Module Outline (Lecture Themes)
Drainage basin & river response to the last glacial-interglacial transition (18,000-10,000 BP):
Pleistocene context & inheritance in catchment dynamics

• Britain & Northern Europe
• Quaternary environmental change in the Mediterranean
• Pleistocene river histories in the Mediterranean
• Africa

River Environments & Holocene environmental change (10,000-300 BP)

• Britain & Northern Europe
• The Mediterranean
• North America

River environments & recent environmental change (300 BP to present)

• Flood histories in Britain in North America
• Mountain river systems in the Old & New World
• Heavy metals in river systems

Module Aims
This module is designed for students to develop a conceptual, factual and practical knowledge of channel, floodplain and catchment response to environmental change over the last 20,000 years resulting from natural and anthropogenic perturbations.

Learning outcomes
On completion of this module students should be able to:

1. Assess the relative importance of natural and anthropogenic factors responsible for catchment disturbance and river instability in both the Developed and Developing World.

2. Evaluate and forecast the likely impact of changes in climate, land-use, pollution and engineering on rivers and catchment systems.