Undergraduate Course: Land Use and Water Resources (ECSC10012)
Course Outline
| School | School of Geosciences |
College | College of Science and Engineering |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 10 |
ECTS Credits | 5 |
| Summary | The successful management of the quantity and quality of water resources requires an understanding of both hydrological processes and the techniques for making relevant information available for decision-making. This course begins by examining the fundamental relationships between land use and water resources. It then moves on to explore how simulation modelling may allow relevant data to be used within integrated catchment management. |
| Course description |
Week 1 Demands on water resources
Week 2 Land use & water resources: agriculture, urbanisation
Weeks 3-4 Sustainable urban Drainage field visit and presentations
Weeks 5-6 Hydrological models and simulation techniques
Week 7 Land use & water resources: forests
Week 8 Flooding and flood risk management
Week 9 River management and restoration
Week 10 Revision class
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Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2014/15, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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Quota: 16 |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
100
(
Lecture Hours 14,
Supervised Practical/Workshop/Studio Hours 2,
External Visit Hours 5,
Formative Assessment Hours 2,
Revision Session Hours 2,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 2,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
73 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
50 %,
Coursework
50 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
1.5 hour exam in December diet in which the student answers one essay-style question from a choice of two which could be on any topic or combination of topics covered in the course.
Course work comprises a 750-word equivalent report on hydrological model building. |
| Feedback |
Not entered |
| Exam Information |
| Exam Diet |
Paper Name |
Hours & Minutes |
|
| Main Exam Diet S1 (December) | Land Use and Water Resources | 1:30 | |
Learning Outcomes
- To critically review the basic hydrological and geomorphological processes relevant for river catchment management
- To have a comprehensive understanding of the processes by which the use of land for agriculture, forestry and urbanisation may affect river flows and water quality.
- To consolidate data from a variety of sustainable drainage structures and make informed judgements about the performance of these structures and devices
- To formally present this data to informed audiences
- To understand the principles and structures for sustainable urban drainage
- To appreciate the application of these ideas for river restoration and flood control projects
- To understand and be able to construct simple simulation models in hydrology to interpret, use and evaluate the interactions between catchment land use and water resources, a skill which is specialised and places the course into its professional level context
- To execute a defined project of research into hydrological model building and identify the relevant outcomes
- In the degree examination students are expected to apply their knowledge to evaluate complex, professional level problems associated with the suitability of different contemporary techniques and management practices in water resource management
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Reading List
Additional references will be provided during lectures
Additional references will be provided during lectures
General Texts (although these textbooks are over 10 years old they provide good overviews and are valuable reference books)
Jones, J.J.A. (1997) Global Hydrology; Processes, Resources and Environmental Management. Longman.
Newson, M.D. (1992) Land, Water and Development. Routledge. Prologue; 60-74: modification to water processes; Chapter 4 for case studies of watershed management in the developed world; Chapter 7 for institutional issues, esp 273-280 for context to UK case studies. Chapter 8 for a a wider discussion of sustainable management of river basins, reviewing the contribution of research to policy formulation (or equivalent chapters in later editions).
Newson, M.D. (1994) Hydrology and the River Environment. Clarendon Press, Oxford. Chapter 3 for basic hydrological processes and the simple conceptual model of the dynamic contributing area; Chapter 5: human influence on runoff volumes and times; Chapter 9 hydrological models for river management.
Satterlund, D.R. and Adams, P.W. (1992) Wildland Watershed Management. Wiley. Chapter 2: approaches to water resource management; Chapter 4: how runoff is generated by the watershed; Chapter 11 control of amount and timing of streamflow; Chapter 13 watershed management planning.
Shaw, E.M. (1994) Hydrology in Practice (3rd edition). Chapter 14 for catchment modelling or equivalent chapter in the 2nd edition.
Ward, R.C. and Robinson, M. (1999) Principles of Hydrology (4th Ed). McGraw-Hill. (Excellent explanations of hydrological processes, but few case-studies and pictures. Earlier editions are also acceptable).
Please see course information in Learn for further references for each topic. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Additional Class Delivery Information |
1 two-hour session per week |
| Keywords | ECSC10012 LUWR |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Kate Heal
Tel: (0131 6)50 5420
Email: Kate.Heal@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Meredith Corey
Tel: (0131 6)50 5430
Email: meredith.corey@ed.ac.uk |
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