The Arctic as a System

This course is part of the Arctic Climate, Environ. & Geographies of a Changing North Specialization

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Mark C. Serreze +1 more instructor

Offered By

Arctic Climate, Environ. & Geographies of a Changing North SpecializationUniversity of Colorado Boulder

About this Course

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In this course you will first learn about the Arctic as a geographic region, the peoples the Arctic, and the long history of Arctic settlement and exploration. Attention then turns to key features of the Arctic environment – its climate and weather, features of the ocean, sea ice, lands and the Greenland Ice Sheet, and some of the rapid changes being observed.
Learning Objectives: Appreciate the long history of the Arctic and its
peoples. Recognize and recall the physical geography of the Arctic, including
major features of the Arctic Ocean and Arctic lands. Describe the key climate and
environmental elements of the Arctic, including its sea ice cover, patterns of
temperature, precipitation, snow cover, land ice, permafrost and vegetation, the
physical processes giving rise to these features, and how they are changing.

Flexible deadlines

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Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

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Course 1 of 3 in the

Arctic Climate, Environ. & Geographies of a Changing North Specialization

Approx. 12 hours to complete

English

Subtitles: English

What you will learn

Appreciate the long history of the Arctic and its peoples

Recognize and recall the physical geography of the Arctic, including major features of the Arctic Ocean and Arctic lands

Describe the key climate and environmental elements of the Arctic

Skills you will gain

HistoryGeographyEnvironmental ProtectionoceanographyClimate Change

Flexible deadlines

Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Course 1 of 3 in the

Arctic Climate, Environ. & Geographies of a Changing North Specialization

Approx. 12 hours to complete

English

Subtitles: English

Instructors

Instructor rating

4.85/5 (8 Ratings)

Mark C. Serreze

Distinguished Professor of Geography and Director of the National Snow and Ice Data Center

Department of Geography

1,067 Learners

3 Courses

Mistia Zuckerman

1,067 Learners

3 Courses

Offered by

University of Colorado Boulder

CU-Boulder is a dynamic community of scholars and learners on one of the most spectacular college campuses in the country. As one of 34 U.S. public institutions in the prestigious Association of American Universities (AAU), we have a proud tradition of academic excellence, with five Nobel laureates and more than 50 members of prestigious academic academies.

Syllabus - What you will learn from this course

Week

Week 1

2 hours to complete

Introduction to the Arctic

This module provides a basic introduction to the Arctic. It starts with a description of the Arctic as a geographical region, followed by an overview of some of the pronounced changes unfolding in the region. History provides context. As such, we then explore how our knowledge of the Arctic has been built, starting with early explorations and events and then moving through the Cold War and into the present.

2 hours to complete

5 videos (Total 56 min)

Week

Week 2

1 hour to complete

Arctic Climate Basics

To understand the Arctic system and the changes taking place, we need to become familiar with some of the basic climate drivers and features of the region, starting with solar energy, polar night and the midnight sun. Attention then turns to spatial patterns of temperature, precipitation and cloudiness.

1 hour to complete

4 videos (Total 54 min)

Week

Week 3

1 hour to complete

The Arctic Ocean

The Arctic region is an ocean surrounded by land, and to understand the Arctic, we need to understand the Arctic Ocean. We start with discussing Arctic Ocean basics - its shallow shelf sea and deep basins, and then move on to discuss the ocean's floating ice cover. As we will learn, the ice cover grows and shrinks with the seasons and is in near constant motion, squeezing together to form sea ice ridges and keels and pulling apart to form leads.

1 hour to complete

4 videos (Total 54 min)

Week

Week 4

1 hour to complete

The Arctic Lands

As we will learn in this module, the Arctic lands are highly varied. we'll first explore the Greenland Ice sheet. Attention then turns to tundra, boreal forest and the typically ill-defined Arctic treeline. We will learn that a number of very large rivers drain into the Arctic Ocean, having prominent influences on the ocean. Finally, we'll explore permafrost, the perennially frozen ground that underlies most of the Arctic lands.

1 hour to complete

4 videos (Total 48 min)

About the Arctic Climate, Environ. & Geographies of a Changing North Specialization

This specialization starts with an in-depth look at the physical geography of the Arctic and its key climate features, including the ocean's floating sea ice cover, the Greenland Ice Sheet, and patterns of temperature, precipitation, snow cover and permafrost. We will then learn about the remarkable unfolding changes that are transforming the Arctic environment, how they are related to each other, and cascading impacts on terrestrial and marine ecosystems. Attention then turns to the growing economic, strategic, and geopolitical importance of the Arctic in the context of observed environmental changes in the region.

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When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Specialization, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. Your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free.
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Will I earn university credit for completing the Course?
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The Arctic as a System