WORKSHOP 1: UNIT INTRODUCTION
Lecture 1, Week 1
UNIT INTRODUCTION
THE LIVING ENVIROENMNT IS:
• Dynamic
• Complex
• Diverse
• Connected
• Variable
• Changeable
• Unpredictable
TERRESTRIAL ENVIRONMENT
• Mountains
• Hillslopes
• Soils
• Landslides
• Erosion scars
• Sheetwash deposits
ARID ZONE ENVIRONMENT
• Dunes
• Ripples
• Gullies
• Canyons
• Rills
FULUVIAL ENVIRONMENT
• River channels
• Bars
• Floodplains
• Pools
• Riffles
COASTAL ENVIRONMENT
• Beaches
• Lagoons
• Estuaries
• Rock shelves
• Sand dunes
1
,MARINE ENVIRONMENT
• Oceans
• Islands
• Atolls
• Ridges
• Valleys
ATMOSPHERIC ENVIRONMENT
• Circulation
• Weather
• Storms
• Energy
ENVIRONMENTS
• Land (Terrestrial)
• Water (fluvial, coastal, marine)
• Climate / weather (atmosphere)
• Impact / analysis (visualisation)
MAPPING, INTERPRETING AND VISULISING THE ENVIRONEMNT
• Topographic data and maps, digital elevation models (DEM’s), landform taxonomy
(identification)
CHANGE DETECTION
• Light detection and ranging (LiDAR), DEMs of difference (DoD’s), Terrestrial laser scanning,
sediment transport modelling
FIELD MEASURMENTS
• Sediment coring, Auguring, bank exposure, surveying
MODELLING – SIMULATING / FORECASTING ENVIRONMENTAL BEHAVIOUR
• Flow and hydraulic modelling, catchment modelling, coastal modelling
2
,Lecture 2, Week 1
EARTH-SURFACE PROCESSES AND CYCLES
LECTURE OUTLINE:
• What are earth surface processes?
• What are earth surface cycles?
• The basics of landscapes
- Landforms and geomorphic units
- Geomorphic processes
- Sedimentary environments
• Approaches to environmental analysis
- Spatial analysis
- Material analysis
- Dating and environmental reconstruction
SLOW VS FAST EARTH SURFACE PROCESSES
• The earth surface changes constantly at different rates due to:
- Slow processes
o E.g. erosion, weathering
- Rapid processes
o E.g. landslides, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes
EXAMPLES OF EARTH SURFACES PROCESSES
• Erosion = weathering, diminution, destruction
• Transport = removal, movement
• Deposition = cessation of movement, settling, burial
• Wind = turbulent
• Water = turbulent / laminar
• Ice = laminar
EARTH SURFACE CYCLES (SYSTEMS)
• Energy from the sun and the Earth’s interior drive movement of matter on the Earth’s
surface.
• Matter or energy moving from one sphere to another, or within a sphere, define the
interconnectedness of the spheres.
• A reservoir is the amount of matter or energy stored in a component of the Earth system at
a certain point in time.
- May be an entire sphere
(e.g. carbon in the biosphere) or an element of a sphere (e.g. carbon in trees).
COMPONENTS OF EARTH SURFACE CYCLES
• A flux is the rate at which matter or energy moves from one reservoir to another.
- E.g. the rate at which water evaporates from a lake can be described as a flux.
- E.g. The rate of vegetation decay to become part of the soil can be described as a
flux.
3
, - Often the flux of a particular material through two or more interconnected
reservoirs is cyclical.
• Cycles occur over different spans of time, when a material continuously moves through
reservoirs due to certain processes.
• Biogeochemical cycles: cycles of elements that exist in living (biotic) + non-living (abiotic)
components of the environment
- E.g. carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorous, sulfur
LANDSCAPES
• GEOMORPHOLOGY = earth form study
- E.g. landscapes, landforms, processes, materials
- Landscapes are made up of landforms
- Landforms are made up of geomorphic units
• Landforms and geomorphic units are created and modified by geomorphic processes under
certain environmental conditions (e.g. climate, geology, hydrology, tectonics, etc.)
