Schedule
Assignments may be embedded in lessons (labeled “deliverable”) or be included separately.
This schedule will be updated over the course of the semester.
Week 1: Introduction: Landforms, Geomorphic Process Domains
Sept. 7th
Introduction: Landscapes, Geomorphology, and Course Structure
Week 2: Introduction: transport laws, form and process; Mapping and topography
Land surveying course notes PDF (not used extensively in the online version of the course, but provided for your knowledge and potential later use)
Sept. 14th
Math/physics background
Landforms and geomorphic change
Mapping and topography
Due Friday
Grand Canyon landscape observations
Week 3: Soils and GIS
Sept. 21st
Soils geomorphology
Soil and its global importance
Definitions: soil and mobile regolith (What is a soil?)
Remote sensing in mapping + Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
Learning GIS: Lab exercise with soils and geomorphic process domains
Due Friday
Nothing! (Assignments from the prior week due on Monday the 28th)
Week 4: Hillslopes
Sept. 28th
Due Monday
Hillslope Creep and Diffusion
Introduction to Hillslopes and Hillslope Processes: Creep, Mass Wasting, and Diversity of Forms
Field Trip
Virtual field trip: Shadow Creek
Due Friday
Week 5: Hillslope–soil evolution, mass-wasting processes, and catchment hydrology
Oct. 5th
Due Monday
Introduction to QGIS “lab” with a focus on process domains and soils
Hillslope–soil evolution and mass balance
Aeolian erosion and/or deposition
Weathering inputs, dissolution, regolith (soil) production, and combining the equations
Hillslope mass wasting
Problem set
Actually handed out on the following Tuesday; extra time given for completion
Due Friday
Short-answer responses to Shadow Creek VR Field Trip prompts
Week 6: Hydrology
Oct. 12th
Final Project information
Wikipedia Article: Final Projects
Hydrology
Flow through catchments: overland and subsurface
Flow to rivers: discharge and hydrographs
Measuring river discharge: stream gauging
Rainfall–runoff virtual board game Note: Actually posted on Tuesday 20 Oct
Week 7: Open-channel hydraulics I
Open-channel flow course notes PDF
Introduction to open-channel flow
Viscosity (with a background on elasticity)
Due Tuesday
Rainfall–runoff virtual board game
Due Friday
Final project teams and proposals
Week 8: Open-channel hydraulics II
Oct. 26th
Open-channel flow course notes PDF
Flow-velocity fluctuations and the intensity of turbulence
Shear Stress, Shear Velocity, and Turbulence
Flow velocity: Manning’s Equation
Flow velocity: Darcy–Weisbach Friction Factor and Equation
Flow velocity: Prandtl Mixing and the Law of the Wall
Week 9: Fluvial I: Rivers in the Landscape
Nov. 2nd
Bedrock and alluvial rivers; detachment- and transport-limited evolution
Sediment in rivers and modes of sediment transport
Alluvial river-channel motion and patterns
Week 10: Fluvial II: Channel adjustment and evolution
Nov. 9th
Bedrock rivers and detachment-limited erosion
Streamflow and channel adjustment
Lane’s Balance and the Graded River
Due Wednesday
Draft of text for the Wikipedia article (not yet live on Wikipedia)
Assignment: hydraulics and rivers
Problem Set: Rating curves, flood management, and geomorphically effective discharge
Week 11: Fluvial+ III: Landscape evolution and river-profile analysis
Nov. 16th
The stream-power law and detachment-limited river long-profile evolution
Landscape evolution: Coupling hillslope diffusion with the stream-power law
Landscape steady state and tectonic uplift
Hack’s Law, channel concavity, the steepness index, and river-profile analysis
Week 12: Quaternary Geochronology
Nov. 23rd. Half week: Happy Thanksgiving!
Due Wednesday
Week 13: Glacial processes
Nov. 30th
Due Thursday
Problem Set: Rating curves, flood management, and geomorphically effective discharge
Week 14: Coastal and Aeolian Processes
Dec. 7th
Assignments
Problem set: River incision, tectonics, and landscape evolution
Assignment (short): OSL and Glacial Processes
Course materials
There will be no assignments on material from here to the end of the course. All this is meant for your fun and learning pleasure, and strikes a lighter tone than some of the rest of the course.
Ice sheets, sea level, global change, and life lessons from Jerry Mitrovica
Week 15: Final Assignment Hand-in and Group Work
Dec. 14th. Half week: December 16th is the last day of classes
Due Monday
Assignment (short): OSL and Glacial Processes
Due Friday
Wikipedia article updates in response to comments
Problem set: River incision, tectonics, and landscape evolution
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