Department of Marine Sciences

Ocean and Climate Change

School:	Of the Environment
Academic Unit:	Department of Marine Sciences
Level of studies:	Undergraduate
Course Code:	191ΘΔ34Υ	Semester:	F
Course Title:	Ocean and Climate Change
Independent Teaching Activities		Weekly Teaching Hours	Credits
Lectures/Turorials		5
		Total credits	5
Course Type:	Special background
Prerequisite Courses:	Background knowledge on Mathematics, Physics, and Physical Oceanography
Language of Instruction and Examinations:	Greek (English if Erasmus students are enrolled)
Is the course offered to Erasmus students:	Yes
Course Website (Url):	https://www.mar.aegean.gr/index.php?lang=en&lesson=1059&pg=3.1.1

Upon successful completion of the course, the student should be able to:

Know basic physical processes affecting the climate dynamics, such as the greenhouse effect, as well as the basic feedback mechanisms controlling the climate system.
Recognize the basic causes of climate variability and climate change and distinguish the natural from the anthropogenic.
Realize the role of air-sea interactions in controlling the oceanic circulation (wind and buoyancy driven), as well as the sensitivity of the climate change to these interactions.
Quantitatively assess (using simple equations) the changes in surface temperature caused by changes in albedo and atmospheric absorptivity.
Combine knowledge from physical oceanography in order to apprehend the role of the thermohaline circulation on climate, climate variability and climate change.
Apply all aforementioned knowledge toward the assessment of the heat transport by the ocean.
Evaluate the role of the oceanic thermal inertia on the climate, climate variability and climate change.
Combine all the aforementioned knowledge toward the solution of problems related to the climate system, climate variability and climate change.

The above learning outcomes are aligned to Level 6 of European Qualification Framework.

Search for, analysis and synthesis of data and information, with the use of the necessary technology
Adapting to new situations
Decision-making
Working independently
Team work
Working in an interdisciplinary environment
Production of new research ideas
Respect for the natural environment
Criticism and self-criticism
Production of free, creative and inductive thinking

All of the above are aligned to Level 6 of European Qualification Framework.

Climate basics
1. The climate system
2. Interactions between the climate components and their spatiotemporal scales
3. The global energy budget
4. The greenhouse effect
5. Feedback mechanisms
Physical air-sea interaction processes
1. Exchanges of heat, mass and momentum.
2. The wind- and buoyancy- driven circulation of the ocean.
The ocean’s overall role in climate
1. The ocean heat and freshwater transport
2. The damping of temperature variability by the ocean
The ocean’s role in climate variability
1. Large-scale air-sea interactions (ENSO and ΝΑΟ)
2. Natural variability – paleoclimatology/paleoceanography
3. Abrupt climate change
Global Warming and the ocean
1. Anthropogenic impacts on the climate
2. Climate change and mean sea level
3. The future of climate change according to various scenarios.

Delivery:

Face-to-face

Use of Information and Communication Technology:

Teaching Methods:

Student Performance Evaluation:

In special cases, for students with disabilities, evaluation takes place via oral exams
Language of evaluation: Greek (English for Erasmus students)
Multiple choice questions and questions of problem solving are used for evaluating learning outcomes

- Suggested bibliography:

Class notes & powerpoint presentations (in Greek, available via eclass)
Φυσική κλιματολογία, Α. Α. Μπλούτσος και Χ.Σαχσαμάνογλου, Εκδόσεις Ζήτη, 1998, ISBN 960-431-495-5
J. Marshall and R. A. Plumb, 2008: Atmosphere, Ocean, and Climate Dynamics: An Introductory Text, Academic Press.
G. Bigg 2003: The Oceans and Climate, 2nd Edition, Cambridge University Press.
D. Neelin, 2011: Climate Change and Climate Modelling, Cambridge University Press.
G.K. Vallis, 2012: Climate and the Oceans, Princeton Primers in Climate, Princeton University Press
Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis, IPCC Fifth Assessment Report (AR5).
G. Siedler, G. Griffies, J. Gould and J. Church, 2013: Ocean Circulation and Climate, Academic Press.
J. P. Peixoto and A. H. Oort, 1992: Physics of Climate, American Institute of Physics, New York.

- Related academic journals:

Climate Dynamics, Springer, https://link.springer.com/journal/382
Journal of Physical Oceanography, American Meteorological Society, https://www.ametsoc.org/ams/index.cfm/publications/journals/journal-of-physical-oceanography/
Journal of Geophysical Research-Oceans, AGU Publications, http://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/hub/jgr/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)2169-9291/
Geophysical Research Letters, AGU Publications, http://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/hub/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1944-8007/

Connection