Earth, Climate and Life Systems

This course investigates the birth and transformation of Earth to a habitable planet. It starts with the construction of the planet in the solar nebula, to Earth's transformation to a warm wet greenhouse planet, through the evolution and extinction events that shaped and still shape life on the planet. Students look at the water world that is our earth; the hydrosphere, atmosphere and the oceans. We also investigate the human effects on Earth’s systems, and focus on the extraordinary Australian environment. We undertake a number of day-long field excursions to see some of these environments first-hand.