env3egl climate and landscape change

CLIMATE CHANGE AND LANDSCAPE EVOLUTION

ENV3EGL

2016

Credit points: 15

Subject outline

This subject covers the causes and effects of climate changes, particularly during the Quaternary (last 2 million years), and discusses the impacts of these changes on the evolution of the Earth's landscape and on the people inhabiting it. Fundamental questions are discussed, including concepts of deposition and erosion in the landscape and the stratigraphic record, the onset of aridity in Australia, and the impact of people and tectonism (earth movement) on the landscape. In addition, the soils and regolith (weathered material) on the Earth's surface are described, along with the chemical and physical processes responsible for their formation, including the relation to climate history.

SchoolSchool of Life Sciences

Credit points15

Subject Co-ordinatorJohn Webb

Available to Study Abroad StudentsYes

Subject year levelYear Level 3 - UG

Exchange StudentsYes

Subject particulars

Subject rules

PrerequisitesN/A

Co-requisitesN/A

Incompatible subjects GEO2EGL, GEO3EGL, ENV2EGL

Equivalent subjectsN/A

Special conditions This subject is co-taught with ENV2EGL, but uses higher order marking criteria than in ENV2EGL.

Learning resources

Readings

Resource TypeTitleResource RequirementAuthor and YearPublisher
ReadingsClimate changeRecommendedBurroughs, W.J.CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS, 2001
ReadingsGlobal geomorphologyRecommendedSummerfield, M. A.LONGMAN 1991.
ReadingsQuaternary environmentsRecommendedWilliams, M. A. J.EDWARD ARNOLD 1993.

Graduate capabilities & intended learning outcomes

01. Collect, collate and interpret climatic, geological and geomorphological data. This includes; the major principles, causes and mechanisms of the earth's atmospheric system, climates, weathering of the earth's surface and the development of regolith; the change of climatic regimes over geological time; and the relationship of weathering to climate.

Activities:
End-of-semester examination. Assignments/reports based on labs/pracs and an excursion.
Related graduate capabilities and elements:
Discipline-specific GCs(Discipline-specific GCs)
Critical Thinking(Critical Thinking)
Inquiry/ Research(Inquiry/ Research)

02. Solve complex constructed and real-world problems involving climate change and landscape development.

Activities:
End-of-semester examination. Assignments/reports based on labs/pracs and an excursion.
Related graduate capabilities and elements:
Creative Problem-solving(Creative Problem-solving)
Discipline-specific GCs(Discipline-specific GCs)
Critical Thinking(Critical Thinking)
Inquiry/ Research(Inquiry/ Research)

03. Use numerical calculations and graphical representations to manipulate and interpret data and to solve complex landscape evolution problems.

Activities:
End-of-semester examination. Assignments/reports based on labs/pracs and an excursion.
Related graduate capabilities and elements:
Quantitative Literacy/ Numeracy(Quantitative Literacy/ Numeracy)

04. Present coherent explanations supported by evidence in grammatically correct prose and use of key vocabulary.

Activities:
Assignments/reports based on labs/pracs and an excursion.
Related graduate capabilities and elements:
Critical Thinking(Critical Thinking)
Inquiry/ Research(Inquiry/ Research)
Writing(Writing)

05. Demonstrate a respect for the work of others through the appropriate citation and acknowledgment of data sources.

Activities:
Reports based on labs/pracs and/or an excursion.
Related graduate capabilities and elements:
Ethical Awareness(Ethical Awareness)
Inquiry/ Research(Inquiry/ Research)

06. Describe and recall the major principles, causes and mechanisms of landscape evolution, especially the evolution of the Victorian landscape.

Activities:
End-of-semester examination. Assignments/reports based on labs/pracs and an excursion.
Related graduate capabilities and elements:
Discipline-specific GCs(Discipline-specific GCs)
Critical Thinking(Critical Thinking)

07. Demonstrate by their correct use in problems of landscape evolution, an understanding of the principles of lithostratigraphy, biostratigraphy, chronostratigraphy and event stratigraphy.

Activities:
End-of-semester examination. Assignments/reports based on labs/pracs and an excursion.
Related graduate capabilities and elements:
Discipline-specific GCs(Discipline-specific GCs)
Critical Thinking(Critical Thinking)
Inquiry/ Research(Inquiry/ Research)

08. Identify and explain the evolution of a landscape over time from provided data and field observations.

Activities:
End-of-semester examination. Assignments/reports based on labs/pracs and an excursion.
Related graduate capabilities and elements:
Inquiry/ Research(Inquiry/ Research)
Critical Thinking(Critical Thinking)
Discipline-specific GCs(Discipline-specific GCs)

Subject options

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Start date between: and    Key dates

Melbourne, 2016, Semester 1, Day

Overview

Online enrolmentYes

Maximum enrolment sizeN/A

Enrolment information

Subject Instance Co-ordinatorJohn Webb

Class requirements

Field TripWeek: 21 - 21
One 1.0 days field trip per study period on sunday during the day from week 21 to week 21 and delivered via face-to-face.

Laboratory ClassWeek: 10 - 22
One 3.0 hours laboratory class per week on weekdays during the day from week 10 to week 22 and delivered via face-to-face.

LectureWeek: 10 - 22
Three 1.0 hours lecture per week on weekdays during the day from week 10 to week 22 and delivered via face-to-face.

TutorialWeek: 10 - 22
One 1.0 hours tutorial per week on weekdays during the day from week 10 to week 22 and delivered via face-to-face.
"3 per semester"

Assessments

Assessment elementComments%ILO*
Laboratory\practical reports (equiv to 1500-words)4001, 02, 03, 04, 05, 08, 06, 07
Tutorial quizzes (3 per semester)501, 04
and one excursion assignment (equiv. to 500-words)1003, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 01, 02
one 3-hour examination4501, 02, 08, 06, 07, 03