Duration
15h Pr, 5d FW
Number of credits
| Master in geography : general (120 ECTS) | 5 crédits | |||
| Master in geography, global change (120 ECTS) | 5 crédits |
Lecturer
Language(s) of instruction
French language
Organisation and examination
Teaching in the second semester
Schedule
Units courses prerequisite and corequisite
Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program
Learning unit contents
The main objective of the course is to teach students through semi-autonomous field exercises to identify, record, describe and map significant features of geomorphological sites and landscapes they encounter (e.g. a glacial landscape, a sedimentary section in a quarry etc).
They will also, on the basis of this survey of landforms, define, research, describe and, possibly, sample and analyse the expected correlative deposits, which may inform the interpretation of individual landforms and the overall landscape and identify the causes of their evolution.
The course is therefore fundamentally a field course in which theoretical knowledge - pattern recognition, process identification, integration into a geological and (palaeo)climatic context - and practical knowledge - topographic survey, geophysical reconnaissance, cross-sectional description - acquired in a series of prerequisite courses (see below)
Learning outcomes of the learning unit
. Ability to observe a geomorphological landscape (significant landform features at any spatial scale) . Ability to provide a complete and unambiguous description of forms and deposits in the field . Ability to map geomorphology on a local scale and to adapt cartographic standards to the context studied . Ability to choose and implement ad hoc measurement, description and sampling techniques in the field . Ability to analyse field data and provide a synthetic geomorphological interpretation . Ability to write a summary report and make an oral presentation of the results
Prerequisite knowledge and skills
Good knowledge of basic geomorphology and climatology.
Planned learning activities and teaching methods
Prior to the field course, students will be required to collate material to characterise the overall geological and geomorphological context of the area visited. A basic bibliography will be provided to the students.
The first day of the course is reserved for a general presentation of the regional geomorphology in the field. The following four days are devoted to geomorphological survey work, carried out independently or in groups of 2 or 3 students on separate sub-sites. At the beginning of each day, the specific objectives of the day's site survey are defined together.
Ideally, the region explored (outside Belgium - recent examples: Montenegro, Dolomites) is also relatively unknown to the teachers. The teachers then carry out the same fieldwork as the students each day, separately, in order to define in a practical way what can actually be expected of them in the time and conditions of the course. At the end of the day, a debriefing of the day's observations is carried out, and interpretation work is done jointly by the students, supervised and guided by the teachers.
On return from the course, a written report (max. 25 pages all inclusive) and an oral presentation of the results reported are required from each student on a different theme or site among those analysed in the field.
Mode of delivery (face to face, distance learning, hybrid learning)
Face-to-face
English/French
Recommended or required readings
No course notes.
A guide booklet with field documents is provided to students as well as a basic bibliography on the geomorphology of the visited region.
Recommended reading: 'Geomorphological mapping - Methods and applications'. Developments in Earth Surface Processes, 15, Elsevier (2011): http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/bookseries/09282025/15
Exam(s) in session
Any session
- In-person
oral exam
Written work / report
Continuous assessment
Additional information:
The assessment is a priori as follows:
80% of the grade based on field reports
20% of the grade based on the participation assessed in the field
If unsuccessful, the student will have to rework the field report which will be assessed again.
Work placement(s)
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Organisational remarks and main changes to the course
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Contacts
Geoffrey Houbrechts
Laboratoire d'Hydrographie et de Géomorphologie fluviatile
Département de Géographie
Université de Liège
Quartier Village 4 Clos Mercator,3 - B11
4000 Sart-Tilman - Belgique
Tél : 04 - 366 5257 - E-Mail: G.Houbrechts@uliege.be