Module GEOG2521: FLUVIAL SYSTEMS

Department: GEOGRAPHY

GEOG2521: FLUVIAL SYSTEMS

Prerequisites

• None.

Corequisites

• None.

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None.

Aims

• To provide an overview of fluvial systems and understand water and sediment processes operating at a variety of spatial and temporal scales.
• To prepare students for the skills and knowledge need in third year fluvial option courses and final year dissertation work.

Content

• 1.
• Catchment processes: Hillslope hydrology.
• Hillslope and channel coupling.
• Drainage and networks.
• Catchment sediment budgets and sediment yields.
• 2.
• Flow and sediment transport: The channel sediment system.
• Water flow - resistance and turbulence.
• Erosion, transport and deposition of fluvial sediment.
• Flow and sediment transfer in complex channel systems.
• 3.
• Fluvial sedimentary environments: Bedfroms and basic sedimentary structures.
• Alluvial channel processes and bar formation.
• Floodplains.
• Evolution of fluvial sedimentary systems.
• 4.
• River management and engineering: Basic principles.
• Erosion and sedimentation in floods.
• Channel restoration.
• Sediment problems in aquatic ecosystems.
• 5.
• Quaternary fluvial history and evolution: Rivers in the geological record.
• Response of rivers to environmental change.
• Reconstructing river system evolution.
• Fluvial archives of Quaternary environments and human history.

Learning Outcomes

• Students are expected to be able to: Demonstrate knowledge of the main processes governing flow and sediment transport in alluvial river channels.
• Explain how basic sedimentary structures can build to form complex alluvial systems.
• Understand the long-term dynamics of river systems.
• critically analyse literature on fluvial sediment systems.
• Identify the key processes that contribute to water and sediment delivery at a catchment scale.

• Apply knowledge of fluvial systems to evaluate examples of river management/engineering

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• Teaching: Basic facts are explained in the lecture sessions.
• Concepts introduced in lectures are explored in greater depth in the practicals.
• Application of concepts are demonstrated in practicals.
• Independent learning in facilitated by asking students to prepare for the seminar sessions.
• Assessment: Exam - tests factual knowledge and understanding of concepts.
• Coursework essay examines deeper understanding of concepts and their practical application and capacity for independent research.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

In line with Board of Studies policy for all level 2 optional modules, formative assessment is provided through formative feedback on summative coursework.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University