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- Environment: understanding atmospheric and ocean flows
Environment: understanding atmospheric and ocean flows

What affects the atmospheric and ocean flows? This
free course, Environment: understanding atmospheric and ocean flows, explores the mechanisms that are
important; the most rapid carrier is the wind. The basic principle of global
atmospheric circulation is simple: warm air rises and cold air sinks. How does
this principle affect the atmosphere and flow of water in practical terms? Starting
with an iconic environmental icon, the polar bear, you will learn how global
flows of water, heat and pollution are affecting the Arctic region and changing
our world.
Course learning outcomes
After studying this course, you should be able to:
- appreciate how chemical processes in the rest of the world affect the Arctic environment and the species inhabiting it
- recognise the physical processes that determine atmosphere and oceanic flows in the Arctic
- appreciate the scientific research process and the use of scientific evidence
- recognise the role and limitations of scientific data in attempting to predict global climatic change
- understand the concept of feedback loops.
First Published: 09/11/2018
Updated: 08/01/2020
You can start this course right now without signing-up. Click on any of the course content sections below to start at any point in this course.
If you want to be able to track your progress, earn a free Statement of Participation, and access all course quizzes and activities, sign-up.
Course content
- Introduction
- Learning outcomes
- 1 An environmental icon
- 2 The atmospheric and ocean flows
- 3 The ice time machine
- 3 The ice time machine
- 3.1 Ice cores and the atmosphere
- 3.2 The past temperature of the planet
- 3.3 Proxy data and past climates
- 3.4 Ice core going back 800 000 years
- 3.5 Interglacial periods and sea levels
- 3.6 The Milankovitch model
- 3.7 The Keeling Curve
- 3.8 Ice cores and past CO2 levels
- 3.9 Global CO2 levels and Antarctic temperatures
- 3.10 Summary of Section 3
- 4 The end of the last ice age: the Holocene
- 5 The contemporary Arctic climate
- Conclusion
- References
- Acknowledgements
- This site has Copy Reuse Tracking enabled - see our FAQs for more information.
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About this free course
10 hours study
Level 1: Introductory
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