This is an archived handbook for a previous year. The current undergraduate and postgraduate handbooks can be viewed using the links above.
Undergraduate Handbook 2010-2011 (archived)
Module GEOG2531: GLACIERS AND GLACIATION
Department: Geography
GEOG2531: GLACIERS AND GLACIATION
| Type | Level | Credits | Availability | Module Cap | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open | 2 | 20 | Available in 2010/2011 | None. | Durham |
Pre-requisites
- None
Corequisites
- None
Excluded Combinations
- None
Aims
- To provide an understanding of glacier systems
- To provide an understanding of the erosional and depositional landforms and sediments produced by glaciers
- To provide an understanding of how glaciers interact with the ocean-climate system
- To develop skills in identifying, mapping and analysing glacial landforms and deposits
Content
- Glacier systems and mass balance
- Water in glaciers
- Glacier flow
- Marine glaciers and ice shelves
- Glacier erosion: processes and landforms
- Glacier deposition: processes and landforms
- Glacial sediments
- Ice marginal environments
- Glacier landsystems
- Glaciers and climate change
Learning Outcomes
Subject-specific Knowledge
- Students are expected to be able to display knowledge and understanding of glacial and related processes
- Show ability to identify glacial and related landforms, and to discriminate between different glacial-related deposits
Subject-specific Skills
- Demonstrate skills on morphological mapping or stratigraphic interpretation
- Execute a project on a specialised topic concerned with one of the module's themes
Key Skills
- Abstract information from multiple sources
Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module
- To provide students with an outline of key debates in the topic area, to discuss the literature that students should explore, and give examples and case studies at a range of different spatial and temporal scales
- The student preparation and reading time is partly devoted to writing the formative assessment essay and partly to the general and specific reading suggested by staff in lectures
- The fieldwork considers the effects of the last ice sheet and the Loch Lomond Stadial in Northern England
- The project allows students to acquire and practise skills in the analysis of maps and air photos for glacier-related mapping
- The project gives students an opportunity to explore a specialised topic, e.g. interpreting landforms from aerial photographs and maps
- The fieldwork and tutorials provide a forum for discussion of the reading, the fieldwork and the project.
- The end of the year examination is a summative test of students' knowledge, understanding and analytical skills
Teaching Methods and Learning Hours
| Activity | Number | Frequency | Duration | Total Hours | Attendance Monitored |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lectures | 15 | Weekly | 1.5 hours | 22.50 | |
| Tutorials | 2 | Varies | 1 hour | 2 | Yes |
| Practicals | 1 | Term 2 | 2 hour | 2 | |
| Workshops | 3 | Term 2 | 1 hour | 3 | |
| Fieldwork | 2 | Term 2 | 7 hours | 14 | Yes |
| Preparation and Reading | 156.50 | ||||
| Total | 200 |
Summative Assessment
| Component | Component Weighting | Element | Length/Duration | Element Weighting | Resit Opportunity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exam | 67% | unseen exam | 2 hours | 100% | |
| Report | 33% | project report, with maps and tables or graphs | 5 x sides A4 (excl maps etc) | 100% |
Formative Assessment
One formative essay is submitted at the end of the Michaelmas Term -- feedback is provided (5 x sides A4 (excl maps etc))
Students who do not attend monitored activities shown under Teaching Methods
and Learning Hours, or who fail to complete the summative or formative
assessment(s) specified above, may be subject to the Academic Progress
procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be
required to leave the University.