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Landscapes and Environmental Change (GEOG20002)
Undergraduate level 2Points: 12.5On Campus (Parkville)
For information about the University’s phased return to campus and in-person activity in Winter and Semester 2, please refer to the on-campus subjects page.
About this subject
- Overview
- Eligibility and requirements
- Assessment
- Dates and times
- Further information
- Timetable(opens in new window)
Contact information
Semester 1
Please refer to the LMS for up-to-date subject information, including assessment and participation requirements, for subjects being offered in 2020.
Overview
| Availability | Semester 1 |
|---|---|
| Fees | Look up fees |
The subject focuses on the dynamic surface of our planet and the environments it sustains. The Earth’s surface is shaped by a complex interaction of physical and biological processes operating over a range of spatial and temporal scales. Understanding these processes in the present day, as well as reconstructing landscape and ecological change in the past, enables us to predict their future response to climate change and human activity. In this subject, students will study the processes and spatial patterns that shape natural landscapes and learn about approaches of reconstructing their evolution. Students will gain an appreciation of the ways that the dynamics of natural landscapes need to be incorporated into environmental management and the conservation of biodiversity.
This includes an in-depth understanding of the wide spectrum of landforms (including mountains and hillslopes, glaciers, rivers, dunes, and coasts) and the processes contributing to their formation and decay. In addition, the subject addresses the geographic patterns and dynamics of life on the Earth’s surface and investigates the way in which certain landscapes support particular types of ecosystems (such as rainforest, grassland, desert, estuarine and marine communities). Finally, the factors that may cause change in natural landscapes are explored to assess the roles played by climate, tectonics and humans over various timescales.
Through lectures, practicals and multiple days of field work, students will develop skills in a range of field and lab-based analytical techniques, as well as the use of GIS, for investigating our environment. This subject includes a four-day field trip in Victoria set to take place during the mid-semester break.
Students must submit 80% of the lab practical assignments and attend the field trip to be eligible to pass the subject.
Intended learning outcomes
At the completion of this subject, students will have achieved the following objectives:
- Describe the development of key theories in geomorphology and their application to different landforms and settings
- Recognise how physical, biological, and human processes interact to shape natural landscapes and ecosystem diversity over a range of scales
- Identify natural processes of change in landscapes and ecosystems and how human activity may modify these processes
- Analyse geomorphic data to interpret change and recognise how this can be applied and integrated into future planning and policy
- Obtain a skill set of real world analytical techniques that are used to analyse and classify natural landscapes, measure the dynamics of processes and change, and reconstruct longer-term landscape evolution
Generic skills
- Recognise the development of key theories and apply these to a range of settings
- Recognise how a variety of processes interact over multiple spatial-temporal scales
- Obtain a skill set of real world analytical techniques
- Conduct independent library, lab, and field based research
- Apply knowledge in a planning and policy context
Last updated: 3 June 2023
Eligibility and requirements
Prerequisites
Successful completion of one of the below:
| Code | Name | Teaching period | Credit Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| ENVS10002 | Reshaping Environments | No longer available | |
| ENVS10001 | Natural Environments | Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| ENVS10006 | Mapping Environments | Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| ERTH10002 | Understanding Planet Earth | Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| EVSC10001 | The Global Environment | Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
or completion of 25 points of geography, environmental studies or earth sciences at first year; or an equivalent approved by the subject coordinator.
Corequisites
None
Non-allowed subjects
| Code | Name | Teaching period | Credit Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| GEOG20009 | Landscapes and Diversity | No longer available |
Inherent requirements (core participation requirements)
The University of Melbourne is committed to providing students with reasonable adjustments to assessment and participation under the Disability Standards for Education (2005), and the Assessment and Results Policy (MPF1326). Students are expected to meet the core participation requirements for their course. These can be viewed under Entry and Participation Requirements for the course outlines in the Handbook.
Further details on how to seek academic adjustments can be found on the Student Equity and Disability Support website: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/student-equity/home
Last updated: 3 June 2023
Assessment
Due to the impact of COVID-19, assessment may differ from that published in the Handbook. Students are reminded to check the subject assessment requirements published in the subject outline on the LMS
| Description | Timing | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
Practicals and submission of all tasks completed within these sessions
| Throughout the semester | 25% |
Individual field report
| Week 10 | 40% |
Final exam
| During the examination period | 35% |
Additional details
Hurdle requirement:
Students must submit 80% of the lab practical assignments and attend the field trip to be eligible to pass the subject.
Last updated: 3 June 2023
Dates & times
- Semester 1
Principal coordinator Sarah McSweeney Mode of delivery On Campus (Parkville) Contact hours Two x 1-hour lectures per week; 5 x 3-hour practical classes (in weeks 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6); and a four-day field trip during the mid-semester break. Total time commitment 170 hours Teaching period 2 March 2020 to 7 June 2020 Last self-enrol date 13 March 2020 Census date 30 April 2020 Last date to withdraw without fail 5 June 2020 Assessment period ends 3 July 2020 Semester 1 contact information
Last updated: 3 June 2023
Further information
- Texts
Prescribed texts
Relevant texts and chapters will be provided from multiple textbooks
- Subject notes
Students enrolled in the BSc (both pre-2008 and new degrees), or a combined BSc course (except for the BA/BSc) receive science credit on the completion of this subject.
BSc students receive second year level credit for this subject.
- Related Handbook entries
This subject contributes to the following:
Type Name Informal specialisation Science-credited subjects - new generation B-SCI Major Integrated Geography Informal specialisation Physical Geography Informal specialisation Selective subjects for B-BMED Major Geography Informal specialisation Integrated Geography Informal specialisation Environments Discipline subjects Major Physical Geography Major Engineering Systems Major Environmental Science major Major Environmental Geography - Breadth options
This subject is available as breadth in the following courses:
- Bachelor of Commerce
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Acting)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Animation)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Dance)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Film and Television)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Music Theatre)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Screenwriting)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Theatre)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Visual Art)
- Bachelor of Music
- Available through the Community Access Program
About the Community Access Program (CAP)
This subject is available through the Community Access Program (also called Single Subject Studies) which allows you to enrol in single subjects offered by the University of Melbourne, without the commitment required to complete a whole degree.
Entry requirements including prerequisites may apply. Please refer to the CAP applications page for further information.
- Available to Study Abroad and/or Study Exchange Students
This subject is available to students studying at the University from eligible overseas institutions on exchange and study abroad. Students are required to satisfy any listed requirements, such as pre- and co-requisites, for enrolment in the subject.
Last updated: 3 June 2023