GES3550 - Quaternary Environments

Leader: Professor Peter Kershaw

Offered

Clayton First semester 2007 (Day)

Synopsis

This unit is concerned with the identification and analysis of evidence for environmental change during this most recent and significant period of geological time. Emphasis is placed on the study of glacial, fluvial and arid landforms, pollen and micro-faunal analysis of lake, swamp and ocean sediments, megafaunal extinction, the impact of people, and methods of dating and correlation, particularly in the Australian region. The unit concludes with an assessment of the importance of Quaternary knowledge to climatic prediction, conservation and land management.

Assessment

Written (2000 words): 40%
Examinations (2 hours): 40%
Practical/laboratory work/fieldwork: 20%

Prerequisites

16 points of second-year physical geography, biology, earth sciences or atmospheric science, or permission