ARCTIC STUDIES

By Dr. Jitendra Kumar Pattanaik, Professor, Department of Geology | Central University of Punjab, Punjab

Learners enrolled: 737

Name of the Course: Arctic Studies

Course Credit: 04

Course durations: 15 weeks

Level: UG/PG

NCrF 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 Region

2. Indian expedition

3. Arctic through geological age

4. Geology of Svalbard

5. Geology of Greenland

6. Arctic Ocean and Sea ice

7. Fjord systems and coastal morphology

8. Natural Resources of Arctic Region

9. Atmospheric circulation over Arctic

10. Arctic Climate

11. Arctic Ecosystem

12. Arctic Environment

13. Remote Sensing and GIS in Arctic studies

14. Ethnic Groups of Arctic

15. India's Arctic Policy

The 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 Geography
Prof. Ksh. Krishnakanta Singh, HoD, Department of Geology, Specialization: Hydrogeology, hydrogeochemistry,
Dr. Shruti Kanga, Associate Professor & HOD, Department of Geography, Specialization: Geoinformatics, Sustainable Development
Dr. 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 Geochemistry
Dr. 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 Change
Dr. 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: Elective

4. Estimated workload every week: Each week Four 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 Assignments

Non-graded Assignment: 1 assignment

Graded quiz/MCQ: 6 MCQ test

Summary

Course Status :	Ongoing
Course Type :	Elective
Language for course content :	English
Duration :	15 weeks
Category :	Multidisciplinary
Credit Points :	4
Level :	Undergraduate/Postgraduate
Start Date :	15 Jan 2025
End Date :	30 Apr 2025
Enrollment Ends :	28 Feb 2025
Exam Date :	25 May 2025 IST
NCrF Level	5.5 — 8.0
Industry Details :	Academic Institutions / Engineering
Exam Time : 3:00PM to 06:00 PM :	Note: Doubt / Live classes every Weekend

Note: This exam date is subject to change based on seat availability. You can check final exam date on your hall ticket.

Page Visits

Course layout

6. Week wise schedule :

Week 1: About Arctic Region

Module 1: Introduction to the Arctic

Module 2: How the Arctic region is different from the Antarctica

Module 3: Arctic Region and States

Discussion & Self-assessment

Week 2: Indian expedition

Module 4: Transportation and connectivity in the arctic regions

Module 5: Special regions of the Arctic (Greenland and Svalbard)

Module 6: Indian expedition and research station

Discussion & Self-assessment

Week 3: Arctic through geological age

Module 7: Arctic region through geological Age

Module 8: Paleoclimate and past life of the Arctic region

Graded Assignment and quiz/MCQ (Module 1 to 6)

Discussion

Week 4: Geology of Svalbard

Module 9: Geology of Svalbard,

Module 10: Landforms of Svalbard

Module 11: Glacial Hydrogeology of the Svalbard

Discussion & Self-assessment

Week 5: Geology of Greenland

Module 12: Geology of Greenland,

Module 13: Landforms of Greenland

Module 14: Glacial Hydrogeology of the Greenland

Discussion and Graded quiz/MCQ (Module 7 to 14)

Week 6: Arctic Ocean and Sea ice

Module 15: Arctic Ocean,

Module 16: Sea Ice of the Arctic region

Module 17: Continental ice sheet and glaciers of the Arctic region

Discussion & Self-assessment

Week 7: Fjord systems and coastal morphology

Module 18: Fjord systems in the Arctic region

Module 19: Coastal morphology in the arctic regions

Graded Assignment and quiz/MCQ (Module 15 to 19)

Discussion

Week 8: Natural Resources of Arctic Region

Module 20: Marine resources in the Arctic regions

Module 21: Natural resources of the Svalbard

Module 22: Natural resources of the Greenland

Discussion & Self-assessment

Week 9: Atmospheric circulation over Arctic

Module 23: Atmospheric circulation over Arctic

Module 24: Methane emission and Ozone hole development over Arctic region

Graded Assignment

Discussion

Week 10: Arctic Climate

Module 25: Arctic Climate and its global importance,

Module 26: Role of Arctic region on global climate & its teleconnection

Non-Graded Assignment and Graded quiz/MCQ (Module 20 to 26)

Discussion

Week 11: Arctic Ecosystem

Module 27: Arctic ecosystem and food chain

Module 28: Arctic biodiversity - threats and conservation measures

Module 29: Nutrient cycling in the Arctic

Discussion & Self-assessment

Week 12: Arctic Environment

Module 30: Arctic Water pollution,

Module 31: Arctic air pollution

Module 32: Pollution in the Arctic region: Impact of seasonal pollution

Discussion & Self-assessment

Week 13: Remote Sensing and GIS in Arctic studies

Module 33: Remote Sensing and GIS in monitoring Arctic environment

Module 34: Arctic environmental safety and risk assessment

Graded Assignment and quiz/MCQ (Module 27 to 34)

