Effects of changes in climate on arctic, sub-arctic and temperate freshwaters

Effects of changes in climate on arctic, sub-arctic and temperate freshwaters

Ph.D. course, autumn 2003, 5 ECTS credits 

 

Aims
The focus of this course will be on the effects of climatic changes on arctic, sub-arctic and temperate freshwaters in the past, at present and in the future. Special emphasis will be placed on trophic structure and dynamics in lakes, but also studies of rivers will be briefly covered. The course is designed both for students interested in limnology and in palaeolimnology.

 

Contents
The themes will be treated in lectures and plenary discussions based on the reading list for the course. Participants doing research within the subject field will be asked to contribute with a lecture. The reading list will cover various aspects of climate change effects on freshwater ecosystems.

 

Topics

• Climate change in the past at time scales of millenia, centuries and decades
• Climate and weather change today. Forcing mechanisms and modelling of future climate change.
• Land use-climate change interactions during the Holocene and ecosystem effects as evidenced by sedimentary fossil records.
• Cross-system analyses of biological data from arctic, sub-arctic, temperate and subtropical lakes.
• Expected effects of changes in CO₂ on plants in rivers and lakes: results from indoor and outdoor mesocosm experiments.
• Expected effects of climatic changes on river runoff, nutrient transport and retention/loss from land to sea based on analyses of existing time series and modelling.
• Expected effects of climate changes on lake and river ecosystems based on space-for-time substitution, paleoecological analyses and modelling.
• Introduction to the Danish climate change project for aquatic ecosystems (2002-2006) – Conwoy.
• Introduction to a European climate change project for freshwater (2003- 2007) – Euro-limpacs.
• Introduction to the Sarup Sø project (2003-2005) – an example of high resolution studies of baseline lake ecosystem changes using annually laminated lake sediments

 

Field and lab activities

• Demonstration of sampling and treatment of sediment cores. Discussion of the scope and limitations of methods.
• Introduction to fossil analyses of zooplankton and diatoms. Microscopy of samples taken during the course. Discussion of how data are treated and the scope and possibilities of the applied method.
• Demonstration of an advanced climate experiment undertaken in co-operation between research institutions at a former fish farm near Silkeborg.

 

Teaching curriculum
The course will be a resident block course of five days held at Mønsted Field Station from 24 to 28 October 2003.

Organisers
Research Professor Erik Jeppesen (ej@dmu.dk), Associate Professor Tom Vindbæk Madsen, (tom.madsen@biology.au.dk ), Professor Bent Odgaard (bent.odgaard@geo.au.dk). 

 

A number of Danish and guest scientists from abroad will also act as teachers:

 

Senior Advisor, PhD Jens Hesselbjerg Christensen, Climate Research Division, Danish Meteorological Institute, Lyngbyvej 100, DK-2100 Copenhagen Ø, Denmark, e-mail: jhc@dmi.dk

 

PhD Susanne Amsinck,National Environmental Research Institute, Dept. of Freshwater Ecology, Vejlsøvej 25, DK-8600 Silkeborg, Denmark, e-mail: sla@dmu.dk 

 

Seniorforsker, Brian Kronvang, National Environmental Research Institute, Dept. of Freshwater Ecology, Vejlsøvej 25, DK-8600 Silkeborg, Denmark, e-mail: bkr@dmu.dk

 

Associate Professor Marianne Douglas University of Toronto, Department of Geology, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, e-mail: msvd@opal.geology.utoronto.ca

 

Senior Advisor, PhD Jens Hesselbjerg Christensen, Climate Research Division, Danish Meteorological Institute, Lyngbyvej 100, DK-2100 Copenhagen Ø, Denmark, e-mail: jhc@dmi.dk

 

PhD, Director of the Myvatn Research Station Arni Einarsson Institute of Biology, University of Iceland, Grensasvegur 12 108 Reykjavik, Iceland, e-mail: arnie@rhi.hi.is

 

Dr Hilmar Malmquist, Natural History Museum of Kópavogur, Hamraborg 6 A, IS-200, Kópavogur, Iceland, e-mail: hilmar@natkop.is

 

 

Registration
For registration contact Mrs. Anne-Mette Poulsen, amp@dmu.dk, as soon as possible and at not later than October 10, 2003. Travel grants will be available, see 'PhD student grants' at www.soas.dk.

 

Fee: 1500,- DKK, which include accomodation and all meals.

 

Prerequisites
Graduate background in general aquatic ecology.

 

Evaluation

Pass/fail on the basis of satisfactory participation in the course.

 

Additional remarks
This course is primarily organised for PhD students, and SOAS PhD students will be given first priority. Teaching will be in English.