Learn the physical processes behind climate variation around the world to better understand the causes of climate change. 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.
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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
What will you achieve?
By the end of the course, you'll be able to...
- 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.
Who is the course for?
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.
