Climate Change and the Polar Regions: Tools for the Climate Crisis

Develop your knowledge of the fascinating polar regions and why they have such far-reaching effects on climate change.

Aimed at those with a scientifically curious mind, this course is for anyone who wants to know more about climate change. On the course, you’ll examine the evidence for climate change and get to the important facts. You will learn to experiment and interpret rich, real-time data from the poles to understand climate change, now and in the future. This course will also enable you to make informed decisions about how you and others can tackle the climate crisis.

Understand how humans contribute to the climate crisis

The regions are teeming with life – including humans in the Arctic. You will discover the impact that humans have had on the poles from thousands of years to the present day.

Equip yourself with the evidence for climate change

It’s a unique opportunity for you to use data, the latest computer models and live satellite imagery to help you learn about our planet and generate the evidence to understand the climate crisis.

Develop your understanding of global warming

During this 10-week course you’ll learn about the intricate balance of the polar environment, and the surprising ways it connects us. You’ll observe global warming’s impact on ice, atmosphere, ecosystems, our oceans, and use climate modelling skills to make your own projections on the speed of change in the polar regions.

Throughout the course you’ll take part in weekly activities to support and consolidate your learning. At the end of the course, you’ll submit an assessment which is marked and graded by academic experts from The Open University.

By the end, you’ll be able to:

• Understand the evidence for climate change using the polar regions as a critical example.
• Have the confidence from your knowledge to share insights from the polar regions with other people and communicate in ways that will inspire them to take action to tackle the climate crisis.
• Extend your view of the world to better understand the intrinsic link between science, society and the environment

Discover environmental solutions from leading award-winning experts

This microcredential is created by Professor Mark Brandon MBE who has been leading Polar Research at The Open University for 20 years and has spearheaded the OU’s contribution to landmark BBC series, such as Frozen Planet and Blue Planet 2. He is joined by Dr Ella Gilbert, who has undertaken remote Antarctic fieldwork and is passionately committed to communicating about science in an accessible way to reach and engage wide and diverse audiences.

Courses under this program:
Course 1: Climate Change and the Polar Regions: Tools for the Climate Crisis
-Develop the skills and knowledge to understand the climate crisis through the lens of changes in the polar regions.