Reconstructing Late Quaternary Environments (U03772)

? Credit Points : 20 ? SCQF Level : 10 ? Acronym : GEO-3-RLQE

This course is intended to provide an integrated palaeoecological approach to the origin and evolution of temperate and arctic environments during the Lateglacial and Holocene, with particular reference to the interplay between human and natural landscapes. The intention of the course is to ensure that all participants are familiar with the general principles of reconstruction of past environments and the broad outlines and limitations of the wide range of techniques available, in particular the evidence gained from studies of invertebrate faunas. The objective is to understand how the data used to reconstruct the dynamic Lateglacial and Holocene environment are acquired.

Entry Requirements

none

Subject Areas

Home subject area

Geography, (School of GeoSciences, Schedule N)

Delivery Information

? Normal year taken : 3rd year

? Delivery Period : Semester 1 (Blocks 1-2)

? Contact Teaching Time : 2 hour(s) per week for 10 weeks

First Class Information

Date	Start	End	Room	Area	Additional Information
18/09/2007	14:00	15:50	Room 4.09, Old Infirmary (Geography)	Central

All of the following classes

Type	Day	Start	End	Area
Lecture	Tuesday	14:00	15:50	Central

Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes

The course will provide an understanding of:
- some of the sources of palaeoenvironmental data, and the various palaeoecological techniques, including vertebrate and invertebrate data, which may be applied to the investigation of environmental change and human activity in the landscape.
- the ways in which the palaeoenvironmental record is created and changed by the processes of fossilisation (taphonomy).
- the interaction of human communities with different facets of the environment and the role of humans as agents of landscape change and development.
- the biogeography of disease
- conservation issues
- the broad pattern of environmental change (both natural and anthropogenic in origin) over the last 15,000 years.
It will also provide students with
- basic observation skills in the laboratory
- basic knowledge of how to use a database to collate data and interprete an invertebrate assemblage (using BUGSCEP)
- skills of writing a project/essay of their choice (from a list of essays provided in the course)