| Unit name | Cryosphere 2 |
|---|---|
| Unit code | GEOG25040 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | I/5 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Professor. Tranter |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
All units in Single Honours Geography Year 1 |
| Co-requisites |
All units in Single Honours Geography Year 2 on B Syllabus |
| School/department | School of Geographical Sciences |
| Faculty | Faculty of Science |
This unit has three aims. The first is to provide students with a clear understanding of the fundamental principles of modern physical glaciology and its study. Students will learn about the physical relationships between glacier size, climate and climate change; glacier motion and its environmental controls; the functioning of glaciers as dynamic hydrological systems; certain field techniques employed in glaciological investigations; and certain contemporary research issues in glaciology. The second is to introduce the principles ways in which solute is transported into, through and from glaciated catchments. Students will become conversant with elementary aquatic geochemistry, and understand the first order controls on the pH and Eh of glacial melt waters and the importance of carbonate equilibria in controlling many aspects of glacial meltwater geochemistry. The third aim is to introduce students to the microbiology of the cryosphere. Students will gain an appreciation of the types of microbes that colonise the different types of habitats contained within the cryosphere, and the microbiological processes they undertake and how they influence the chemistry of meltwater.
