Undergraduate Course: Eroding Landscapes: Mountains, Hills and Rivers (GEGR10136)
Course Outline
| School | School of Geosciences |
College | College of Science and Engineering |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course aims to provide students with a detailed, integrated knowledge of the physics and dynamics of erosion and landscape evolution in non-glaciated landscapes. Hills and mountains are continuously being denuded and dissected by erosional processes. In non-glaciated landscapes sediment is produced on hillslopes, delivered to channels, and eventually transported to basins. |
| Course description |
In this course, students will be introduced to the processes that sculpt these upland regions. The processes and their feedbacks will be analysed at different scales, from particles to mountain ranges and from single transport events (e.g. landslide, flood) to geological time scales. Theoretical, experimental (analogical and numerical) and field studies constitute the basis of this course. Lectures, group work and practicals including numerical modelling exercises will allow students to understand and quantify hillslope and fluvial processes and to gain knowledge on the interactions between these processes and on their relative importance in driving landscape evolution.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
It is RECOMMENDED that students have passed
Geomorphology (GEGR08002)
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | This course is open to 3rd and 4th year students. This course is open to all university students, but priority will be given to students on the Geography Degree Programmes. Students from other programmes may be able to join if there is space. Please contact geoset.ug.drummond@ed.ac.uk to check availability. |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2024/25, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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Quota: 40 |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 20,
Supervised Practical/Workshop/Studio Hours 16,
Fieldwork Hours 8,
Formative Assessment Hours 2,
Summative Assessment Hours 80,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
70 )
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| Additional Information (Learning and Teaching) |
Directed learning hours: 74
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Practical Report (40%)
Essay (60%)
Students will define a research question based on the landscape studied through analysis of topographic data in the lab. They will then produce a short (2000-word) research paper describing the research question, study area, observations and data, and a discussion of the observations and data to address the research question. Data typically consists of a mix of field data (collected in previous years), data from topographic analysis (e.g., using ArcGIS) and/or numerical modelling results.
Students must attain an overall mark of 40% (or above) in order to pass the course.
Coursework extensions are not permitted in this course. |
| Feedback |
Feedback will be provided in the following instances:
1. Personal 1-to-1 feedback during the practicals, as students progress on the exercises (once a week).
2. Feedback on the work the students hand-in at the end of each practical, including formative feedback on early exercises before assessed exercises have to be completed.
3. Feedback during small group exercises and discussions.
4. Personal feedback on essay topics: students will pick their own essay topic (research paper style) and are encouraged to run their idea by the lecturers before committing to it. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- A detailed understanding of the physical processes involved in fluvial and hillslope erosion
- A critical understanding of how local erosional processes act and interact to sculpt landscapes at catchment, mountain range and continental scales
- An ability to quantify both fluvial and hill slope processes in terms of mass conservation, and use this ability to make predictions about future behaviour of landscapes
- A knowledge of the tools that modern geomorphologist use to analyse these processes (e.g. topographic analysis, numerical modelling)
- An improved ability to critically review and consolidate knowledge and thinking in a discipline.
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Reading List
Anderson R.S. and Anderson S.P. (2010), Geomorphology: the mechanics and chemistry of landscapes, Cambridge Univ. Press, ISBN 0-521-51978-6. (if there' is one book that you want to buy, it i's this one!)
Bierman, P.R. and Montgomery D.R. (2014), Key Concepts in Geomorphology, published by W. H. Freeman, ISBN 9781429238601 (strongly recommended).
Burbank D.W. and Anderson R.S. (2001), Tectonic Geomorphology, Blackwell, ISBN 0-632-04386-5.
Carson M.A. and Kirkby M.J. (1972). Hillslope form and process, Cambridge Univ. Press, ISBN 0-521-08234-X.
Knighton D. (1998), Fluvial Forms and Processes: A New Perspective, Hodder Arnold, ISBN 0-340-66313-8.
Tinkler K.J. and Wohl E.E. (1998), Rivers over rock, AGU Geophysical monograph 107, ISBN 0-87590-090-0.
Willett S.D., Hovius N., Brandon M.T. and Fisher D.M. (2006), Tectonics, Climate and Landscape Evolution, GSA special paper 398, ISBN 0-8137-2398-1.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Special Arrangements |
This course is open to 3rd and 4th year students. This course is open to all university students, but priority will be given to students on the Geography Degree Programmes. Students from other programmes may be able to join if there is space. Please contact geoset.ug.drummond@ed.ac.uk to check availability. |
| Keywords | Erosion,Hillslopes,Rivers,Sediment,Physical and Chemical Processes |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Mikael Attal
Tel: (0131 6)50 8533
Email: mikael.attal@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Leigh Corstorphine
Tel: (0131 6)50 9847
Email: lcorstor@ed.ac.uk |
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