Undergraduate Programme and Module Handbook 2017-2018 (archived)

Module GEOL3291: HYDROGEOLOGY AND GEOMECHANICS

Department: Earth Sciences

GEOL3291: HYDROGEOLOGY AND GEOMECHANICS

Type	Open	Level	3	Credits	20	Availability	Available in 2017/18	Module Cap		Location	Durham

Prerequisites

GEOL2171 Water and Climate

Corequisites

None.

Excluded Combination of Modules

GEOL3151 Earth Structure and Dynamics.

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
Lectures	19	Weekly	1 hour	19	■
Practicals	19	Weekly	2 hours	38	■
Preparation and Reading				143
Total hours				200

Summative Assessment

Component: Examination		Component Weighting: 60%
Element	Length / duration	Element Weighting	Resit Opportunity
Two-hour unseen written examination		100%
Component: Continual Assessment		Component Weighting: 40%
Element	Length / duration	Element Weighting	Resit Opportunity
Summative Assessment 1		50%
Summative Assessment 2		50%

Formative Assessment:

■ 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