UE Plio-Quaternary climates and landforms (2024-2025)

The objective is to explore to what extent geomorphological archives (landscape features and associated sedimentary deposits) can inform us about past climates, as well as associated environmental conditions and earth surface processes/natural hazards. This course adresses this question with a multisciplinary approach (geomorphology, sedimentology, paleoclimatology) with the aim to reconstruct past landscapes and use them as archives. A special focus will be on the Alps and their evolution during the Plio-Quaternary, but other environments/periods will also be considered, especially key transition periods from glacials to interglacials or changes in amospheric circulations (monsoon). The proposed course is organised around lectures and interactive group sessions.
A field excursion around Grenoble is also planned. Some background in paleoclimatology and/or geomorphology would be advantageous but not mandatory. Teaching can be performed in french or english.