GEOG2321: Fluvial and Groundwater Geomorphology (Not offered in 2013)

Credit points: 6
Teacher/Coordinator: Dr Willem Vervoot and others
Session: Semester 2
Classes: Two 1 hour lectures and one 2 hour practical per week.
Prerequisites: 24 credit points of Junior units of study including 6 credit points of Junior Geoscience. Students in the BEnvSys should have ENSY1001, 12 credit points of Chemisty, 6 credit points of Biology, BIOM1003 or ENVX2001
Prohibitions: GEOG2002, GEOG2302, GEOG2303, MARS2002, MARS2006
Assessment: One 2 hr exam, two quizzes, one field report, practical exercises (100%)
Campus: Camperdown/Darlington
Delivery Mode: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) Day

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.

Recommended Textbooks
Fetter, CW. Applied Hydrogeology. Prentice-Hall. 2001.
Knighton, D. Fluvial Forms and Processes. Hodder-Arnold. 1998.