| Module Identifier |
GG34110 |
| Module Title |
ICE AND SNOW: WATER QUALITY AND HYDROLOGY |
| Academic Year |
2001/2002 |
| Co-ordinator |
Dr Giles Brown |
| Semester |
Semester 2 |
| Course delivery |
Lecture | 20 Hours 10 x 2 hours |
| Assessment |
Exam | 2 Hours Unseen written examination. Answer two questions from four. | 100% |
| |
Resit assessment | 2 Hours Unseen written examination. Answer two questions from four. | 100% |
Module Outline (Lecture Themes)
1. Introduction
2. Snow Processes
(i) Sources of atmospheric solute
(ii) Formation of snow
(iii) Microscale influences on snow chemistry
(iv) Macroscale influences on snow chemistry
(v) Location of solute within snowpack
(vi) Controls on the composition of snowmelt
(vii) Impact on surface water quality
3. Glacial Processes
(i) Runoff Magnitude/Timing (glacial vs. nival)
(ii) Glacier Hydrochemistry I (sources of solute, subglacial chemical weathering environments)
(iii) Glacier Hydrochemistry II (meltwater quality data, implications for CO2 drawdown of glacial-interglacial timescales)
(iv) Suspended Sediment (sources, magnitude, delivery)
4. Water Resources in Mountainous regions
(i) HEP (discharge regimes, problems of sediment). Importance of water supply frommountainous regions. Implications (dams, flooding).
NOTE: some topics will take only part of a single lecture, others more than one lecture.
Module Aims
The module aims to provide a detailed understanding of hydrological and geochemical processes operating in glacial and nival catchments.
Module objectives / Learning outcomes
On completing the module, students should be able to demonstrate knowledge of :-
-
the links between sources of solute and processes of solute acquistion
-
the processes and timing of meltwater and solute delivery
-
the implications and applied aspects of meltwater quality and quantity
Reading Lists
Books
** Recommended Text
Gray, D.M. and D.H. Male. (1981)
Handbook of Snow: Principles, Processes, Management & Use. Pergamon Press, Oxford, 776pp (pbk). ISBN 0-080-25374-1
Jones, H.G., J.W. Pomeroy, D.A. Walker & R.W. Hollam. (2001)
Snow Ecology. CUP, Cambridge, 398pp. ISBN 0-521-58483-3
Sharp, M., K.S. Richards & M. Tranter. (1998)
Glacier Hydrology and Hydrochemistry. Wiley, Chichester, 342pp. ISBN 0-471-98168-0
Articles
** Recommended Consultation
Bezinge, A. (1987)
Glacial meltwater streams, hydrology and sediment transport: the case of Grande Dixence hydroelectricity scheme, in Gurnell, A.M. and M.J. Clark (eds.), Glaciofluvial sediment transfer - An Alpine perspective. John Wiley and Sons, Chichester, 473-498
Brown, G.H. (2001)
Glacier Hydrochemistry. Applied Geochemistry
Gurnell, A.M. (1987)
'Suspended sediment'; pages 305-354 in: Gurnell, A.M. and M.J. Clark (eds.), Glaciofluvial sediment transfer - An Alpine perspective. John Wiley and Sons, Chichester
Raiswell, R. (1984)
Chemical models of solute acquisition in glacial meltwaters. Journal of Glaciology 30, 407-57.
Tranter, M., G.H. Brown, R. Raiswell, M. Sharp and A.M. Gurnell. (1993)
A conceptual model of solute acquisition by alpine glacial meltwaters. Journal of Glaciology, 39, 573-581