Discussion

Week 14: Ethnic Groups of Arctic

Module 35: Ethnic communities and their settlement in Arctic

Module 36: Impact of climate change on the indigenous peoples of Arctic

Module 37: Protection of the Arctic environment and the role of ethnic communities

Module 38: Water resource management by Arctic communities

Discussion

Week 15: India's Arctic Policy

Module 39: UN sustainable development goals (SDG) relevance to the Arctic Region: A missing link needs to be established

Module 40: India's Arctic Policy

Graded Assignment and quiz/MCQ (Module 35 to 40)

Discussion

Books and references

Books , Journal and References for the course:

•K. Lambeck et al. Into and out of the Last Glacial Maximum sea-level change during oxygen isotope stages 3 and 2 Quaternary Science Review (2002)

•P. Huybrechts Sea-level changes at the LGM from ice-dynamic reconstructions of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets during glacial cycles Quaternary Science Review (2002)

•P.U. Clark et al. Ice sheets and sea level of the Last Glacial Maximum Quaternary Science Review (2002)

•J. Ehlers et al. Extent and chronology of glaciations Quaternary Science Review (2003)

•J. Ehlers et al. The extent and chronology of Cenozoic global glaciation Quaternary International (2007)

•Kiehl, J.T., Schneider, T., Portmann, R. & Solomon, S. 1999. Climate forcing due to tropospheric and stratospheric ozone. Journal of Geophysical Research, 104, 31 239–31 254.Google Scholar

•Nakicenovic, N., Alcamo, J. & 26 Coauthors. 2000. IPCC Special Report on Emission Scenarios. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 599 pp.Google Scholar

•Randel, W. & Wu, F. 1999. A stratospheric ozone trends data set for global modeling studies. Geophysical Research Letters, 26, 3089–3092.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

•Walsh, J.E. 2008. Simulations of present Arctic climate and future regional projections. In Kane, D.L. & Hinkel, K.M., eds. Ninth International Conference on Permafrost, University of Alaska, Fairbanks. United States Permafrost Association, 1911–1916.Google Scholar

•WMO (World Meteorological Organization). 2003. Scientific assessment of ozone depletion: 2002. Global Ozone Research and Monitoring Project. World Meteorological Organization, Report No. 47, 498 pp.Google Scholar

•McGuire, A. D., Anderson, L. G., Christensen, T. R., Dallimore, S., Guo, L., Hayes, D. J., Heimann, M., Lorenson, T.D., Macdonald, R.W. & Roulet, N. (2009). Sensitivity of the carbon cycle in the Arctic to climate change. Ecological Monographs, 79(4), 523-555.

•Midgley, N. G., Tonkin, T. N., Graham, D. J., & Cook, S. J. (2018). Evolution of high-Arctic glacial landforms during deglaciation. Geomorphology, 311, 63-75.

•Miner, K.R., Turetsky, M.R., Malina, E., Bartsch, A., Tamminen, J., McGuire, A.D., Fix, A., Sweeney, C., Elder, C.D. & Miller, C.E. (2022). Permafrost carbon emissions in a changing Arctic. Nature Reviews Earth & Environment, 3, 55–67.

•Rousk, K., Sorensen, P. L., & Michelsen, A. (2018). What drives biological nitrogen fixation in high arctic tundra: moisture or temperature? Ecosphere, 9(2), e02117.

•AMAP. (2021a). Arctic Climate Change Update 2021: Key Trends and Impacts. Summary for Policy-makers | AMAP. https://www.amap.no/documents/doc/arctic-climate-change-update-2021-key-trends-and-impacts.-summary-for-policy-makers/3508

•Arctic Council. (2021). Tackling waste pollution in the Arctic with community empowerment. Arctic Council. https://arctic-council.org/news/tackling-waste-pollution-in-the-arctic-with-community-empowerment/

•Barnes, D. K. A., Galgani, F., Thompson, R. C., & Barlaz, M. (2009). Accumulation and fragmentation of plastic debris in global environments. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 364(1526), 1985–1998. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2008.0205

•Heininen, L., Everett, K., Padrtova, B., & Reissell, A. (2019). Artcic Policies and Strategies-Analysis, Synthesis, and Trends (Version 1.0). International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA). https://doi.org/10.22022/AFI/11-2019.16175

•https://doi.org/10.3390/w12030794

•Kallenborn, R., Brorström-Lundén, E., Reiersen, L.-O., & Wilson, S. (2018). Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in Arctic environments: Indicator contaminants for assessing local and remote anthropogenic sources in a pristine ecosystem in change. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 25(33), 33001–33013. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-9726-6

•Kosek, K., & Ruman, M. (2021). Arctic Freshwater Environment Altered by the Accumulation of Commonly Determined and Potentially New POPs. Water, 13(13), 1739. https://doi.org/10.3390/w13131739

•Ruman, M., Kosek, K., Koziol, K., Ciepły, M., Kozak-Dylewska, K., & Polkowska, Ż. (2021). A High-Arctic flow-through lake system hydrochemical changes: Revvatnet, southwestern Svalbard (years 2010–2018). Chemosphere, 275, 130046. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.13004.

