2023/24 Taught Postgraduate Module Catalogue

SOEE5860M Physical climate change, impacts and mitigation

30 creditsClass Size: 200

Module manager: Piers Forster
Email: p.m.forster@leeds.ac.uk

Taught: Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) View Timetable

Year running 2023/24

Module replaces

SOEE5540M

This module is not approved as an Elective

Module summary

This module introduces students to core scientific principles and processes of climate science, impacts of climate change, sources of emission and their reduction strategies. The aim is to establish a scientific literacy that is essential for quantifying and responding to the climate crisis. The course will give learners the ability to communicate the connection between emissions, global warming and impacts to a broad range of policy, business and public stakeholders.

Objectives

Learners will develop a deep understanding of the connection between greenhouse gas emissions and global warming, the main drivers of these emissions, and how climate change influences wider aspects of the Earth System, resulting in societal and ecological impacts. They will explore how global warming levels such as 1.5°C and 2°C will manifest across the Earth system, delving into the detail of carbon budgets, net zero, risk around climate overshoot, potential irreversible changes and tipping points in the natural world. Learners will draw on engineering, economic and social science viewpoints (including national and global emission mitigation technologies and social transformation strategies) to gain an important historical perspective.

The module covers experimental frameworks and hypothesis testing (developing both fieldwork observation and climate modelling tools). Learning is immersive, using interactive lectures, digital resources, and core literature as a springboard for hands-on training in the practical acquisition and application of natural science and engineering knowledge. The module will be broadly informative with a strong emphasis on problem solving and scientific method, yet it allows those with existing related knowledge and skills to explore topics of interest in greater detail, interacting with world leading researchers to gain expert depth of understanding. Authentic assessments and projects will develop learners' ability to communicate complex scientific knowledge to a variety of policy, public and business stakeholders.

Learning outcomes
1. Describe the connection between greenhouse gas emissions, global warming, climate impacts and climate mitigation, including, carbon budgets, key climate risks, sector mitigation and energy demand decarbonisation pathways.

2. Demonstrate the ability to analyse and synthesise real world climate observations and their uncertainties

3. Demonstrate the ability to design and run reduced complexity climate modelling simulations in Python

4. Formulate credible climate change, impacts and mitigation arguments using science, critical thinking, and literature sources.

5. Communicate these arguments to different stakeholders, which may include the public, policymakers, business and academics.

Skills outcomes
1. Run a reduced complexity climate model and design original experiments with the model. Graphically present results. All within Python 

2. Rapid appraisal, contextualizing and critical evaluation of evidence from published literature and government reports

3. Recording climate observations, manipulating and analysing datasets: their statistical analysis and synthesis 

4. Design and communicate results to stakeholders through a poster presentation

Syllabus

History of climate science

Making and analysing original climate observations

The theoretical basis for quantifying climate change and its causes

The basis of climate modelling

Linking human activity to emissions

Technology driven mitigation; societal driven mitigation

The carbon cycle, carbon budgets and net zero

Evaluating climate extremes, climate impacts and potential tipping points in the climate system

Challenges of climate communication

Teaching methods

Delivery type	Number	Length hours	Student hours
Supervision	1	1.00	1.00
Supervision	1	5.00	5.00
Fieldwork	1	6.00	6.00
Lecture	7	1.00	7.00
Lecture	17	1.00	17.00
Practical	2	4.00	8.00
Practical	5	2.00	10.00
Seminar	18	1.00	18.00
Independent online learning hours			128.00
Private study hours			100.00
Total Contact hours			72.00
Total hours (100hr per 10 credits)			300.00

Opportunities for Formative Feedback

In lecture discission boards, written feedback. Once per week

Verbal feedback on seminar group presentations. Once per week



Written Turnitin feedback on 2000 word rapid review assignment, mid semester

Written Turnitin feedback on observational analysis, mid semester

Verbal feedback during computer practical laboratories and fieldwork

Verbal feedback on Poster presentation at end of the semester

Methods of assessment

Coursework

Assessment type	Notes	% of formal assessment
Report	Policy focussed Rapid review: total 2000 words.	30.00
Report	Primary data figures and justification of approach	20.00
Group Project	Team poster (A0) presentation of climate modelling experiments with peer-assessment.	50.00
Total percentage (Assessment Coursework)		100.00

The team poster builds on the previous assignments, representing the culmination of the module and preparing students for their Capstone project contributions. The resit for this assignment is a personal statement (max. 2,500 words), including reflection on the individual’s participation in the teamwork, reflection on their positionality, and a report of the concrete contributions that they could/should have made to the broader piece. The second report is based on primary data generated during a field campaign as part of the module’s learning activities. Access to the data is not contingent on participation in the fieldwork, all students on the module will have access to all data generated during the field campaign.

Reading list

The reading list is available from the Library website

Last updated: 10/05/2023 16:29:09

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