GEOG2321: Fluvial and Groundwater Geomorphology

GEOG 2321 Fluvial and Groundwater Geomorphology
Dr Willem Vervoort

Session: July
Classes: 2 lec & 2 hr prac/wk.
Prerequisites: GEOG 2311 or GEOG 2001 or 36 credit points of Junior Units of Study including ENVI 1001 or ENVI 1002 or GEOG 1001 or GEOG 1002 or GEOS 1501. Students in the Bachelor of Resource Economics should have 36 credit points in Biology (or Land and Water Science), Chemistry and Mathematics. Students in the Bachelor of Land and Water Science should have ENVI 1001, 12 credit points of Chemistry, 6 credit points of Biology, BIOM 1002.
Assessment: One 2 hr exam, one quiz, one field report, practical exercises.

This Unit of Study provides an introduction to the fundamentals of fluvial geomorphology (the study of surface water as an agent of landscape change) and groundwater hydrology. The fluvial geomorphology section of the Unit will describe the movement of water in stream channels and investigate the landscape change associated with that movement. Topics to be covered will include open channel flow hydraulics, sediment transport processes and stream channel morphology. Practical work will focus on the collection and analysis of field data. The quantity and quality of the groundwater resources are closely linked to geology and fluvial geomorphology. The groundwater section of this unit is based around four common groundwater issues: contamination, extraction, dryland salinity and groundwater-surface water interaction. In the practical component, common groundwater computer models such as FLOWTUBE and MODFLOW will be used to further explore these problems.

Textbooks: Knighton, D., 1998. Fluvial Forms and Processes: A New Perspective. Arnold Press, London