Course Catalogue

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The course will provide an interdisciplinary overview of the challenges for ecosystems and society (communities, infrastructure, businesses) to living with dynamic coasts in a changing climate. This course covers:

1) the science of dynamic coasts and how coastal climate change hazards including sea level rise and storms affect common coastal landform types (e.g. beaches, rocky coasts). We will explore current day processes shaping these landforms and the effects of past, present and future climate change on the rates and nature of erosion. This provides firm grounding in understanding the risks posed by climate change at the coast and how dynamic our coastal landforms are - providing important context for evaluating how vulnerable society is to these risks and how we can adapt to coastal climate change.

2) the management of coastal dynamics and the risks this poses to society in our changing climate. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, we examine how physical geography, human geography, social sciences, public policy, engineering and ecology are all fundamental to managing coastal climate change risks for ecosystems and society. We will explore core concepts including risk, vulnerability and adaptation to coastal climate change, drawing on real life examples from around the world.

By carrying out the data gathering for risk assessments/adaptation planning in teams, and then using these data to write individual reports, you will gain practical experience in data analysis and presentation for non-technical audiences via consultancy style report writing (50%). You will further demonstrate learning in this course via a written exam (50%) where you will answer one of four questions.

2 hours of lectures each week for 10 weeks, plus four 1 hour seminars across the course

Field class will run in one of weeks 5 or 7 depending on staffing and tides This will supplement the lecture during this week, and you may need to be available from early morning until early evening as the class will take place for 4-6 hours around low tide. It also is weather/storm and available staff dependent. As much advance notice as possible at the start of Semester 1 will be provided and travel will be by train to minimise student costs for the trip.

Normally fulfilment of entry requirements to one of the following programmes at honours (including joint honours associated with them): Level 3 Geography, Level 3 Earth Science, or Level 3 in an appropriate background subject (e.g. politics, social science, urban studies, economics, law, history, biology, engineering).

GEOG4119

GEOG4120

None

60-minute exam at the end of the course or a series of quizzes (50%)

1250-word consultancy style Coastal Risk and Adaptation Report based on your fieldwork (50%)

Reassessments are normally available for all courses, except those which contribute to the Honours classification. Where, exceptionally, reassessment on Honours courses is required to satisfy professional/accreditation requirements, only the overall course grade achieved at the first attempt will contribute to the Honours classification. For non-Honours courses, students are offered reassessment in all or any of the components of assessment if the satisfactory (threshold) grade for the overall course is not achieved at the first attempt. This is normally grade D3 for undergraduate students and grade C3 for postgraduate students. Exceptionally it may not be possible to offer reassessment of some coursework items, in which case the mark achieved at the first attempt will be counted towards the final course grade. Any such exceptions for this course are described below. 

The course will provide an interdisciplinary overview of the challenges for ecosystems and society (communities, infrastructure, businesses) to living with dynamic coasts in a changing climate. This challenge is a 'wicked problem' and our efforts to manage this grand societal challenge are currently weak. You will gain insight into theories (e.g. vulnerability, adaptation), tools (e.g. risk assessments, adaptation pathways) and the practical challenges of helping society reduce their vulnerability and adapt to coastal climate change.

i) To encourage students to think critically about key coastal climate change challenges

ii) To introduce students to key scientific methods and theoretical frameworks for assessing risks and planning ahead to manage coastal climate change challenges

iii) To critically assess approaches for responding to coastal climate change risks to society and ecosystems.

iv) To equip students with transferable skills to feel empowered to tackle climate change challenges, notably in professional graduate positions

By the end of this course students will be able to:

Course and Discipline Specific Skills:

■ Explain, with limited direction, the physical processes operating in the coastal zone;

■ Evaluate similarities, differences and interconnections between dominate landforms types in the coastal zone; 

■ Describe (using written, visual or data-based means) the dynamic nature of these coastal landforms

■ Assess hazards in the coastal zone and their implications for coastal zone management.

■ Articulate the risks climate change poses to different coastal landform types.

■ Critically assess the role of human activity in changing vulnerability of society and ecosystems to coastal climate change.

■ Critically assess past and present geomorphology and engineering methods to manage coastal erosion and flood risks.

■ Discuss the diversity of specialised approaches to, and techniques for, assessing the vulnerability of coastal communities to climate change risks.

■ Identify and evaluate the adaptation options that may be taken; 

Personal and Key Skills:

■ communicate ideas, principles and theories effectively and fluently by written, oral and visual means in a manner appropriate to the intended audience;

■ develop and practice team-work skills, and delivery of independent work as part of an interdisciplinary team, interacting effectively and managing conflict where it arises.

■ manage their own learning using a wide range of resources, and critical searching and reading/interpretation of data and literature with limited guidance

■ focus on issues and assess priorities for themselves, undertaking research tasks with minimum guidance.

■ assess documentation critically, and confidently applying their own judgement to a range of ethical, philosophical, methodological and theoretical issues.

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.