Physical systems and the environment
N J Tapper
6 points * 4 hours per week * Second semester * Clayton
The subject provides students with an understanding of important aspects of the Australian environment, within the context of the global environment. In 1995 three themes will be presented. The first part of the subject considers `late Cainozoic physical environments'. Following a brief review of tectonic processes which gave rise to present-day distributions of land and sea, we consider the impact of past and present geomorphic processes upon desert landscapes, humid landscapes and glacial and periglacial landscapes, and the influence of humans in the area of land degradation and desertification. The second part of the subject, `Australia's biogeographcial heritage,' provides a broad biogeographical perspective on Australia's vegetational environments, emphasising the present distribution and diversity of community types. Finally, `the Australian atmospheric environment' involves a broad introduction to the atmosphere, its structure and basic meteorological processes. In general a large scale approach (global and hemispherical) is taken, but emphasis is placed on the delicate relationship between atmospheric properties and life in the biosphere, and on the atmospheric environment in the Australian region.
Assessment
Written (2000 words): 35% * Examinations (2 hours): 50% * Practical work: 15%
Prescribed text
Tapper N J and Hurry L Australian weather patterns: An introductory guide Dellasta, 1993
Recommended texts
Barry R G and Chorley R J Atmosphere, weather and climate Methuen, 1982
Condie K Plate tectonics and crustal evolution Pergamon, 1982
Groves R H (ed.) Australian vegetation CUP, 1987
Henderson-Sellers A and Robinson P J Contemporary climatology Longman, 1986
Jeans D N (ed.) Australia: A geography. Volume 1. The natural environment 2nd edition, Sydney UP, 1986
Marsh W M and Dozier J Landscape Addison-Wesley, 1981
Recher H F and others A natural legacy: Ecology in Australia 2nd edn, Pergamon, 1986
Van Andel T H New views on an old planet: Continental drift and the history of the earth CUP, 1985
Williams M A J and others Quaternary environments Edward Arnold, 1993