•The Geology of Svalbard by W. B. Harland. Geological Society, London, Memoir No. 17, 1997. No. of pages: 521. ISBN 1-897799-93-4.

•Niels Henriksen, 2000, Greenland from Archaean to Quaternary: Descriptive Text to the Geological Map of Greenland 1:2 500 000, Geology of Greenland survey bulletin, ISSN 1397-1905, Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland.

Instructor bio

Dr. Jitendra Kumar Pattanaik, Professor, Department of Geology

Central University of Punjab, Punjab

Prof. Jitendra Kumar Pattanaik,
Professor

Department of Geology,

School of Environment and Earth Sciences,

Central University of Punjab, Bathinda – 151401.
email : jitendra.bapi@gmail.com, jitendra.kumar@cup.edu.in

Prof. Jitendra Kumar Pattanaik has 15 years of post-PhD teaching and Research experience.

His research interest covers low-temperature geochemistry, understanding earth surface processes using cosmogenic radionuclides such as 10Be and 26Al, and paleoclimate. His research team is actively engaged with various research topics covering the Arctic, Antarctica, and the Third Pole – the Himalayas.

Prof. Pattanaik was a summer member of the 36th Indian Scientific Expedition to Antarctica during 2016-17. He was inducted as an INYAS – INSA Member from 2018-2023 and elected as Core Committee Member from 2019 – 2021 for Earth and Atmospheric Science. Prof. Pattanaik visited several countries worldwide to deliver his research findings at conferences/workshops/seminars.

He has completed three major projects and has two major ongoing extramural research projects.

He has completed three major consultancy projects.

He received more than ten professional and Peer Recognition /awards. More than 35 research findings in journals and proceedings, > 30 reports, two technical reports, and seven - book chapters are to his credit. He has guided more than 65 M.Sc. dissertations and 4 PhD students toward their degrees.

More than 20 invited lectures within India and abroad, as well as many outreaches, remote area lectures, and science camps, were delivered/organized by him to popularize the science.

He organized more than 20 seminars/lecture series/conferences, etc., in the university/institutes.

Teaching Assistant for the Course :-

Waseem Ahmad Baba

Research Scholar, Department of Geology

Central University of Punjab, VPO: Ghudda, Bathinda – 151401, Punjab, India

Email: syeedwaseem91@gmail.com

Waseem Ahmad Baba is a Research Scholar in the Department of Geology, at the Central University of Punjab. He is a low temperature geochemist specialized in studying the chemical processes occurring at low temperatures, often in polar and alpine environments. Currently he is working in the pristine environments of Antarctica to unravel the timing and extent of Last glacial maxima using cosmogenic radionuclides 10Be and 26Al. He has a B.Sc. in Geology from S.P. College, University of Kashmir and M.Sc. from Jiwaji University, Gwalior. Besides this, he has qualified CSIR-NET in Earth Science.

His work experience includes serving as a Junior Research Fellow on a project investigating element mobilization during Rajmahal Basalt weathering, conducting field research on sedimentary structures, and assisting M.Sc. students with dissertations. He has attended and participated in various workshops and conferences, including the SCAR Open Science Conference held at Pucon, Chile, in the year 2024. For this, he has received the ISC Global South Travel Grant to attend the SCAR conference in Chile. His published works cover topics like Antarctic glacial history using cosmogenic radionuclides, glacial geomorphology in Schirmacher Oasis, and sea-level fingerprinting techniques related to meltwater pulses, featured in publications from Springer and CRC Press.

Course certificate

In this course, 30 Marks will be allocated for Internal Assessment (assignment/ discussion forum/ activity) and 70 Marks will be allocated for external proctored examination.

A minimum of 40 % passing marks (i.e. at-least 12 marks in Internal Assessment & 28 Marks in external proctored examination) will be required for being eligible for SWAYAM Certificate.

Kindly note:- The students enrolled in Universities/Institutions/Colleges can avail Credit Transfer as per UGC SWAYAM Regulations, 2021 for this course. The Host University for this Credit Transfer will be Central University of Punjab, Punjab.

Important dates :

Course Start date: January 15, 2025

Course Registration End Date: February 28, 2025

Course End Date : April 30, 2025.

Course Exam Date : May 25, 2025 (from 3:00PM to 06:00PM).