This module takes you on a journey around the cold regions of the Earth, from the great ice sheets to the high peaks, where you will learn about the processes operating in these environments and how our cryosphere is changing in response to a warming world and as part of the wider Earth system. You will explore how the retreat of mountain glaciers can impact downstream ecosystems and communities, and how the changes to mountain environments can lead to increased risk of natural hazard events. You will study how sea ice, permafrost, and snow cover are responding to anthropogenic climate change, and the impacts this has for how both people and animals must adapt to changing environmental conditions.
This module allows you to learn about how the cryosphere can be monitored and modelled, including practical components related to how we can observe the cryosphere from space, and how computer models can be used to predict how glaciers and the water they produce will respond in a warmer future. We encourage you to think critically about our responsibility for the changing cryosphere, how this impacts upon the grand challenges of water, food, and energy security, and how we can adapt to / mitigate against rising sea levels, an increase in climate-driven hazards, and a reduction in glacier-fed freshwater resources.
Through studying Polar and Alpine Change you will develop skills in handling and analysis of spatial and temporal data, application of Earth observation for monitoring glacier processes and change, and the use of models to explore glacier response to future climate scenarios.
