Module GL4415: Continental tectonics and landscape evolution
| Co-ordinator: | Dr David Chew |
|---|---|
| Course Type: | Optional |
| Assessment: | Theory examination (70%), in-course assessment (30%) |
| ECTS: | 5 Credits |
| Prerequisites: | GL2205 and GL2206 |
Contact hours & timing:
| Weeks 12-16, three hours per week |
Module Learning Aims:
These modules aims to develop an understanding of the techniques used in quantifying the rates of continental tectonic processes on a variety of timescales, and explore their interaction with surface processes such as denudation and climate.
Description(Aims):
This module explores how the lithosphere evolves by interactions between surface processes (climate, denudation, sedimentation) and internal processes (plate deformation). It examines tectonic processes and products, interactions between uplift, denudation and climate, and recognition and quantification of magnitudes and rates of change. Analytical techniques studied include low temperature thermochronology (Ar-Ar, fission track and U-Th-He dating); geomorphic markers and establishing the age of land surfaces; and geodetical techniques for measuring present-day deformation rates (such as GPS and InSAR).
Learning outcomes:
On successful completion of this module students should be able to:
• summarise the principles and applications of the diverse techniques used for monitoring and measuring landscape change over Holocene, Quaternary and
Cenozoic time intervals, and critically assess case studies which employ these data
• outline the processes which lead to deformation and uplift, the interaction with erosion in the development of Earth's surface features, and explain how the rates at which these processes occur can be quantified