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The module rationale is simple: we cannot fully assess current anthropogenic global warming and its future trajectory, without placing it in the context of past natural climate change.Ìý More specifically:

(1) An understanding of natural climate periodicity can clarify where we are in the progression of the current cycle, in the absence of any anthropogenic interference.

(2) Our current observational record is too short to capture the full suite of climate variability.Ìý The geological record can enhance our understanding of climate dynamics by providing insights into climate processes that have taken place in the past and may occur in the future.

(3) Though not strict analogues for future global projections, past warm periods can provide an observational context for changes occurring during intervals of ‘excess’ warmth.Ìý

(4) The geological record provides a means of directly testing and calibrating different components of our numerical climate models used in future projections.

The module will provide:
- An introduction to the theoretical framework of climate variability
- Fundamentals of reconstructing past environments
- Fundamentals of dating techniques and developing chronological frameworks
- An overview of climatic evolution through geological time
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Intended learning outcomes.

At the end of the module, students should have :

• an understanding of the techniques used in palaeoenvironmental reconstructions;
• an awareness of the strengths and limitations of palaeoclimatic inferences;
• an understanding of the causes and mechanisms of natural climate variability;
• an appreciation of natural vs anthropogenic causes of climate change.