ESC3545 - Environmental hydrology - 2017

Movement of water in environment, and roles played by water in environmental processes, discussing behaviour of water from condensation in lower atmosphere through to groundwater and river flow. The role of vegetation in intercepting

and redirecting water at surface. The processes of infiltration, percolation, groundwater flow, storm flow and base flow production. Instances of major hydrological change, case studies of large-scale deforestation or desertification, habitat or biodiversity decline, including human use of water and landscape. Observation and measuring techniques employed in hydrologic research are introduced in practical class.

Students who successfully complete this unit will:

1. Understand the controls on global freshwater availability;
2. Be aware of risks to the security of global water supplies arising from human activity;
3. Understand hydrologic processes including precipitation, infiltration, overland flow, and groundwater flow;
4. Understand some of the hydrologic processes arising in a range of geographical environments, including dry lands, urban areas, and tropical forests;
5. Develop experimental skills needed for laboratory measurements of hydrologic properties such as porosity and saturated hydraulic conductivity;
6. Understand the place of hydrologic considerations in debates about the management of logging, bushfire, and other forms of land surface change.

Within semester assessment: 70%

Exam: 30%

Two one-hour lectures per week

One two-hour practical class per fortnight

See also Unit timetable information

Associate Professor David Dunkerley

Environmental science

Geographical science

Human geography

A first-year sequence in Geographical Science or a gateway unit in Geography, Climate and Physical Environments or permission of the unit coordinator.

ATS2545, ATS3545