GEO4410 – Climate Change Impact on High-Mountain Landscapes

In this course, you will learn how climate governs the processes operating in high-mountain and Arctic environments, and especially how climate change impacts these landscapes and environments both at present and in the past. "Geomorphology" is the scientific study of the physical features of the Earth's surface and the processes that shape them. This field of study examines landforms, their structures, origins, and the dynamic processes that act upon them. In this course, we will investigate the geomorphological processes and landforms associated with glaciers, permafrost, periglacial (frost), and slope environments. This course is also relevant for Quaternary geology. The course will provide insight into modern research methods, including field methods, numerical landscape modelling, and theoretical approaches to understanding processes and impacts of global climate change on glacial, periglacial, gravitational, and fluvial landforms and processes, in the past as well as in the present.

The course has a theoretical part with lectures and seminars, and a practical part with fieldwork/excursions. The fieldwork will provide students with personal experience of modern high-mountain environments. Seminars will deal with papers based on field studies in Norway and other cold-climate and high-mountain regions, to demonstrate the use of cold-climate landforms to reconstruct past environments and climatic conditions. Discussions will concentrate on identifying the critical questions for future cold-climate research. Computer labs will provide insight into the use of physical and empirical modelling of geomorphological phenomena.

After taking this course, you are able to

• describe and discuss geomorphological processes and landforms, with a special focus on cold high-mountain environments and climate change
• describe the large-scale features of the Scandinavian landscape, and discuss different theories of its formation
• describe relevant processes that control the extent and evolution of permafrost and frost processes, and their impact on the landscape, with a special focus on changing climates
• describe how we can reconstruct past ice sheets and glaciers, and outline the main features of the deglaciation history of Scandinavia
• model landscape evolution using numerical models, and reflect on the responsible agents shaping glacial and periglacial landscapes
• collect, analyse, and present relevant data in the field
• read, discuss, and present scientific literature, and reflect on and evaluate its relevance and novelty

Students admitted at UiO must apply for courses in Studentweb. Students enrolled in other Master's Degree Programmes can, on application, be admitted to the course if this is cleared by their own study programme.

Nordic citizens and applicants residing in the Nordic countries may apply to take this course as a single course student.

If you are not already enrolled as a student at UiO, please see our information about admission requirements and procedures for international applicants.

• GEO2210 – Geomorphology and Glaciology / GEG2110 – Geomorphological processes (continued) or similar knowledge

The course includes mandatory fieldwork. A health-and-safety course for safety in the field must be passed before you can participate in this:

• HMS0504 – Field Safety

The course will have a theoretical part with lectures and seminars up to 2*2 hours per week and computer lab 2 hours per week. We expect active participation of the students in the seminars, e.g. by presentation of selected scientific articles.

From the computer lab, you have to submit 2 lab reports which must be approved before the final examination. Students will also have to write a group report based on one of the computer labs which will count towards the final grade together with the presentation performance of the report to the course participants.

There is a compulsory field excursion of up to 7 days with overnight accommodation. An excursion report must be written from the field excursion (individual), which counts towards the final grade.

Attendance at the first lecture is compulsory. Students who fail to meet are considered to have withdrawn from the course unless they have previously given notice to the course responsible.

We reserve the right to change the teaching form and examination of the course in semesters where 5 or fewer students have been admitted.

General information about excursions at the Department of Geosciences

As the teaching involves laboratory and/or fieldwork, you should consider taking out a separate travel and personal risk insurance. Read about your insurance coverage as a student.

• 2 written computer lab reports and attendance at the field excursion must be approved in order to sit the final exam.
• One written excursion report together with one group report based on one of the computer labs count 40% towards the final grade.
• A final oral examination counts 60% towards the final grade.
• Both the written excursion report, the group report, and the final examination must be passed separately in order to pass the course.

Mandatory assignments are ordinary valid for 5 semesters starting from the semester they were approved the first time.

If there are more than 10 students admitted for the course, the final examination may be held as a written examination.

It is possible to take the exam up to 3 times. If you withdraw from the exam after the deadline or during the exam, this will be counted as an examination attempt.

Courses taught in English will only offer the exam paper in English (if written exam).

You may write your examination paper in Norwegian, Swedish, Danish or English.

Students who can document a valid reason for absence from the regular examination are offered a postponed examination at the beginning of the next semester.

Re-scheduled examinations are not offered to students who withdraw during, or did not pass, the original examination.