The Ice Ages and Quaternary Geology

Catalog description

This course explores the intervals of Earth history dominated by large ice sheets focusing on the last two Epochs of Earth history, the Pleistocene and Holocene. These periods have featured large variations in climate, changes in ocean circulation, the growth and decay of continental ice sheet, the evolution and extinction of large mega-fauna, and the rise and eventual dispersal of a moderately clever tool using ape from the African plains. Topics covered include glacial and ice sheet processes and dynamics; terrestrial, lacustrine, and marine paleoclimate records of the Pleistocene and Holocene; glacial geomorphology and landforms; and the impact of glaciation on the carbon cycle, hydrologic cycle, fauna, flora and human evolution.