1. Quaternary research: a historical overview
2. Dating methods
3. δ18O - a key record of Quaternary climate
4. Glacial geomorphology and stratigraphy
5. Quaternary glaciations: extents and chronology 1 - ice sheets
6. Quaternary glaciations: extents and chronology 2 - alpine glaciation
7. Environments of the mid-latitudes: loess, lacustrine, and fluvial records
8. Termination 1
9. The Holocene
10. Quaternary environments of central Europe
11. Humans in the Quaternary
12. Unresolved issues of Quaternary research
The course provides an overview of environmental changes in the Quaternary period and methodological approaches how to study them. The main emphasis is given to the drivers of environmental changes and impacts of environmental changes on the human population.
Sedimentary record of climatic and environmental changes, and temporal and spatial variability of Quaternary glaciation are reviewed as well. The students will acquire knowledge of the basic environmental and palaeoclimate archives and the methods applied to extract information from these archives.