Undergraduate Course: Integrating Earth Science and Physical Geography: Processes and Applications (EASC10133)
Course Outline
| School | School of Geosciences |
College | College of Science and Engineering |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | The course consolidates, develops and advances the theoretical, data-based and field skills of the 4th year ESPG students through lectures, discussions and lab practicals and the integral five-day field excursion.
The integral field excursion will expose the students to the rich geology and physical geography of Scotland (e.g. glacial history). Both in the practicals and in the field, the teaching will also introduce the students to applied topics of societal importance, such as hydropower, wind power and low-grade nuclear waste storage, all of which feature in northeast Scotland. |
| Course description |
The course takes an advanced, integrative approach to earth science and physical geography, and includes practical, societally relevant topics, namely hydropower, wind power, and low-grade nuclear waste storage. The course begins by taking the plate tectonic cycle to a more advanced level and emphasises the interactions with surface processes, showing that crustal and surface processes are intimately interrelated in space and time. Background lectures will cover theoretical aspects such as tectonically driven rifting, continental breakup, subduction and collisional processes, and climatically controlled sediment deposition (e.g. influenced by glacial-eustatic sea level change). Selected integrated case histories (Mesozoic-Quaternary) will illustrate ways in which climatic, tectonic and magmatic processes interact to produce the sedimentary and geomorphic record. The lab practicals, ranging from observational/descriptive to quantitative/computational, emphasise techniques used to obtain relevant information especially related to the field trip).
Integral to the course is the 5-day field trip to classic locations in Scotland (e.g. Helmsdale coastal section), where many of the processes and products covered in the lectures and lab practicals studied in detail; e.g. rift-related sediments, coastal geomorphology; raised terraces; glacio-fluvial systems. Geomorphological features and raised terrace deposits will be studied along the nearby coast. Societal and professional relevance will be reinforced by a visit to a new hydropower dam area in the Great Glen), and also to a low-grade nuclear waste storage site (e.g. Dounreay), where the students will see how their learning is relevant to tackling contemporary societal issues (with the help of active practitioners of earth sciences and physical geography). We will enhance communication and presentation skills by making certain components of lectures and the field trip student led.
|
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Course Delivery Information
|
| Academic year 2026/27, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
|
Quota: 40 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 13,
Supervised Practical/Workshop/Studio Hours 6,
Fieldwork Hours 40,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
137 )
|
| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
60 %,
Coursework
40 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
60%: Exam«br /»
25%; Illustrated report on choice of topics related to field trip«br /»
15%: Field notebook«br /»
|
| Feedback |
In-class question and answer; written feedback on the assessed report related to the chosen field trip topic and the field notebooks; staff and demonstrator input during the practicals (verbal); field discussion and peer group interaction (verbal). |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- To gain advanced practical experience in applying specialised techniques in Earth Science and Physical Geography, such as numerical modelling, seismic reflection analysis, and modelling how post-glacial flexural rebound can interact with global eustatic sea level changes to form erosional/depositional terraces at variable altitudes.
- To present, both formally and informally, information on specialised topics in Earth Science and Physical Geography to informed audiences.
- To gain a critical understanding of the interdependence of surface and deep-earth processes and the centrality of these concepts to their degree.
- To critically identify and define Earth Science and Physical Geographical approaches to dealing with key societal challenges.
- To experience learning and engage with specialist practitioners in the field of Earth Science and Physical Geographical who work in areas such as nuclear waste storage and/or the move toward a net-zero society.
|
Reading List
McArthur et al. (2013), Stratigraphic development of an Upper Jurassic deep marine syn-rift succession, Inner Moray Firth Basin, Scotland; Basin Research, v. 25, p. 285 - 309.
Knox, R.W.O'B. & Cordey, W.G., 1993, Lithostratigraphic nomenclature of the UK North Sea / 4, Triassic, Permian and Pre-Permian of the central and northern North Sea; British Geological Surve etc.
Miller, D.J., 2014. Tectonic Geomorphology by Douglas W. Burbank and Robert S. Anderson. Wiley-Blackwell, Chichester, 2012. No. of pages: xiv+ 454. Price US $149.95. ISBN 978-1-4443-3887-4 (paperback).
Sample, J.E., Duncan, N., Ferguson, M. and Cooksley, S., 2015. Scotland's hydropower: Current capacity, future potential and the possible impacts of climate change. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 52, pp.111-122.
Smith, M. and Strachan, R. eds., 2024, July. The Geology of Scotland, (hardback). Geological Society of Londones:
Coghill, A., Morgan, G., Mowat, A. and Usher, S., 2018. Optimising waste management at Dounreay. Nuclear Future, 14(2).
Illustrated field guide with additional references for field course; practical demonstration of rocks and thin sections pre-field trip. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
CURIOSITY AND CRITICAL THINKING
Students will demonstrate:
- Knowledge that covers and integrates across the Earth Sciences and Physical Geography disciplines.
- A critical understanding of the principal theories, concepts and principles.
During their fieldwork and report preparation, students will:
- Critically identify, define, conceptualise and analyse complex problems and issues.
- Offer professional insights, interpretations and solutions to problems and issues following critical literature review and collection of original data.
PROBLEM SOLVING
Students will apply their knowledge, skills and understanding:
- In using advanced skills, techniques, and practices at the forefront of the discipline, both in the field and in carefully curated practicals.
COMMUNICATION, DATA AND DIGITAL LITERACY
Students will:
- Communicate with peers, senior colleagues and practitioners on a professional level.
- Interpret, use and evaluate a wide range of numerical and graphical data to set and achieve goals that they will have set before the trip.
- Grasp advanced computational modelling using a state of the art scientific code
INCLUSIVITY AND INDIVIDUALITY
Throughout their fieldwork, students will
- Exercise autonomy and initiative in professional activities.
- Manage complex ethical and professional issues when confronted with environmental and societal problems |
| Keywords | Earth Science,Physical Geography,4th year,GeoEnergy,Geological History,Scottish Highlands |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Prof Alastair Robertson
Tel: (0131 6)50 8546
Email: Alastair.Robertson@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Rebecca Steele
Tel:
Email: Rebecca.Steele@ed.ac.uk |
|
|
University Homepage