Earth & Space Sciences

The course introduces field study and geological surveying methods. The teaching material is lecture based and includes the concept of field geological surveying and the Heng-Chun Peninsula, which the class embarks on a four-day trip to Southern Taiwan to examine the rock and land formations of the area. Field practice is held during the semester, and performance during the field observation is the main determinant for performance assessment. Students who cannot participate in the field trip should not enroll in the course.

The course provides an introduction to the key concepts and applications of geomorphology, with particular reference to the understanding of fluvial, slope, coastal/marine systems. The course builds upon the basic understanding of earth systems and environmental change acquired during first year students, and facilitates a deeper appreciation of the conceptual and technical issues involved in understanding how landform morphology evolves at various time and space scales. Topics include a brief history of geomorphology, showing how it has emerged from geological origins as a distinct geoscience in its own right; key concepts related to the analysis of landform morphology and the understanding of temporal and spatial scales of landform change (including computer practicals); processes of sediment entrainment, transport, and deposition, illustrated in the context of hillslope, aeolian, fluvial and coastal landforms; and the concept of morphodynamics.

The course provides an overview of geology, the science of the earth. An understanding of geology is important to many disciplines, providing information about the physical and chemical processes that determine the distribution of resources, location of hazards, operation of surface processes and the interaction between engineering structures and earth surface materials. The four components of the course begin with consideration of the earth’s structure and the role of plate tectonics, before considering the nature of earth surface materials and the functioning of earth surface systems.

This course aims to explore the theme of Earth processes and in particular to address the chemistry and physics based actors in System Earth. This course explores the principal components of System Earth: plate tectonic theory; rocks, water, and weathering; and time scales of System Earth. By going through a selection of calculated examples a deeper understanding of the processes involved is obtained. The course focuses first on the dynamics of planet Earth, the principal building blocks of the solid Earth, and introduces plate tectonic theory as the underlying paradigm; time scales and rates of processes are introduced. The second part of the course first studies carbonate dissolution and the role of atmospheric CO2 on the pH of natural waters. In the next step the course introduces the anthropogenic factor: the chemical reactions that contribute to the formation of acid rain, and the course proceeds to quantify the effect of acid rain on natural waters. Thermodynamics gives us the tools to quantify chemical reactions. Weathering reactions of basement rock in the acidic environments forms clay minerals. The process of clay mineral formation in turn can be linked to the formation of mineral resources such as bauxite. The final leg of the course introduces isotope geochemistry and its role in quantifying Earth processes: radioactive decay as a tool to measure time and isotope fractionation as a tool to document temperature fluctuations, and thus climate change in the past.

This course introduces the basic concepts of brittle and ductile deformation processes and how they control the strength, mechanical behavior, and development of structures in the Earth's continental crust and lithosphere. Students develop a basic understanding of the forces driving deformation, and the displacements and strains associated with simple crustal deformations. The course then further develops a more advanced understanding of deformation processes and structures produced by displacement and deformation in the Earth's lithosphere at scales ranging from the tectonic plate scale, down to the crystal lattice scale.