Name of the Course: Arctic StudiesCourse Credit: 04Course durations: 15 weeksLevel: UG/PGNCrF Level: 5.5 – 8.0 (Suitable for PhD course work)1. About the course :The course on ‘Arctic studies’, is designed through a multidisciplinary approach to provide comprehensive knowledge on the geological, climatic, geographical, environmental and human dimensions of the Arctic region. This course is part of a project “Development of MOOC on the six pillars of India’s Arctic Policy (IAP) for the SWAYAM Platform” funded by UGC, MoE, Govt. of India. This project was planned and initiated during 2022 after release of India’s Arctic Policy - building a partnership for sustainable development. Prime focus of this policy is to prepare the country for future global challenges such as climate change through a collective effort. In this line, it is essential to create awareness among citizens especially among students about the Arctic region, its importance in the climate change study, requirement of international partnership for sustainable development and peace.Arctic region provides pristine environments for studying various natural phenomena for atmospheric, oceanic, biological, geological, glaciological, and earth sciences research. This region plays an important role to evaluate the impact of climate change, melting of polar Ice, Sea level rise, climatic teleconnections, and environmental challenges. In addition to understand the biodiversity in the extreme environment, geopolitics, exploration of natural resources, new shipping route etc. Thus, upon completion of the course, the students will understand Arctic geology, climate, its characteristics and global connections; identify and analyses the resource potential; apprise the environmental issues and global consequences; understand and assess human interactions in Arctic - primarily the ethnic communities; develop a critical understanding on the importance of the Arctic region for sustainable developments.Course is divided into 40 modules under following 15 topics.1. About Arctic Region2. Indian expedition3. Arctic through geological age4. Geology of Svalbard5. Geology of Greenland6. Arctic Ocean and Sea ice7. Fjord systems and coastal morphology8. Natural Resources of Arctic Region9. Atmospheric circulation over Arctic10. Arctic Climate11. Arctic Ecosystem12. Arctic Environment13. Remote Sensing and GIS in Arctic studies14. Ethnic Groups of Arctic15. India's Arctic PolicyThe internal assessment is based on assignments and MCQ as per the week wise schedule. Interactive discussions are scheduled each week on different module.Course team:Prof. K. N. Yogalakshmi, Dean, School of Environment and Earth Sciences, Specialization: Wastewater management, Environmental nanotechnology.Dr. L.T. Sasang Guite, Associate professor, Department of Geography, Specialization: Population Geography and Health GeographyProf. Ksh. Krishnakanta Singh, HoD, Department of Geology, Specialization: Hydrogeology, hydrogeochemistry,Dr. Shruti Kanga, Associate Professor & HOD, Department of Geography, Specialization: Geoinformatics, Sustainable DevelopmentDr. Pritam Chand, Assistant Professor, Department of Geography, Specialization: Glaciology, Geo-informatics,Dr. Rahul Mukherjee, Assistant Professor, Department of Geology, Specialization: Ore Geology, Structural Geology,Dr. Vamdev Pathak , Assistant Professor, Department of Geology, Specialization: Paleomagnetism, Rock magnetism,Dr. Prafulla Sahoo, Assistant Professor, Department of Environment Science and Technology, Specialization: Environmental GeochemistryDr. M.S. Dhanya, Assistant Professor, Department of Environment Science and Technology, Specialization: Soil Ecology, Environmental Microbiology,Dr. Ajay Kumar, Assistant Professor, Department of Environment Science and Technology, Specialization: Air pollution and atmospheric chemistry,Dr. Ravi Prakash , Assistant Professor, Department of Environment Science and Technology, Specialization: Geoinformatics, Climate ChangeDr. Paramveer Singh, Assistant Professor, Department of Mass Communication and Media studies, Specialization: Television Studies, Rural Communication.2. Pre-requisite for the course: The course is open to UG/PG and also for PhD course work.3. Course type: core or elective: Elective4. Estimated workload every week: Each weekFour hours workload per week distributed in 4 days, which includes nearly 30 minutes of video lectures for each module, e-text reading, and assignments/discussion/ MCQ as per the week wise schedule.5. Total assignments allotted for the course (Indicate Graded assignments (which contain marks) and non-graded (those non-marks) :-Graded Assignments: 5 AssignmentsNon-graded Assignment: 1 assignmentGraded quiz/MCQ: 6 MCQ test
Overview
Syllabus
6. Week wise schedule :
Week 1: About Arctic RegionModule 1: Introduction to the ArcticModule 2: How the Arctic region is different from the AntarcticaModule 3: Arctic Region and StatesDiscussion & Self-assessment
Week 2: Indian expeditionModule 4: Transportation and connectivity in the arctic regionsModule 5: Special regions of the Arctic (Greenland and Svalbard)Module 6: Indian expedition and research stationDiscussion & Self-assessmentWeek 3: Arctic through geological ageModule 7: Arctic region through geological AgeModule 8: Paleoclimate and past life of the Arctic regionGraded Assignment and quiz/MCQ (Module 1 to 6)Discussion
Week 4: Geology of SvalbardModule 9: Geology of Svalbard,Module 10: Landforms of SvalbardModule 11: Glacial Hydrogeology of the SvalbardDiscussion & Self-assessment
