Earth, Climate and Ethics

In this module, students will be introduced to the Earth System. This will include the Earth's spheres, greenhouse-gas emissions that caused climate change, and the societal challenge of moving towards a carbon-neutral world. Through five narratives (or story lines), students will study through which processes and on what temporal and spatial scales the different Earth System components interact. 

The first story line is named 'Earth' and looks at the deep level dynamic processes that make the Earth a unique body in the solar system. These processes will be outlined in terms of the plate tectonic theory which provides a unified framework for the evolution of the Solid Earth. We will examine how these processes are responsible for the distribution of the continents and the formation of mountain belts, volcanoes and the evolution of our Earth through its geological history. 

The second story line is named 'Climate', in which students will gain a basic understanding of the Earth’s energy budget and the natural and anthropogenic influences on past (paleo-)climates and our current and future climate. They will be familiarized with the carbon cycle and study the role of the global atmospheric and oceanic circulation in setting climate zones and weather. 

The third story line is named 'Source to Sink' and starts at mountains and follows the pathway of water and sediment towards the river, delta and coastal-oceanic basins. Along the way we will investigate formation of sediment, the water cycle, formation of stratigraphy, vegetation and land use changes, and how all this is affected by the past and current climate and weather.

The fourth story line integrates the Earth's spheres and blends the module narratives, by explaining the Earth System interacting components and processes, and looks at the involved spatio-temporal scales.

Finally, in 'Ethics', students will appraise and reflect on the societal and ethical implications of past or future human interventions related to resources and the climate of the Earth System.