Undergraduate Course: Physical Geography Fieldwork: Iceland (GEGR10072)
Course Outline
| School | School of Geosciences |
College | College of Science and Engineering |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | 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. |
| Course description |
Introductory lectures and meetings take place in Semester 2 of the preceding year at which time students formulate their own research projects with guidance from staff. The field course itself is divided between days in which students conduct their own research projects and those in which a variety of field-based talks, tutorials and exercises are used to introduce the principle landscapes and processes operating in Iceland, and to consider key theories and concepts. In the following Semester, there are follow-up lectures to discuss report writing and individual project group tutorials to assist with data analysis, interpretation and report formulation.
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Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2015/16, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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Quota: 31 |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Fieldwork Hours 100,
Feedback/Feedforward Hours 2,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
94 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Class assessment: As outlined in course handbook
Degree assessment: Field data report; Final research report (Total 4,000 - 5,000 words) |
| Feedback |
Not entered |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
SStudents will develop a detailed understanding and knowledge of the processes and landforms of glaciation and volcanism.
Students will 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.
Students will learn how the practical aspects of physical geography are developed 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. Reading of recent literature will enable students to understand the ways in which this subject is developed and the range of standard techniques employed
Students will have the opportunity to work on extended individual and group projects. They will tackle professional level issues which contain a degree of unpredictability. They will critically identify and analyse complex problems as part of this.
Students will practise the valuable transferable skills of team working, project design and implementation, and autonomy and initiative.
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Reading List
Benn, D and Evans D, 2010, Glaciers and Glaciation, Arnold, 2nd edition 731pp
Butlin R, and Roberts N (eds), 1995. Ecological Relations in Historical Times Blackwell, London, 344pp
Fitzhugh, W.W. and Ward, E.I. (2000). Vikings. The North Atlantic Saga. Washington, Smithsonian Institution Press.
Jokull 29, 1979, Special issue: The geology of Iceland
Maizels J M, and Caseldine C J (eds), 1991. Environmental Change in Iceland, Past and Present Kluwer Academic Publishers: Dordrecht 332pp
Stotter J, and Wilhelm F (eds), 1994 Environmental Change in Iceland (II), Munchener Geographische Abhandlungen () B12, 1-308
Self, S. and Sparks R.S.J. (eds) 1981. Tephra Studies, Dordrecht, Reidel
Williams M, Dunkerley D, De Decker P, Kershaw P and Chappell J, 1998. Quaternary Environments (Second Edition) Arnold, London 329pp
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Special Arrangements |
Only available to students registered on 4th year MA Geography, BSc Geography and MA Geography with Environmental Studies programmes. |
| Additional Class Delivery Information |
3 x 2 hour lectures plus tutorials and a seminar series. 10 days field work in Iceland during the summer vacation |
| Keywords | GEGR10072 |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Prof Andrew Dugmore
Tel: (0131 6)50 8156
Email: |
Course secretary | Miss Beth Muir
Tel: (0131 6)50 9847
Email: |
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