An understanding of water is becoming increasingly important in relation to: water supply and demand; water quality in multi-use catchments; human health; and, ecosystem maintenance.  The terrestrial water cycle is both controlled by the landscape and creates landforms; the study of geomorphology assists in understanding the movement of water in the landscape. The goal of this course is to develop an understanding of the water cycle, the hydrologic processes and landforms that are significant for using and managing the environment. The course not only examines water quantity and quality in terms of both surface and groundwater systems and processes, but also how water shapes the landscape through physical and biogeochemical processes.  In addition, the course examines the impacts of anthropogenic and natural factors on the pathways that water takes and the value of the resource.  Practicals, workshops and field work provide opportunities to develop skills in sampling, analysing and presenting data that relate to catchment characteristics and processes.

Honours Pathway Option

Subject to the approval of the course convener; students taking this option will be expected to complete alternative weekly readings and to be prepared to discuss this advanced material in tutorials and incorporate it into their major assignment/s.  All other assessment requirements remain the same.

On satisfying the requirements of this course, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

1. describe hydrological and associated geomorphic processes, and their importance in environmental management
2. interpret the relationships between water and the regolith which control landform evolution and water quality
3. explain principles of, and demonstrate field skills in, hydrological and geomorphic measurement
4. describe and compare practical examples of hydrology and landscape in Australia and the Asia-Pacific region
5. appreciate the relationship between raw data and the interpretation(s) that stem from them, and how limited 

• Practical exercises to demonstrate use of basic mathematics and statistics in hydrology and landform evolution (30%; LO 1, 2, 3, 4,5)
• Group-based field study and report to demonstrate field skills and data analysis  (30%; LO 2, 3, 4,5)
• Two-hour open-book written exam (40%; LO 1, 2, 3,5)

65 contact hours comprising lectures, practicals and fieldwork

24 units towards a degree

Incompatible with SRES2002, ENVS2008

Davie, T.  (2008) Fundamentals of Hydrology, Routledge, London.

Strahler, A. (2010) Introducing Physical Geography (5th edition), Wiley.

Preliminary reading:

Gordon et al. (2004) Stream Hydrology: an introduction for ecologists, Wiley, Chichester, UK.

Strahler (as above) Chapters 2, 4, 13 & 15

Standard IT and library access.