Evolution of life, climate and oceans

This course will cover a number of disciplines, providing a basic overview of the Biosphere, Hydrosphere and Atmosphere, as well as their evolution since the planet's origin. The disciplines (and major themes) covered will be :

-Paleontology: Evolution, Biochronology and Geological Eras, Biodiversity and Past Crises.

-Climatology and Oceanology: How is climate studied? What is the role of the ocean and the terrestrial biosphere? Faced with today's global challenges, tools are being developed to better characterize the mechanisms of climate change and their impact on terrestrial and marine environments, from the past to the future, notably through the modification of biogeochemical cycles on a planetary scale. Environmental geochemistry will be a key method for characterizing both anthropogenic and natural footprints.

The main objectives are to understand how these envelopes interacted with the Geosphere in the past (covered in greater depth in the HAT102T geology course) and to be able to analyze a natural landscape today in terms of its evolution over geological time.

The aim of this course is to provide students with a naturalist (and biologist) background in the evolution of life, climate and oceans with a series of examples and/or models illustrating the interactions between them, in particular during the major periods of disturbance experienced by our planet in the recent and distant past. Through these examples and practical work in the classroom or in the field, students are expected to gain a concrete vision of past changes in biodiversity, climate and oceans, in order to better apprehend and understand the societal issues surrounding the future of biodiversity and climate change.

Basic Life and Earth Sciences

Recommended prerequisites* :

HAT103T discovery of Environmental Sciences

HAT102T geology

HAV108B UE From organisms to ecosystems

Continuous assessment (practical work + field trip) and final exam.

• Synthetic description of the concepts covered in CM :

Through several examples drawn from the recent (Pleistocene) to the very distant (Archean) past, we will show how climate, oceans and biodiversity have evolved over the last 3.8 billion years, each time trying to highlight the complex interactions between them as well as their responses to other possible disturbance factors (e.g. Terrestrial Geodynamics, Extra Planetary).

• Synthetic description of TP sessions and number of hours associated with each session

Practical work (9h): Technical and practical approach to relative biochronology (dating) and the reconstruction of paleoenvironments (paleoclimate & ocean dynamics) from fossil organisms.

Practical work (3 hrs): Climate/Ocean: Approach to environmental geochemistry (stable and radiogenic isotopes, organic and molecular chemistry, physiological geochemistry and climate science, understanding biogeochemical cycles on a global, ecosystem and community scale, geological cycles and ecological significance). Case studies (ocean acidification, coral bleaching, ENSO variations, marine pollution).

Practical work (3h): Support for field trip, analysis of data/results, implementation of field data-taking methodology. Plant samples from different environments (lagoons to sea) and fauna observations. Identification and collection of organisms that will be available to generations of students who will follow and continue this work. Identify indicators of environmental change. Coastline analysis (coastal erosion).

• Description of the themes/manips covered during your field trip(s) and details of destinations/sites

The aim is to put into practice, in real-life conditions, the various techniques and knowledge acquired in this course, i.e.: using field data (from the Causse to the Littoral), reconstruct and/or analyze paleoenvironments or environmental proxies from ancient to very recent times (e.g. climate change), understand paleobiodiversity and its age, and monitor the evolution of these parameters over time (see practical work), then place them in a more global context, as covered in class.

Hourly volumes* :

            CM: 15h

            Practical work: 15h

            Field : 6h