Quaternary Science

Core Modules

• Key Records in Past and Current Climate Change

  In this module you will develop an understanding of the processes that lead to the accumulation of sediment sequences, becoming familiar with the strengths and limitations of sediment sequences as archives of palaeoenvironmental change. You will learn how to record sediment characteristics and attributes in the field and explain the main techniques used to construct terrestrial stratigraphies. You will consider the issues associated with constructing stratigraphies within the fragmented terrestrial record and examine the problems of relating these stratigraphies to climatic events in the continuous marine isotopic record. You will also analyse the use of terrestrial stratigraphies in interpreting climatic events and transitions.

• Key Concepts in Past and Current Climate Change

  In this module you will develop an understanding of the nature and process of climate forcing factors during the Quaternary, including external factors, such as tectonics and orbital forcing, and internal factors, such as ocean circulation, ice sheets, and greenhouses gases. You will look at the archives available to provide Quaternary palaeoclimate records, including ocean and lake sediments, ice cores, and tree rings, and how available proxies are used to reconstruct past climates, such as stable isotopes, microfossils, sedimentology, radiogenic isotopes and biomarkers. You will examine the modelling methods used to reconstruct past climates, such as box, intermediate complexity, and the general circulation model (GCM), and gain an overview of Quaternary climate thesholds, cycles and major events, including onset of Northern Hemisphere glaiation, intensification of the Walker circulation, and the Mid-Pleistocene revolution.

• Biological Responses to Environmental Change

  In this module you will develop an understanding of important palaeoecological proxy methods used to reconstruct Quaternary environments and biotic assemblages. You will look at the methods used to obtain quantitative estimates of past environmental conditions using palaeoecological data. You will consider the principal methods used to date Quaternary sequences and their limitations, and combine these with chronological data in order to construct realistic age models from which the timing, rate and persistence of environmental changes can be inferred. You will also examine how these procedures and their outcomes fit into the wider models of past environmental change and their potential for testing models of future environmental change.

• Climate Data Analysis and Communication

  In this module you will develop an understanding of the essential field techniques used in Quaternary research, including remote sensing, surveying, mapping, coring and other methods. You will learn how to integrate field data and light detection and ranging (LiDAR) with geographical information systems (GID) to generate and interpret landform models. You will become proficient in the use of graphics for Quaternary sediment logs and other purposes, and consider how you present information, both orally and in the form of webpage design. You will also look at approaches to mapping and interpreting landforms and sediments in the field, acquiring a background in the history of glaciations in Scotland ahead of the fieldwork you will conduct in the Highlands.

• Field Training Programme (Scotland)

  In this module you will plan and conduct field-based investigations that address key modern research questions in Quaternary Science. You will visit the Western Highlands of Scotland, spending a sustained period in the field to gain in-depth experience of a range of field methods, including landform mapping, instrumental surveying, sub-surface coring, stratigraphic logging and applied numerical modelling. You will look at the extent, timing, rate and causes of growth and demise of the last glaciers to occupy the Western Highlands. You will work as part of a team for the integration of linked field investigations and data synthesis, and give an oral presentation of your field-based experimental results under mock-conference constraints. You will also present your research results in poster form.

• Dissertation

  You will design, execute and report a piece of professional-level research in an area of Quaternary science of your choosing. You will identify and conceptualise your research question, and undertake fieldwork and laboratory analysis in order to collect, synthesise and interpret different types of Quaternary science data. A member of academic staff will act as your supervisor, and you will be expected to give an oral presentation of your dissertation proposal to the wider department. You will provide a project plan which outlines the timescales and resources required to successfully complete your investigation, and for laboratory-based dissertations, you may receive direct training in specialist techniques from your supervisor. Your final submission will include a written report that includes maps and graphic presentations of your results.

• Academic Integrity

  This module will describe the key principles of academic integrity, focusing on university assignments. Plagiarism, collusion and commissioning will be described as activities that undermine academic integrity, and the possible consequences of engaging in such activities will be described. Activities, with feedback, will provide you with opportunities to reflect and develop your understanding of academic integrity principles.

   

• Geospatial and Temporal Data Science
• Landscape Dynamics and Hazards

Optional Modules

There are a number of optional course modules available during your degree studies. The following is a selection of optional course modules that are likely to be available. Please note that although the College will keep changes to a minimum, new modules may be offered or existing modules may be withdrawn, for example, in response to a change in staff. Applicants will be informed if any significant changes need to be made.

• Quaternary Coleoptera

  In this module you will develop an understanding of the use of Coleoptera as environmental and climatic indicators. You will look at the recovery and extraction of insect remains from sediments and their identification using comparative collections and published keys. You will consider their use for stratigraphical correlation and quantification of past conditions using approaches such as the mutual climatic range method (MCR). You will examine the reasons for discrepancies between palaeoclimatic reconstructions derived from different paleoecological data sets, and assess the limitations of using insect remains for stratigraphic correlation. 

• Quaternary Microfossils

  In this module you will develop an understanding of the basic taxonomy and identification techniques associated with a selection of microfossil groups. You will look at the key strengths and weaknesses relating to diatoms, foraminifera and testate amoebae when undertaking Quarternary investigations. You will collect, present and interpret data from these groups, and apply the principles of microfossil analysis to produce Quaternary environmental reconstructions.

• Late Quaternary Palaeohydrology

  In this module you will develop an understanding of the key issues in Late Pleistocene glacial meltwater palaeohydrology and Holocene alluvial systems. You will consider how Late Pleistocene meltwater pulses influence palaeoclimate and the role of glacial lake outburst floods in causing regional to local scale catastrophic changes in the landscape. You will look at the roles of allogeneic versus autogenic drivers of change in Late Quaternary fluvial systems, including control on fluvial terrace formation and preservation. You will also examine Holocene climate change and flooding through evidence from palaeoflood hydrology, using geomorphological mapping and coring, and floodplain stratigraphy, to reconstruct floodplain environments.