Instructors: G. Kontakiotis; M. Triantaphyllou; K. Kouli; E. Skampa; E. Besiou; A. Gogou, I. Vasiliev, E. Malinverno

SEMESTER: 2nd  

LEARNING OUTCOMES 

The aim of the course is to give an understanding of the processes that determine and change the Earth’s climate system at different spatial and temporal scales by studying paleoceanographic changes and climate variability at different geological times.

CONTENT:  

Theoretical content (lectures). 

• Introduction: Concepts of Paleoceanography and Climate Variability – The role of the ocean in the climate system and in the global Carbon cycle 

• Climatic variations/cyclicity: time scales and control mechanisms at the global scale; the anthropogenic impact and ocean acidification 

• Archives and proxies of paleoceanography: Deep sea sediment distributions – examples, applications in marine, ice and terrestrial records and past CO2 reconstructions. Stable isotopes and trace elements in the sediment record. 

• Biogenic indices (nannoplakton, foraminifera, dinoflagellates, diatoms, etc.) and stable isotopes (Oxygen, Carbon etc.) as paleoceanographic proxies  

• Geochemical indices: organic biomarkers as productivity and preservation proxies 

• Geochemical indices: Mg/Ca, Uk37′ and TEX86 as temperature proxies 

• Salinity-related Proxies 

• Paleoceanographic Change Through Time I: The Mesozoic Anoxic Events and the Paleogene thermal maxima (PETM, EECO) 

• Paleoceanographic Change Through Time II: Paleoceanographic evolution of restricted basins: the case of the Mediterranean during the Miocene (MMCO and Messinian Salinity Crisis) and the Pliocene (mPWP) 

• Paleoceanographic Change Through Time III: paleoclimate variability during the last glacial maximum (LGM) and/or last deglaciation (BA-YD) 

• Paleoceanographic Change Through Time IV: Climate and ocean during the Holocene – The significance of sapropel anoxic events 

• Paleoceanographic Change Through Time V: Climate and ocean on time scales from decades to millennia-the last 2K 

 

Β. Practical exercises: 

• stable isotopes, paleotemperature proxies and biogenic indices combined application for paleoclimatic and paleoceanographic reconstructions 

• paleo-salinity reconstructions based on the integrated stable isotopic and paleotemperature signals 

• project based on critical bibliographic review 

 

BREAKDOWN OF WORKLOAD  

Activity	Semester Workload (hours)
Face to face (in lectures and practical exercises)	39
Homework – includes bibliographic research and applications	20
Project	39
Questions and Answers	10
Preparation for final examination and/or project presentation	17
Total	125

STUDENT EVALUATION/GRADING 

The evaluation process is conducted in English, either with progress in separate sections of the material or with the final examination of the whole material and includes: 

I. LECTURES (50%)  

• Oral Examination and/or 

• Written exam with short answer questions and Multiple choice test and/or 

• Written examination with extended answer questions and/or  

• Scientific presentation in a specific topic related to the subject of the course  

II. PRACTICAL EXERCISES (50%) 

• Written examination with exercises and problem solving 

 

SUGGESTED LITERATURE 

• Raymond S. Bradley, Paleoclimatology-Reconstructing Climates of the Quaternary, 3rd ed, Wiley (2015) 

• Roger G. Barry, Eileen A. Hall-McKin, Essentials of the Earth’s Climate System, 1st ed, Cambridge University Press (2014) 

• Colin V Murray-Wallace, Colin D Wood, Quaternary Sea-Level Changes: A Global Perspective, Cambridge University Press (2018) 

• Thomas J. M. Schopf, Paleoceanography, Harvard University Press (2013) 

 

SCIENTIFIC JOURNALS: 

• Paleoceanography and Palaeoclimatology 

• Marine Geology 

• Frontiers in Climate 

• Nature Climate Change 

• Climate Dynamics 

• Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology 

• Global and Planetary Change 

• Journal of Marine Science and Engineering 

 

Website: 

https://eclass.uoa.gr/courses/GEOL652/