Physical Geography Fieldwork: Iceland (U02531)

? Credit Points : 20 ? SCQF Level : 10 ? Acronym : GEO-4-ICEPHYS

This course builds on second year course work and fieldwork to develop the practical aspects of Physical Geography through the study of environmental change. It is based in one of the finest areas of the world for the study of both the processes and landforms of glaciation and volcanism. Uniquely within the Old World the timing and cultural context of the first human settlement, by the Norse in the ninth century AD, is known in detail. Iceland has the best-developed tephrochronology in the world, and this powerful dating technique offers a remarkable aid to understanding both environmental change and human-environment interactions. Icelandic studies have wide significance because processes active in Iceland today shaped large areas of the Northern Hemisphere during the Pleistocene glaciations. In addition the characteristics of the island's biota provide fundamental tests for theories of island biogeography and glacial refugia, that are in turn important to the understanding of evolution and continental scale biogeographical patterns. Historical, cultural and economic aspects of Icelandic society are also assessed because these human dimensions are vital to the wider understanding of environmental change, and offers unique insights into the interplay of culture and environment in marginal areas. Ten days is spent in the field, five of which are devoted to project work.

Entry Requirements

? This course is not available to visting students.

? Costs : £300

Subject Areas

Home subject area

Geography, (School of GeoSciences, Schedule N)

Delivery Information

? Normal year taken : 4th year

? Delivery Period : Semester 1 (Blocks 1-2)

? Contact Teaching Time : 2 hour(s) per week for 5 weeks

? Additional Class Information : 3 x 2 hour lectures plus tutorials and a seminar series. 10 days field work in Iceland during the summer vacation

Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes

To analyse environmental change through the study of system behaviour, including assessments of feedback loops, internal and external linkages, thresholds, sensitivity, rates of change and recovery.

To develop the practical aspects of physical geography through the detailed study of a glacial system from the accumulation zone to the outermost limits of its Holocene fluctuations, catastrophic jokulhlaups, or human-environment interactions at the margins of settlement.

To provide an opportunity for extended individual and group project work.

To teach transferable skills of team working, project design and implementation.