System Earth; the impact of climate and man on the natural system
After you have completed the minor, you will know everything about System Earth and the impact of climate and man on the natural system.
Related VU master’s programmes:
Language of Instruction: Dutch!
The objective of this course is to gather basic knowledge of the processes that work in the interior and on the surface of the Earth and their interdependence.
The land, oceans and atmosphere form a coupled system that interacts to produce a certain climate and type of weather. This course focuses on the interactions between the land, atmosphere and the oceans and integrates knowledge from past, present and future climate.
The objective of this course is to understand the interaction between biosphere and geosphere.
Climate change and socio-economic development lead to challenges for water safety and freshwater availability in the Netherlands. The aim of this course is to gain insight into water management in the Netherlands and how climate change, land use changes, and population growth influence policies and practices. Special attention will be paid the Delta Programme, which aim is to protect the Netherlands against floods, ensure freshwater supplies, and to climate-proof the country’s spatial planning.
The interactions between earth and economics that steer changes in land use are central to this course. Socio-economic processes, spatial policy and bio-physical conditions determine the way humans use the surface of the earth. These driving forces are active at various scale levels and they are often interrelated, making the analysis of land-use change a complex issue.
This course introduces students to the methods and tools that provide insight in the most important forces that influence land-use dynamics and allows students to independently apply this knowledge to analyse actual changes, explain these and simulate potential future land-use patterns.
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