The course covers climate, climate change, plate tectonics, rock-forming processes, geobiology, volcanoes, earthquakes, surface processes (glacial, river, wind, and hillslope environments), climate, water cycle, and ocean circulation. It is based on the course book "Understanding Earth" by John Grotzinger and Thomas H Jordan.
The course consists of an online part (virtual mobility) and a field part (physical mobility).
The 5-day physical mobility will be held near Stockholm on the islands of Utö and Nåttarö in the Stockholm Archipelago from April 27th to May 1st, 2026.
In this spectacular natural laboratory, we will work on multiple timescales, exploring a 2-billion-year legacy of volcanism, early life and the rise of oxygen on Earth, in a landscape that was been shaped both by the ice sheets that once covered northern Europe, and by the humans who came afterwards. While in the field, you will find out how geologists read about the past by studying rocks, sediments and landforms. Together, we will reflect on the importance of understanding the past when we face challenges of the future.
The virtual part will be running from 4th May to 18th June, 2026.
It comprises online learning material (recorded lectures, quizzes) as well as online instructor-led discussions:
This part of the course is based on the excellent book "Understanding Earth" by John Grotzinger and Thomas H Jordan. You will read this book, watch pre-recorded lectures which bring its contents to life, and meet with your instructors each week to reflect on what you have learned and why it is important from the perspectives of your own discipline and the disciplines of the other scholars with whom you will be studying.
The online part of the course consists of 7 paired sessions (reading material, pre-recorded lectures, online quizzes and an instructor-led online discussion). Online discussions are held from 18:00 – 20:00 CEST according to the following schedule. These discussions are an obligatory part of the course.
- May 7th: Earth system and plate tectonics
- May 14th: Rock-forming processes and volcanoes
- May 21st: Rock-forming processes and earthquakes
- May 28th: Climate and humans
- June 4th: Water and ice
- June 11th: Surface processes
- June 18th: Planetary history and geobiology