Layers Landforms

AY2017/2018 Semester 2

This course introduces students to process geomorphology, sedimentology and stratigraphic principles, and provides tools for the interpretation of sediments and sedimentary rocks and basins. Lectures in weeks 1-2 cover sediments composition, sediment transport and sedimentary structures. Lecture in week 3 introduces the facies approach to sedimentology and geomorphology. The second phase moves to conceptualise the processes of formation, transport and deposition of sediment. During lectures in weeks 5-8 students develop conceptual models for the full range of landscapes and sedimentary environments on earth, from desert dunes to deep seas muds and coral reefs to gravel bed rivers. Lectures from weeks 8-11 introduce the concepts of sequence stratigraphy and sedimentary basin analysis. The lecture series is supplemented by 8 laboratory exercises and 2 field trips the first a half day and the second a 4 day trip to Miri in Malaysia. The field program is a major part of the course both in content and assessment.