#NA-02-07 Causes of Climate Change
-
- Course level: All Levels
About Course
University of BergenDescription
Uncover the past, present, and future of the causes of climate change
This free online course provides the basis for understanding the underlying physical processes governing climate variations in the past, present and future.
On this course, you’ll explore the main external forcing mechanisms such as the sun, volcanoes, and changes in greenhouse gasses and aerosols, which can contribute to changing the global energy budget and initiate climate variations.
You’ll also consider the role of internal feedback mechanisms and the energy transport in the atmosphere and ocean, in order to understand regional variations in climate.
You’ll gain an in-depth understanding of the complexities of the climate system, and be able to put the recently observed, man-made changes in climate in the context of past natural changes.
To uncover the true causes of climate change, you’ll learn with experts from The University of Bergen. They host the Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research, the largest centre for natural science-based climate research in Scandinavia.
What topics will you cover?
- Radiative forcing
- Climate feedbacks and heat transport
- Past changes in climate and ocean heat uptake
Who will you learn with?
Professor of Climate Dynamics at the Department of Earth Science at the University of Bergen and the Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research
I am Professor in atmospheric dynamics working at the Geophysical Institute, University of Bergen (GFI) and the Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research (BCCR).
I am a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Bergen working on climate dynamics and oceanography
Who developed the course?
The University of Bergen (UiB) offers first-class education and cutting-edge research at our location in the city centre of Bergen, Norway.
What Will I Learn?
- Reflect on the complexities of the climate system, and be able to put the recently observed, man-made changes in climate in the context of past natural changes.
- Explain the underlying physical processes governing climate variations in the past, present and future.
- Describe the role of atmosphere and ocean energy transport and their impact on regional variations in climate.
- Summarise the main feedback mechanisms in the climate system.
- Describe the role of ocean heat uptake for the timescales of response to changes in climate forcing.
Topics for this course
Introduction – who are you, what is your motivation, and how has climate already changed in your surroundings?
Welcome to the course00:01:41
Introduce yourself
Course overview
Natural radiative forcing
Man-made radiative forcings
Natural versus man-made radiative forcing
I have always been confused between Global Warming and Climate Change and this course has very clearly made me understand the difference between the two along with details about the greenhouse gases and effects and the various aspects to it.
The course is quite enlightening as far as knowledge is concerned best for beginners who are trying to learn about climate change.
It gave very basic insights about the topic which we sometimes tend to ignore and not give attention too.
This course was great. I now have a greater understanding of climate change.
Material Includes
- Official Certificate
Tags
Target Audience
- This course is intended for those with an interest in the physical aspects of climate variations and change.
- It does not require any previous experience of studying the causes of climate change, but high school level mathematics and physics is recommended.