Module Information
Module Identifier
GG30320
Module Title
Process Glaciology
Academic Year
2016/2017
Co-ordinator
Semester
Semester 2
Other Staff
Course Delivery
| Delivery Type | Delivery length / details |
|---|---|
| Lecture | 11 x 2 Hour Lectures |
Assessment
| Assessment Type | Assessment length / details | Proportion |
|---|---|---|
| Semester Assessment | 1 x seminar report (max. 2000 words) | 30% |
| Semester Assessment | 1 x fieldwork report (max. 2000 words) | 30% |
| Semester Assessment | 1 x seen extended essay from a choice of topics (max. 3000 words) | 40% |
| Supplementary Assessment | Students will be required to resubmit failed semester assignments | 100% |
Learning Outcomes
on successful completion of this module students should be able to:
- describe the physical relationships between climate change and ice-mass response.
* characterise processes of glacier motion and the relationships between that motion and (a) the structural form of ice masses, and (b) the transport and delivery of sediments by ice masses.
* illustrate the functioning of glaciers as hydrological systems, able to act as distinctive water stores and able to release that water into their surrounding environments.
* describe the operation of ice masses as hazards in many parts of the world.
* appreciate the relative strengths and weaknesses of the techniques employed in glaciological investigations, and to evaluate contemporary glaciological research.
Aims
The module aims to provide a thorough training in the physical processes that govern ice mass behaviour, including response to climate change, motion, hydrology and sedimentation. Much of the module will be guided by contemporary research examples and the module will include a strong fieldwork component. To achieve this aim, students will acquire a firm training in analysing and representing:
- relationships between ice masses and climate.
- glacier motion and processes and processes of sediment incorporation, transport and deposition
- the functioning of glaciers as hydrological systems.
- the techniques employed in glaciological and glacial-sedimentological investigations
Content
- Glacier structure and mass balance
- Seminar 1: Ice mass response to climate change - the IPCC Report
- Glacier motion 1: processes and patterns
- Glacier motion 2: fast ice flow
- Glacier motion 3: structural glaciology
- Glacier sediments: entrainment, transport and deposition
- Meltwater generation, transport and delivery
- Seminar 2: ice mass response to climate change - modelling
- Surge-type Glaciers
- Glacier hazards
Fieldwork 1. Snowdon: erosion and ice motion
Notes
This module is at CQFW Level 6