AHT404 Climate Change Impacts, Mitigation and Adaptation (8)
AbstractThis subject aims to give a comprehensive overview of the science and policy issues surrounding current and likely global Climate Change. |
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+ Subject Availability Modes and Location
Session 2 | Distance | Orange Campus |
Continuing students should consult the SAL for current offering details: AHT404
Where differences exist between the Handbook and the SAL, the SAL should be taken as containing the correct subject offering details.
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Subject informationDuration | Grading System | School: |
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One session | HD/FL | School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences |
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Learning OutcomesUpon successful completion of this subject, students should:
- Be able to demonstrate a thorough knowledge of past and present climates, the science behind anthropogenic global warming, the current state of knowledge on likely Climate Change scenarios, and mitigation and adaptation efforts.
- be able to demonstrate broad skills in climatology, geomorphology, soil science, landscape history and environmental science as they affect climate change issues.
- be able to demonstrate an understanding of current Government policy and management systems and develop problem-solving skills as applied to Climate Change adaptation and mitigation options.
- be able to accurately assess the significance of new Climate Change research and will gain sufficient knowledge to be able to adjudicate between conflicting evidence and theories on anthropogenic global warming. |
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SyllabusThe subject will cover the following topics: Basic Climatology and weather patterns influencing Australia
- ENSO
- IOD
- SAM
Paleoclimates
- Evidence for glacial/interglacial environments
- Geomorphological evidence
- Ice cores
- Species extinctions etc.
Factors influencing climate fluctuations at varying scales
- Milankovitch Cycles and planetary scale impacts
- Glacial/interglacial
- Holocene
- Last 1000 years (eg. medieval warm period, Little Ice Age)
- Post industrial era
The Greenhouse Effect
- Natural forcing
- Water vapour
- Solar inputs
- CO2 and its feedbacks with temperature
- Anthropogenic forcing and its causes
- CO2
- Methane
- Nitrous Oxide
- Water vapour in contrails etc.
- Sectorial breakdown eg. Transport, Stationary Energy, Agriculture
The Global Carbon Balance
- Carbon pools and their relative significance
- Ocean
- Atmosphere
- Terrestrial pools eg. soils, vegetation
- Residence times and fluxes between pools
Climate modelling and GCMs
- Scope, parameters and limitations of currently used GCMs
- Model skill (how well do these models explain current climate)
- Scenario building ? (likely input parameters)
- Realisations (different model runs and their limitations)
Evidence for Recent Climate Change
- Global air temperature records (ground based and satellite)
- Sealevel rises
- Arctic sea ice decline
- Global glacial retreat
- Animal behavioural modifications
- Changes in floral timings, eg. flowering, fruit set, harvest times
- Species extinctions and vulnerabilities
- Increases in extreme events eg. heatwaves, fires, drought severity, hurricanes
- Ocean acidification
Future Climate Scenarios and the IPCC
- Likely climates in 50, 100 years
- Positive and negative feedbacks as the climate warms
Eg. permafrost melting
Impacts of impending climate change
- Rates of change, magnitude of change and their implications for humans and natural resources
- Likely risks and their magnitudes
- Potential threshold events and the likelihood of exceedence
- Scale of impacts
Adaptation and Mitigation Responses
- Policy
- IPCC and global responses
- Australian policy responses (AGO, NCAS etc.)
- Emissions trading/carbon credit schemes
- Science
- Role of soil and land management etc.
- Monitoring natural resource condition
- Carbon accounting
Change management theory and practice
- What is change, and how do we manage it?
- Monitoring climate change
- Managing climatic variability in agriculture
The role of Governments, Business, NGOs, other Institutions and the general populace in adapting to, and mitigating climate change
- Sustainability audits
- Recycling (closing the resource use loop)
- Environmental education
- Renewable energy technologies (solar, wind, waves, tides)
- New industry opportunities (eg. biochar)
Impact of climate change on fundamentals in science (ie. Does a trending climate change the basis of many scientific assumptions? Are there opportunities for new scientific endeavours as a result of rethinking these assumptions?)
- Future Research opportunities |
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The information contained in the 2015 CSU Handbook was accurate at the date of publication: 01 October 2015. The University reserves the right to vary the information at any time without notice.