2023-10-09 - 2023-10-13
Patrick Blaser
University of Lausanne
Earth’s climate has varied drastically throughout its history, shaping both its own surface and life. In this lecture I will start with a coarse introduction of this evolution and paleo-climate science in general, and then focus on climate trends during the Cenozoic (from ~ 65 Ma) and in particular the glacial-interglacial climate of the Quaternary (~ 2.6 Ma to today). I will discuss the major components of the climate system, important climatic feedback mechanisms, abrupt climate change, and how knowledge about past climates can help us understand the climate of the future.