Lehrveranstaltungen

The lecture represents an introduction to various aspects of fundamental and applied glaciology. It covers the description and basic role of the cryosphere in the climate system with special focus on alpine glaciers and ice sheets including the role of glaciers as climate archives using ice core drilling. First hand glaciological experience may be collected during a 1-day excursion. The main topics covered are:

• Ice in the climate system
• Mass balance and glacier morphology
• Firnification
• Deformation and flow of ice (continuum mechanics)
• Temperature distribution in ice
• Ice core research (isotopes, aerosol, gases)

This topic of this lecture is the general atmospheric circulation and modes of variability. The basis to understand the atmospheric circulation is fluid dynamics applied to the atmosphere. Thus, the course will first introduce the dynamical and thermodynamical equations necessary to understand the atmospheric dynamics. Then these equations are simplified to gain understanding in midlatitude dynamics. There, the quasi-geostrophic equations deliver a first understanding how waves develop and grow. The budget of angular momentum and energy will give insight why we observe meridional overturning cells in the atmosphere and why mid latitude waves are so important in transporting energy from the equator to the poles. Finally, the statistical description of atmospheric phenomena is a different view point on the atmospheric circulation. In this respect modes of variability such as El Nino Southern Oscillation or the North Atlantic Oscillation will be presented.

The course will introduce core concepts underlying isotopic studies in environmental sciences and biogeochemistry, including isotope ratios, delta notation, isotopic fractionation, mass-dependent and mass-independent fractionation, radioactive decay, and how to make quantitative deductions on biogeochemical cycles using stable isotopes. It will provide an understanding of natural isotope abundances and the key physical and chemical processes that drive isotopic fractionation in environmental systems and various global biogeochemical cycles, and introduce the isotope analytical techniques to study them.

In the face of the climate and biodiversity crises, Nature-based Solutions (NbS) have gained momentum as a possible approach to tackle both challenges synergistically. NbS encompass a broad set of approaches, such as ecosystem conservation and restoration, agroecology, urban green and blue infrastructures, etc, that generally strive to work with Nature rather than against it toward sustainable development. However, the potential contribution of NbS to climate change mitigation and adaptation is still uncertain and highly debated. Should NbS be a central element in a road map toward climate neutrality or are they a distraction from more urgent actions to decarbonize human activities? Beyond mitigation, can NbS also help human communities and ecosystems become more resilient to climate change impacts? Is there scientific evidence of the climate benefits of NbS locally and what are the opportunities and risks arising from upscaling different types of NbS at larger scales?

In this course, lectures providing the scientific background will be complemented by group projects, a field visit and many interventions from practitioners and academics working with NbS.

Anthropogenic climate change is one of the greatest challenges faced by human societies. The reduction of human caused greenhouse gas emission to meet the climate targets of the legally-binding Paris Agreement is key to reach the UN sustainability goals. This lecture will discuss the fundamentals of the climate system including the atmospheric radiation balance, carbon and other biogeochemical cycles, ocean and atmospheric circulation, multiple climate equilibria, climate variations of the last million years and applications of stable isotopes and radionuclides to trace environmental processes.

This course can also be attended by master and PhD students of the Graduate School of Climate Sciences.

Sustainable development depends on quantitative knowledge of the past, present, and future behaviour of the Earth System. This is obtained from physics-based models of the atmosphere and the ocean. In this course, the hierarchy of climate models is introduced, starting from simple energy balance models, then increasing complexity to arrive at circulation models of the ocean and the atmosphere. These models are based on the physical principles of the conservation of mass, energy and momentum. Climate feedbacks and propagation of waves are described to understand the climate system response to perturbations. The numerical techniques to carry out model simulations on the computer are introduced and discussed. In the parallel course work, a key element of this course, the students learn to implement such models using Python and carry out simulations. Detailed lecture notes for this course are available (https://climatehomes.unibe.ch/~stocker/lecturenotes.html).

The ocean is a fundamental component of the Earth’s climate system, playing a central role in exchanging and transporting heat, nutrients, and carbon. This course provides an introduction to the physical and biogeochemical processes that govern ocean dynamics, with a focus on large-scale circulation. Students will develop a foundational understanding of ocean flow by applying conservation laws and transport equations. Key topics include the formation and transformation of water masses, Ekman dynamics, Sverdrup balance, the meridional overturning circulation, and tracer transport. The course then covers the ocean’s role in the global carbon cycle, including carbonate chemistry, the biological carbon pump, and the variability of these processes over time, in the past, present, and future. In addition, emerging topics in marine science, such as marine carbon dioxide removal and tipping points, will be introduced. This course is intended for students with a background in physics or climate science and provides essential knowledge for studying the ocean’s role within the Earth system.