Lancaster University

Lecture 1: Water catchment issues

Lecture 1-2: Precipitation

Lecture 3: Evapo-transpiration

Lecture 4-5: Riverflow

Lecture 6-8: Water pathways and erosion hazard

Lecture 8-9: Subsurface water

Lecture 9-10: Soil water and solute travel times

Lecture 12: Summary and revision session

Lecture 15: End-of-module test

Practical/Workshops

-         Fieldwork in White Scar Cave (gauging and guided visit)

-         Laboratory practicals using 6 pieces of apparatus (flumes, model catchments, groundwater test apparatus, etc)

-         Guided course text reading

The course aims to introduce to the science of hydrology and emphasises the physical processes and their measurement. Two case studies will be used to illustrate how an understanding of hydrological processes can be used to quantify and sometimes solve environmental problems. The first issue to be examined is the ?impact of rainforest logging on the physical environment' and will use data for a region of northern Borneo currently under study. The second issue to be addressed is the ?potential for environmental contamination from a proposed radionuclide repository near Sellafield'. Again, research work will be used to illustrate the hydrological theory..

Learning outcomes:

On completion of this module a student will be able to:

Generic Outcomes

• Measure waterflows and soil/rock properties
• Manipulate algebraic equations
• Relate physical theory to the solution of environmental problems

Subject Specific Outcomes

• Describe and manipulate the water balance equation and the groundwater flow equation