires breadth of understanding, but also needs reflection as part of a learning process that can lead to informed awareness and action; students should gain both in this course.

Major expectations include engaging in class lectures and discussion, reading assignments, working in groups on problem sets related to the scientific material and on a presentation related to societal implications of sea-level rise for a chosen location from around the world, as well as submitting an independent essay at the end of the course.