Module GEOG3731: DYNAMIC MOUNTAIN ENVIRONMENTS

Department: Geography

GEOG3731: DYNAMIC MOUNTAIN ENVIRONMENTS

Prerequisites

• GEOG2611 MOUNTAIN LANDSCAPES AND ONE OR MORE OF EITHER GEOG2462 SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH IN GEOGRAPHY, OR GEOG2521 FLUVIAL SYSTEMS, OR GEOG2531 GLACIERS AND GLACIATION, ORGEOG2601 RECONSTRUCTING ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE

Corequisites

• None

Excluded Combination of Modules

• GEOG3691 FIELD RESEARCH IN GLACIAL ENVIRONMENTS: ICELAND CASE STUDY, GEOG3701 MOUNTAIN HAZARDS, GEOG3581 TERRITORY AND GEOPOLITICS, GEOGNEW01 GEOGRAPHIES OF ENERGY TRANSITION, GEOG3501 URBAN CHANGE IN EUROPE, GEOG3491 ENVIRONMENTAL PROCESSES AND CHANGE

Aims

• The aim of this module is to provide advanced level theoretical and practical training in the understanding of processes in dynamic mountain environments. Students will engage in the collection and interpretation of field data as part of enquiry in the study of upland environments. As a Level 3 module, it is intended to build upon basic grounding in relevant substantive material from Years 1 and 2, but to expand and apply this knowledge through direct experience of and undertaking investigation in a mountain environment. The locations chosen closely reflect the research interests of the relevant teaching staff in Geography.

Content

• This module is a field-based examination of processes in upland regions, with a particular focus around understanding mechanisms and developing research projects to evaluate and enhance that understanding. The aim is to provide students with an overview of the processes that operate in mountain environments, their interactions and how they affect landscape evolution over timescales from single events to millions of years. We aim to give direct experience of undertaking research in such environments, as well as training in a range of relevant field-research skills.
• The module starts with context lectures and preparation immediately after Level 2 in Term 3, made necessary due to the timing of the field class in September.
• Students will go on residential fieldwork for approximately two weeks, where they will learn about processes and evidence of environmental change in mountain environments and implement the preparatory work undertaken in June. A field location (currently West Coast USA) will be selected which combines active mountain processes with sites with good evidence for environmental change over multiple timescales.
• Example topics that may be covered include: fluvial processes and river change; bedrock rivers; slope processes; mechanisms for landslide and débris flow production; mass movement impacts; tectonics and mountain building; stress-strain behaviour of rocks; the rôles of precipitation and seismicity; flash flooding; rock weathering; slope-channel connectivity; sediment cascades; biogeochemical cycles; dating techniques; remote sensing; hazard mapping; hydro-power and sediment management; water-resource management; aeolian processes; environmental change; glacial processes and landforms; landscape evolution.
• Students will form groups and undertake research projects that combine theory, hypotheses, data collection, analysis and interpretation around the themes of the module, developed around their collective interests from prior to and during the fieldtrip. During the field class students will generate a dataset that they will use back in Durham during Level 3, with support on data handling and interpretation during computer- and laboratory-based classes, which will lead towards a final report and a group presentation at the conclusion of the module.
• Where appropriate, mitigation and management of hazards relating to any of the above processes may be considered.

Learning Outcomes

• On successful completion of this module students will be able to:
• Comprehend the interactions of tectonics, geology, surface materials, vegetation and climate that combine to produce dynamic mountain environments
• Develop skills in the transfer of results of theoretical models and numerical models to laboratory tests and understanding of field observations
• Gain a basic understanding of the current state of the art in Earth-system science
• Consider the role of slope, channel and aeolian processes in the wider evolution of the landscape
• Describe and explain approaches to management of mountain environments
• Apply knowledge to problem solving based upon a series of real-world case studies

• On successful completion of the module students will be able to:
• Relate general principles of surface processes and their interaction to specific situations including case studies
• Plan, design, execute and report geographical research both individually and as part of a team
• Analyze the complex interactions between geology, hydrology, geomorphology, ecology and the social environment
• Undertake effective field work (with due regard for safety and risk assessment)
• Apply a range of numerical and analytic skills (including laboratory methods where appropriate) to understand surface processes
• Evaluate the relative need & contribution for physical and social science in managing mountain environments

• On successful completion of the module students will be able to:
• Perform interpretations explained in lectures/practicals and extract patterns from environmental data collected in the field
• Present logical written and oral arguments
• Critically analyze and interpret data and text
• Solve problems and make reasoned decisions
• Undertake field-based research-led appraisals of landscape process and form, and environmental change
• Work effectively within a group

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

• Briefing lectures and small group discussions before the field class will help students to formulate the field-based project that they will undertake. Field lectures will be used to impart basic facts and information necessary to fulfill the aims of this course
• Project design will require them to demonstrate that they can take complex literature, synthesis it and use it to formulate a realistic project; all potential field course locations have a wealth of published literature, which will facilitate direct appraisal of literature via discussion in the field
• The field course will be used to allow the students to teach keys skills, and to use these to acquire the data that they need to complete their group project and individual report. In the field, students will be trained in good practice (to include: field note taking, advanced measurement techniques, field mapping) which will be assessed in the submitted reflexive field notebook
• The collected data will be analysed in timetabled computer and laboratory sessions, which will allow the students to acquire an understanding of the application advanced data analysis, with guided support, and also in how to link empirical material to hypotheses, theory and research questions. This analysis will be assessed in the individual report as well as the group presentation.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

Formative assessment will be provided in the following ways: On the initial project outline prepared in June; During the field course on student field notebooks and presentations; Contact time with staff during post-fieldtrip practicals

■ 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