Getting the Earth into your laptop

General description

Can you explain why claims about climate change can be made given that the weather is unpredictable beyond 10 days? Are you sure about how the greenhouse gas effect works? And more importantly, do you know how this was known, why this happened and how the ongoing climate change compares to the past ones ? Those are the questions that the cours will try to tackle, with the final objective being a seasonal prediction for the Arctic sea !

As crazy as the course is, it takes place in a even crazier city: Louvain-la-Neuve, the BEST city of Belgium. Being a city created for students, you'll meet incredible people, visit beautiful places, eat amazin belgian cuisine, and last but not least, take part in the most craziest (yes, MOST CRAZIEST) parties of your life!

Let's recap everything so you can explain to your friend why you've made the BEST choice:

- You'll learn how to predict weather, understand climate and its changes, and be little experts on climate which is so relevant today

- You'll learn the history of Earth through its climate, how we model it, and how we have been able to reconstruct it

- Taste BELGIAN fries, waffles, and chocolate

- Meet the amazing people of Louvian-la-Neuve

- Party like there's no tomorrow everyday (but still being fresh enough for class)

- Did we spoke already about tasting the best fries and chocolate in the entire world ?

Don't wait any further ! Write your motivation letter, and see you in Louvain-la-Neuve !!!

Academic information

Fields of activity:
Applied Sciences , Computer Engineering , Environmental Engineering
Content and topics:
The course will focus on theoretical sessions leading to development of a project in groups. The theoretical part will focus on the acquisition of knowledges and understanding about Earth's climate in different eras, as well as the dynamics of the climate. A second part will be about how to make a prediction on Earth's climate and the modeling of said climate. The project part will focus on the prediction of the seasonal Arctic ice sea weather and its modeling, but also about energy balance to observe, model, and understand the effects of CO2, albedo, and solar radiations on global climate.
Learning goals and objectives:
• Acquire the knowledge on the Earth's climate changes from geological past to present and future, the approaches to reconstruct and understand these changes, and the associated uncertainties. • Develop your own simplified model of the greenhouse effect, including its subtleties. • Generate your own seasonal predictions of the 2023 summer Arctic sea ice. • Learn to use simple climate models (Energy Balance Model and 3D models).
Examination type:
Project presentation
ECTS credits issued:
1.0

Information for applicants

Selection criteria:
Motivational letter and answer to 3 questions. We're looking for students who want to meet new people, discover Belgium and its folklore (and let's not forget about BELGIAN fries and chocolate). Show us the topic interests you, but also that you're FUN and ready to have a great time! Make your motivational letter crazy and creative, make us sweat choosing participants !

Practical arrangements

All of the following are covered by the event fee:

Lodging:
Comfortable student housing (each participant has their own room).
Meals:
We provide breakfast and two meals a day (lunch & dinner), at least a hot one per day.
Transportation:
Transportation during the event will be provided at no extra costs. We will be mainly walking but we'll use the train, as well as the bus and the car. We might also rent bikes during our Weekend Trip.