• Geomorphic processes and environmental conditions create sedimentary environments
that can be used to read/interpret environmental change over time
• Natural landscapes consist of features that are characteristic of a particular area
• Most landscapes exist in a state of dynamic equilibrium
• Interplay occurs between external forces and internal processes
- E.g. mountains:
- Uplift and erosion determine their height
- Mountains at plate margins are constantly eroded, but form and height are
maintained
- Mountains at plate centres wear down
LANDSCAPES
• Landforms are surface features including:
- Mountains
- Rivers
- Wetlands (incl Lakes)
- Dunes
- Beaches
• Geomorphic units: discrete ‘building blocks’ with a specific set of form – process
relationships
GEOMORPHIC UNITS
• Geomorphic units can have erosional or depositional forms
• Assessment of the behavioural attributes of geomorphic units is based on:
- Morphology
- Sedimentology
- Genetic link (position in the system and association with other units)
PROCESSES: EROSION IN RIVERS
Erosion:
• Hydraulic action - sheer force of water erodes or plucks bed/bank sediment
• Abrasion - particles in transport rub/grind together
• Corrasion - particles in transport erode bed/banks
4
Lecture 1, Week 1
UNIT INTRODUCTION
THE LIVING ENVIROENMNT IS:
• Dynamic
• Complex
• Diverse
• Connected
• Variable
• Changeable
• Unpredictable
TERRESTRIAL ENVIRONMENT
• Mountains
• Hillslopes
• Soils
• Landslides
• Erosion scars
• Sheetwash deposits
ARID ZONE ENVIRONMENT
• Dunes
• Ripples
• Gullies
• Canyons
• Rills
FULUVIAL ENVIRONMENT
• River channels
• Bars
• Floodplains
• Pools
• Riffles
COASTAL ENVIRONMENT
• Beaches
• Lagoons
• Estuaries
• Rock shelves
• Sand dunes
1
,MARINE ENVIRONMENT
• Oceans
• Islands
• Atolls
• Ridges
• Valleys
ATMOSPHERIC ENVIRONMENT
• Circulation
• Weather
• Storms
• Energy
ENVIRONMENTS
• Land (Terrestrial)
• Water (fluvial, coastal, marine)
• Climate / weather (atmosphere)
• Impact / analysis (visualisation)
MAPPING, INTERPRETING AND VISULISING THE ENVIRONEMNT
• Topographic data and maps, digital elevation models (DEM’s), landform taxonomy
(identification)
CHANGE DETECTION
• Light detection and ranging (LiDAR), DEMs of difference (DoD’s), Terrestrial laser scanning,
sediment transport modelling
FIELD MEASURMENTS
• Sediment coring, Auguring, bank exposure, surveying
MODELLING – SIMULATING / FORECASTING ENVIRONMENTAL BEHAVIOUR
• Flow and hydraulic modelling, catchment modelling, coastal modelling
2
,Lecture 2, Week 1
EARTH-SURFACE PROCESSES AND CYCLES
LECTURE OUTLINE:
• What are earth surface processes?
• What are earth surface cycles?
• The basics of landscapes
- Landforms and geomorphic units
- Geomorphic processes
- Sedimentary environments
• Approaches to environmental analysis
- Spatial analysis
- Material analysis
- Dating and environmental reconstruction
SLOW VS FAST EARTH SURFACE PROCESSES
• The earth surface changes constantly at different rates due to:
- Slow processes
o E.g. erosion, weathering
- Rapid processes
o E.g. landslides, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes
EXAMPLES OF EARTH SURFACES PROCESSES
• Erosion = weathering, diminution, destruction
• Transport = removal, movement
• Deposition = cessation of movement, settling, burial
• Wind = turbulent
• Water = turbulent / laminar
• Ice = laminar
EARTH SURFACE CYCLES (SYSTEMS)
• Energy from the sun and the Earth’s interior drive movement of matter on the Earth’s
surface.
• Matter or energy moving from one sphere to another, or within a sphere, define the
interconnectedness of the spheres.
• A reservoir is the amount of matter or energy stored in a component of the Earth system at
a certain point in time.
- May be an entire sphere
(e.g. carbon in the biosphere) or an element of a sphere (e.g. carbon in trees).
COMPONENTS OF EARTH SURFACE CYCLES
• A flux is the rate at which matter or energy moves from one reservoir to another.
- E.g. the rate at which water evaporates from a lake can be described as a flux.
- E.g. The rate of vegetation decay to become part of the soil can be described as a
flux.
3
, - Often the flux of a particular material through two or more interconnected
reservoirs is cyclical.
• Cycles occur over different spans of time, when a material continuously moves through
reservoirs due to certain processes.
• Biogeochemical cycles: cycles of elements that exist in living (biotic) + non-living (abiotic)
components of the environment
- E.g. carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorous, sulfur
LANDSCAPES
• GEOMORPHOLOGY = earth form study
- E.g. landscapes, landforms, processes, materials
- Landscapes are made up of landforms
- Landforms are made up of geomorphic units
• Landforms and geomorphic units are created and modified by geomorphic processes under
certain environmental conditions (e.g. climate, geology, hydrology, tectonics, etc.)
• Geomorphic processes and environmental conditions create sedimentary environments
that can be used to read/interpret environmental change over time
• Natural landscapes consist of features that are characteristic of a particular area
• Most landscapes exist in a state of dynamic equilibrium
• Interplay occurs between external forces and internal processes
- E.g. mountains:
- Uplift and erosion determine their height
- Mountains at plate margins are constantly eroded, but form and height are
maintained
- Mountains at plate centres wear down
LANDSCAPES
• Landforms are surface features including:
- Mountains
- Rivers
- Wetlands (incl Lakes)
- Dunes
- Beaches
• Geomorphic units: discrete ‘building blocks’ with a specific set of form – process
relationships
GEOMORPHIC UNITS
• Geomorphic units can have erosional or depositional forms
• Assessment of the behavioural attributes of geomorphic units is based on:
- Morphology
- Sedimentology
- Genetic link (position in the system and association with other units)
PROCESSES: EROSION IN RIVERS
Erosion:
• Hydraulic action - sheer force of water erodes or plucks bed/bank sediment
• Abrasion - particles in transport rub/grind together
• Corrasion - particles in transport erode bed/banks
4
