This course covers the following aspects of monitoring sustainable water environments:

■ Modelling and predicting water and sediment fluxes from catchment to coast. 

■ Theoretical basis for hydrodynamics, sediment transport and morphological change.

■ Principles of modelling across spatial and temporal scales.

■ Use of modelling in sustainable environmental management decision making.

Weeks 1 to 7: 2 hour lecture (weekly) plus 2 hour computer lab class (weekly)

Week 8: 2 hour lecture, 2 hour oral presentations

Weeks 9-10: 4 hour computer lab class (weekly)

None

GEOG5019 Principles of GIS or equivalent

1. An essay of no more than 2,000 words based on a theme introduced in the lecture material. (40%)

2. Short oral presentation on project proposal. (10%)

3. A report of no more than 2,000 words that uses the techniques developed in one of the practical exercises to address an applied problem. (50%)

The course aims to provide students with understanding of the principles governing modelling of water bodies.

The course emphasises fundamental principles of modelling, applied across a range of water environments.

The course focuses upon approaches to using modelling frameworks to model water systems in order to provide information to inform decision-making analysis and to assess uncertainty.

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

■ articulate the fundamental principles of modelling;

■ explain controls on hydrodynamics, sediment flux and morphological change;

■ describe the principles governing model selection as a function of temporal and spatial scales;

■ conduct numerical analyses using standard software, to predict water flow and sediment flux in catchment and coastal environments;

■ explain the consequences of changes in water and sediment supply in coastal and fluvial systems;

■ explain the principles of uncertainty evaluation;

■ analyse data to support decision making in an applied environmental management context;

■ critically evaluate literature on modelling.