Module GEOG2531: Glaciers and Glaciation

Department: Geography

GEOG2531: Glaciers and Glaciation

Pre-requisites

Corequisites

Excluded Combinations

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, modelling and analysing glacial landforms and deposits

Content

• The global distribution of glaciers and ice sheets
• Glacier flow
• Glacier systems and mass balance
• Water in glaciers
• Marine glaciers and ice shelves
• Glacial erosion and deposition
• Glacial sediments and landforms
• Glacier retreat and its causes
• Past glacier change
• Future glacier change

Learning Outcomes

• Understand how glaciers and ice sheets are distributed around the globe.
• Understand how glaciers develop in response to climate and how they flow.
• Understand how glaciers erode and deposit material and the landforms and landscapes that result.
• Consider how future predictions of glaciers and ice sheets can be made.
• Show that they can interpret landscapes and sediments to understand former ice sheet behaviour.
• Show the ability to integrate evidence for glacier behaviour from a range of sources.

• Demonstrate skills on morphological mapping using air photos or satellite imagery.
• Apply field-mapping to ground-truth morphological mapping.
• Gain working knowledge of how to run a Matlab-based glacier model constrained by mapping.
• Ability to read scientific literature relating to the past, present and future cryosphere.
• Conveying knowledge about the cryosphere in relation to issues such as global climate change and sea-level rise.

• Abstracting, analysing and interpreting information from multiple sources.
• Presenting written, graphical and map-based information in a concise report.
• Understanding experimental design using numerical models.

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

• Lectures will 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 reading time is devoted 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 and is followed by a multiple-choice test.
• The project allows students to acquire and practice skills that may include the analysis of air photographs, field mapping and glacier modelling.
• The fieldwork, tutorial and practicals all provide opportunity for discussion on all aspects of the module.
• The end of the year examination is a summative test of students' knowledge, understanding and analytical skills

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment

Formative feedback is provided throughout the module via discussion of topics during the lectures, practicals and tutorials. Ahead of the summative assessment, students will be required to produce a draft map of a field area. Formative feedback will be provided and received on this map during the practicals and fieldtrip.