600-201 Physical Environment

Credit Points

HECS Band

Coordinator

Prerequisites

Earth Sciences 625-101; Biology 600-142; Chemistry 610-122 (before 1998), 610-142 or 610-162; Environmental Change 121-012 (121-171 before 1999).

Semester

Contact

Subject Description

Fundamental controls on the large-scale physical environment, including external factors, geological factors, and internal processes. Milankovitch cycles. Use of proxy data in studying environmental change including signals in ice cores, tree rings, corals, sediments. Soil descriptions and soil formation processes. The hydrological cycle. The roles of water in the environment, including soil moisture, surface hydrology, flow behaviour and erodibility of streams, ground-water occurrence and processes, forms of recharge and discharge. The oceanic circulation, tide and wave behaviour and the evolution of coastal environments. The climate story told by the western Victorian lakes. Greenhouse effect and the global atmospheric carbon budget.

Students completing this subject should understand the underlying scientific principles and processes of climate, water and landforms that have a major influence on the structure of the past, present and future environments, and of the rates of change of these processes.

Assessment

A two hour written examination. Practical work and assignments will also be assessed.