Week 5: Geology of GreenlandModule 12: Geology of Greenland,Module 13: Landforms of GreenlandModule 14: Glacial Hydrogeology of the GreenlandDiscussion and Graded quiz/MCQ (Module 7 to 14)
Week 6: Arctic Ocean and Sea iceModule 15: Arctic Ocean,Module 16: Sea Ice of the Arctic regionModule 17: Continental ice sheet and glaciers of the Arctic regionDiscussion & Self-assessment
Week 7: Fjord systems and coastal morphologyModule 18: Fjord systems in the Arctic regionModule 19: Coastal morphology in the arctic regionsGraded Assignment and quiz/MCQ (Module 15 to 19)Discussion
Week 8: Natural Resources of Arctic RegionModule 20: Marine resources in the Arctic regionsModule 21: Natural resources of the SvalbardModule 22: Natural resources of the GreenlandDiscussion & Self-assessment
Week 9: Atmospheric circulation over ArcticModule 23: Atmospheric circulation over ArcticModule 24: Methane emission and Ozone hole development over Arctic regionGraded AssignmentDiscussion
Week 10: Arctic ClimateModule 25: Arctic Climate and its global importance,Module 26: Role of Arctic region on global climate & its teleconnectionNon-Graded Assignment and Graded quiz/MCQ (Module 20 to 26)Discussion
Week 11: Arctic EcosystemModule 27: Arctic ecosystem and food chainModule 28: Arctic biodiversity - threats and conservation measuresModule 29: Nutrient cycling in the ArcticDiscussion & Self-assessment
Week 12: Arctic EnvironmentModule 30: Arctic Water pollution,Module 31: Arctic air pollutionModule 32: Pollution in the Arctic region: Impact of seasonal pollutionDiscussion & Self-assessment
Week 13: Remote Sensing and GIS in Arctic studiesModule 33: Remote Sensing and GIS in monitoring Arctic environmentModule 34: Arctic environmental safety and risk assessmentGraded Assignment and quiz/MCQ (Module 27 to 34)Discussion
Week 14: Ethnic Groups of ArcticModule 35: Ethnic communities and their settlement in ArcticModule 36: Impact of climate change on the indigenous peoples of ArcticModule 37: Protection of the Arctic environment and the role of ethnic communitiesModule 38: Water resource management by Arctic communitiesDiscussion
Week 15: India's Arctic PolicyModule 39: UN sustainable development goals (SDG) relevance to the Arctic Region: A missing link needs to be establishedModule 40: India's Arctic PolicyGraded Assignment and quiz/MCQ (Module 35 to 40)Discussion
Week 1: About Arctic RegionModule 1: Introduction to the ArcticModule 2: How the Arctic region is different from the AntarcticaModule 3: Arctic Region and StatesDiscussion & Self-assessment
Week 2: Indian expeditionModule 4: Transportation and connectivity in the arctic regionsModule 5: Special regions of the Arctic (Greenland and Svalbard)Module 6: Indian expedition and research stationDiscussion & Self-assessmentWeek 3: Arctic through geological ageModule 7: Arctic region through geological AgeModule 8: Paleoclimate and past life of the Arctic regionGraded Assignment and quiz/MCQ (Module 1 to 6)Discussion
Week 4: Geology of SvalbardModule 9: Geology of Svalbard,Module 10: Landforms of SvalbardModule 11: Glacial Hydrogeology of the SvalbardDiscussion & Self-assessment
Week 5: Geology of GreenlandModule 12: Geology of Greenland,Module 13: Landforms of GreenlandModule 14: Glacial Hydrogeology of the GreenlandDiscussion and Graded quiz/MCQ (Module 7 to 14)
Week 6: Arctic Ocean and Sea iceModule 15: Arctic Ocean,Module 16: Sea Ice of the Arctic regionModule 17: Continental ice sheet and glaciers of the Arctic regionDiscussion & Self-assessment
Week 7: Fjord systems and coastal morphologyModule 18: Fjord systems in the Arctic regionModule 19: Coastal morphology in the arctic regionsGraded Assignment and quiz/MCQ (Module 15 to 19)Discussion
Week 8: Natural Resources of Arctic RegionModule 20: Marine resources in the Arctic regionsModule 21: Natural resources of the SvalbardModule 22: Natural resources of the GreenlandDiscussion & Self-assessment
Week 9: Atmospheric circulation over ArcticModule 23: Atmospheric circulation over ArcticModule 24: Methane emission and Ozone hole development over Arctic regionGraded AssignmentDiscussion
Week 10: Arctic ClimateModule 25: Arctic Climate and its global importance,Module 26: Role of Arctic region on global climate & its teleconnectionNon-Graded Assignment and Graded quiz/MCQ (Module 20 to 26)Discussion
Week 11: Arctic EcosystemModule 27: Arctic ecosystem and food chainModule 28: Arctic biodiversity - threats and conservation measuresModule 29: Nutrient cycling in the ArcticDiscussion & Self-assessment
Week 12: Arctic EnvironmentModule 30: Arctic Water pollution,Module 31: Arctic air pollutionModule 32: Pollution in the Arctic region: Impact of seasonal pollutionDiscussion & Self-assessment
Week 13: Remote Sensing and GIS in Arctic studiesModule 33: Remote Sensing and GIS in monitoring Arctic environmentModule 34: Arctic environmental safety and risk assessmentGraded Assignment and quiz/MCQ (Module 27 to 34)Discussion
Week 14: Ethnic Groups of ArcticModule 35: Ethnic communities and their settlement in ArcticModule 36: Impact of climate change on the indigenous peoples of ArcticModule 37: Protection of the Arctic environment and the role of ethnic communitiesModule 38: Water resource management by Arctic communitiesDiscussion
Week 15: India's Arctic PolicyModule 39: UN sustainable development goals (SDG) relevance to the Arctic Region: A missing link needs to be establishedModule 40: India's Arctic PolicyGraded Assignment and quiz/MCQ (Module 35 to 40)Discussion
Taught by
Dr. Jitendra Kumar Pattanaik, Professor, Department of Geology
