This is an archived handbook for a previous year. The current undergraduate and postgraduate handbooks can be viewed using the links above.
Undergraduate Handbook 2016-2017 (archived)
Module GEOL3291: HYDROGEOLOGY AND GEOMECHANICS
Department: Earth Sciences
GEOL3291: HYDROGEOLOGY AND GEOMECHANICS
| Type | Level | Credits | Availability | Module Cap | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open | 3 | 20 | Available in 2016/2017 | Durham |
Pre-requisites
- GEOL2171 Water and Climate
Corequisites
- None.
Excluded Combinations
- None.
Aims
- To provide students with a range of appropriate skills to start a career as a hydrogeologist and/or engineering geologist.
- To introduce a range of international case-studies to enable improved awareness of how focus of interest varies in different international settings.
- To provide students with state-of-the-art understanding concerning hydrogeology and geomechanics by integrating classical ideas with current staff research activities within the Department of Earth Sciences.
- To understand the movement of fluids in geological media.
- To understand the interaction of stress, strain and fluid movement in the subsurface.
Content
- Aquifers as geological systems.
- Aquifer characterisation techniques.
- Groundwater flow modelling.
- Stress, strain, shear and pressure.
- Fracture mechanics.
- Geotechnics.
Learning Outcomes
Subject-specific Knowledge
- To be able to develop hydrogeological conceptual models.
- To be able to plan and interpret aquifer characterisation studies.
- To understand the coupling between fluid flow and geomechanics.
- To be able to apply knowledge to basic geotechnical engineering problems.
Subject-specific Skills
- Will have acquired intellectual and practical skills in order to apply hydrogeological and geomechanical principles and methodologies to the solution of familiar and unfamiliar problems.
Key Skills
- Prepare, process, interpret and present data using appropriate qualitative and quantitative methods.
- Solve numerical problems using computer or non-computer techniques.
Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module
- The module is delivered through a mix of one-hour lectures and two-hour practical slots, supported by handouts and directed reading.
- The practicals form an important component of the module allowing "hands on" learning and experience.
- An unseen written exam will provide a test of the students understanding of supporting theory.
- Summative assessment is made up of two practical assessments.
- Guidance on preparation, key and exam skills are provided process, interpret and present data using appropriate qualitative and quantitative methods.
- Solve numerical problems using computer or non-computer techniques.
Teaching Methods and Learning Hours
| Activity | Number | Frequency | Duration | Total Hours | Attendance Monitored |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lectures | 19 | Weekly | 1 hour | 19 | Yes |
| Practicals | 19 | Weekly | 2 hours | 38 | Yes |
| Preparation and Reading | 143 | ||||
| Total hours | 200 |
Summative Assessment
| Component | Component Weighting | Element | Length/Duration | Element Weighting | Resit Opportunity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Examination | 70% | Two-hour unseen written examination | 100% | ||
| Continual Assessment | 30% | Summative Assessment 1 | 50% | ||
| Summative Assessment 2 | 50% |
Formative Assessment
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.