General Information
| Course Code | AM_1144 |
|---|---|
| Credits | 6 EC |
| Period | P4 |
| Course Level | 400 |
| Language of Tuition | English |
| Faculty | Faculty of Science |
| Course Coordinator | dr. W.H.J. Toonen |
| Examiner | dr. W.H.J. Toonen |
| Teaching Staff |
dr. W.H.J. Toonen dr. H.J.L. van der Lubbe MSc dr. N.N.L. van der Putten |
|
Part of programme(s)
Master
Use the arrow keys to navigate the list, Enter to select, and Escape to close.
|
|
Practical Information
You need to register for this course yourself. The (de)registration deadlines can be found on VU.nl
| Teaching Methods | Excursion, Study Group, Reading, Practical |
|---|
Target audiences
This course is also available as:
Course Objective
- To provide hands-on experience with the most relevant methods used in paleoclimate and paleoenvironmental research.
- To assess new data in the context of previous (published) studies.
- To introduce the basics of scientific reporting (written report and/or poster presentation)
Course Content
The practical comprises a series of lectures, lab classes, and discussion meetings. The students will collect their own field and lab data (as a group of researchers), and will present the obtained results in a Nature-style publication and a conference-style poster presentation. During the practicals a marine and a terrestrial sediment core will be investigated. During a mandatory 1-day field campaign we will teach how to collect a sample core - this core will be used for further study during the course.
The research includes core description, defining sampling strategy, basic sample processing, determination of micropaleontological, palynological, geochemical and geophysical sediment properties, and advanced data analysis (e.g. End Member Modelling, the use of the Tilia software to plot pollen and macrofossil data).
The emphasis will be on climate change at the glacial-interglacial time scale and on millennial-scale climate change records (e.g., Heinrich events, the last deglaciation and the Younger Dryas event). Participation in lectures, laboratory work, oral presentations and discussion meetings are compulsory, as detailed in the OER for a practical course.
Additional Information Teaching Methods
- An introductory lecture will highlight the outline of the practical course. - Lectures on palynology, marine micropaleontology, sedimentology and applied methods.
- A 1-day field campaign is used to collect core material for further study.
- Students will be motivated to present and discuss the obtained results during a series of discussion meetings.
- Laboratory work, data analysis, preparation of presentations.
- Managing a project: the students are working together and will have to define their goals and monitor their progress.
- Self-tuition from available literature.
- Writing in an ultra-condensed format (Nature-style); how to combine novel data with existing literature, while being able to highlight the most important findings.
Method of Assessment
- Laboratory work and attitude (20 %)
- Oral presentations and participation in discussion meetings (40 %)
- Written report and/or poster presention (40 %)
Literature
Selected literature will be made available via Canvas.
Additional Information Target Audience
Master students Earth Sciences. Students from all specialisation tracks are welcomed.
Additional Information
Learning hands-on skills is time-consuming, so there are many hours of practicals. Due to the condensed teaching roster, these could overlap with other courses in the same period. If there are any concerns about the feasibility of combining certain courses, please contact the teachers - we will find a way.