Overview

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

An examination of glacial processes and environments emphasizing landscapes and sediments resulting from the movement of ice, water, and sediment; application of field techniques. Writing.

COURSE DETAILS:

Course Description
The impacts of changing climate have their greatest visibility in glacier environments. In this course, an overview of glacier-climate interactions and glacier physics will set the groundwork for investigating glaciated landscapes. Investigations into the inner workings of glacier flow, thermal regime and hydrology, will facilitate unravelling the record of past glacial landforms and sediments and their importance for understanding the landscapes we see today. Field trips will focus on techniques used for interpreting glacial landforms and sediments in a variety of landscapes in southwestern BC.

Field trip details
Fire and weather permitting, there will be two field trips in this course, a three-day trip (October 9-11) and a one-day trip (November 6). Your mandatory supplementary fee ($126.82) and U-Pass fee cover transportation costs. Students should expect to pay up to an additional $100 to the Department (Payment due by September 18) to cover accommodation and will be responsible for their own food costs. Be aware that during the field trips there may be periods of strenuous hiking, hiking close to cliffs and crossing roads with busy traffic. Appropriate clothing and footwear must be worn. Further details regarding safety, meals, accommodation and field supplies will be discussed

prior to the field trips. Students must at all times remain compliant with the SFU student code of conduct and relevant regulations and policies as outlined in the SFU Policy Gazette. This includes, but is not limited to, expected student conduct, accommodations and the maintenance of appropriate medical insurance coverage.

This course is a required or elective course in several syllabi for Professional Geoscience (P. Geo.) accreditation by the Engineers and Geoscientists of British Columbia (EGBC) and the Canadian Council of Professional Geoscientists (CCPG).

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

1. Demonstrate how the glacier acts as a system and how internal and external variables affect the dynamics of this system.
2. Explain the underlying mechanisms of glacier physics including: glacier flow, thermal regime and hydrology.
3. Explain processes of erosion, entrainment, transportation and sedimentation, associated with glacial environments.
4. Analyze glacier sediments and landscapes, applying interpretations to:

• the reconstruction of processes and events that resulted in past glacial landscapes;
• the behavior of modern glacial systems;
• contemporary environmental issues.

Grading

Materials

REQUIRED READING: