Undergraduate Course: Glacial Processes and Geomorphology (GEGR10075)
Course Outline
| School | School of Geosciences |
College | College of Science and Engineering |
| Course type | Standard |
Availability | Available to all students |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Credits | 20 |
| Home subject area | Geography |
Other subject area | Environmental Courses |
| Course website |
http://www.geos.ed.ac.uk/undergraduate/courses/geography/Honours/U02874/ |
Taught in Gaelic? | No |
| Course description | This course is designed to introduce students to glacial processes operating in past and present glacial environments. This will involve the study of glacier mass balance, glacier physics, ice motion and hydrology, glacial erosional and depositional processes and the past, present and future of the Antarctic and Greenland Ice Sheets. It will draw on methodologies that use theoretical, field based and remote sensing techniques to infer glacial processes. A field project in the Highlands enhances understanding of the links between process and form in glacial environments. |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| Displayed in Visiting Students Prospectus? | Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Delivery period: 2014/15 Semester 1, Available to all students (SV1)
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Learn enabled: Yes |
Quota: 35 |
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Web Timetable |
Web Timetable |
| Course Start Date |
15/09/2014 |
| Breakdown of Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 20,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
176 )
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| Additional Notes |
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| Breakdown of Assessment Methods (Further Info) |
Written Exam
60 %,
Coursework
40 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Exam Information |
| Exam Diet |
Paper Name |
Hours & Minutes |
|
| Main Exam Diet S1 (December) | Glacial Processes and Geomorphology | 2:00 | |
Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes
This course aims to provide students with a fundamental knowledge of the physics and dynamics of glacier ice masses, enabling them to understand what controls glacier formation and the subsequent behaviour of ice masses. It also develops a critical understanding of the processes associated with glacial environments, in both ice-contact and proglacial situations. At the end of the course students should have acquired the following:
Subject specific learning objectives
- a sound knowledge of glacier morphology and distribution and the dynamics of various ice masses with reference to mass balance, thermal properties, basal conditions and bed materials.
- the ability to explain critically the processes controlling meltwater transport through the glacial system, with specific reference to supraglacial, englacial and subglacial hydrology.
- a sound knowledge of the processes which control the stability of the Greenland and Antarctic Ice Sheets with reference to past, present and likely future scenarios.
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Assessment Information
Class assessment: Seminar presentation and field project report
Degree assessment: One two-hour examination (2 questions) AND One 2,000 word essay
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Special Arrangements
| None |
Additional Information
| Academic description |
Not entered |
| Syllabus |
The course will be structured around the following series of lectures providing a grounding in fundamental glacial processes. The field class to the Cairngorm Mountains will be used to demonstrate both the complexity and importance of linking process to form in the glacial environment.
Week 1: Introduction to physical glaciology, ice mass morphology and distribution.
Week 2: Mass balance and ice formation.
Week 3: Glacier hydrology.
Week 4: Glacier hydrology.
Week 5: Glacier motion.
Week 6: Glacier motion.
Week 7 Ice sheets and the global climate system - the Antarctic.
Week 8: Ice sheets and the global climate system ¿ Greenland and the Arctic.
Week 9: Student presentations and discussion.
Week 10: Student presentations and discussion and revision session
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| Transferable skills |
Transferable skill-learning objectives
- have developed their skills of critical analysis through inter-disciplinary study
- have further developed their ability to produce a written report based on library research
- have further developed their research skills with respect to project design, primary field data collection, group research work and data analysis and presentation skills
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| Reading list |
Bamber J. and Payne, A. (2005) Mass Balance of the Cryosphere. Camb. Univ. Press.
Benn D and Evans D (2010) Glaciers and Glaciation. Arnold. 2nd edition.
Cuffey K and Paterson W S (2010) The Physics of Glaciers. Pergamon. 4th edition.
Gurnell A. M. and Clark M. J. (eds) (1987). Glacio-fluvial Sediment Transfer - an Alpine perspective. Wiley.
Hooke R LeB (1998) Principles of glacier mechanics, Prentice Hall.
Knight P (1999) Glaciers. STP.
Sharp M., Richards K. S., and Tranter, M. (eds), (1998) Glacier Hydrology and Hydrochemistry, J. Wiley.
Particularly useful Journals include the Journal of Glaciology, Annals of Glaciology, Nature, Science, Nature Geoscience, Journal of Geophysical Research, Geophysical Research Letters and Geology.
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| Study Abroad |
Not entered |
| Study Pattern |
Not entered |
| Keywords | GEGR10075 |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Prof Peter Nienow
Tel: (0131 6)50 9139
Email: pnienow@geo.ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Beth Muir
Tel: (0131 6)50 9847
Email: beth.muir@ed.ac.uk |
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