Courses Taught at Durham University and the University of Rhode Island
Durham - Physical Geography (L1)
Durham - Contested Environments (L2)
Durham - Sea-Level Change and Coastal Evolution (L3)
Durham - Communicating Science in Physical Geography (L4)
URI - Global Climate Change (GEO305)
This course is designed to provide you with the basic tools necessary to understand the scientific issues underlying the problem(s) associated with climate change, and entertain and evaluate potential solutions. The course follows a lecture format with supporting laboratory exercises and projects. The topics covered in this course include:
URI - Coastal Geologic Hazards (GEO577)
This course focuses on geological hazards in the coastal zone. It will provide you with the tools necessary to understand how coastlines have changed in the past and how they will be modified in the future. The course follows a combined lecture/seminar format. A typical class will involve a 1-hour instructor-led lecture, followed by a 1.5-hour student-led discussion. Knowledge gained in the classroom will be applied via fieldtrips to an array of coastal environments (e.g., beaches, salt marshes, dunes). Open to graduate students as well as advanced undergraduates with appropriate scientific background. The topics covered in this course include:
Durham - Contested Environments (L2)
Durham - Sea-Level Change and Coastal Evolution (L3)
Durham - Communicating Science in Physical Geography (L4)
URI - Global Climate Change (GEO305)
This course is designed to provide you with the basic tools necessary to understand the scientific issues underlying the problem(s) associated with climate change, and entertain and evaluate potential solutions. The course follows a lecture format with supporting laboratory exercises and projects. The topics covered in this course include:
- What is the greenhouse effect?
- Fossil Fuels and the carbon cycle
- How the oceans and atmosphere distribute heat
- Sea-level change
- Past climates and consequences
- Exploring climate models - what do they predict and how good are they?
- Impacts: what will happen to the biota and humans?
- Remediation and Mitigation Strategies - what can be done to reduce the impacts or is it too late?
URI - Coastal Geologic Hazards (GEO577)
This course focuses on geological hazards in the coastal zone. It will provide you with the tools necessary to understand how coastlines have changed in the past and how they will be modified in the future. The course follows a combined lecture/seminar format. A typical class will involve a 1-hour instructor-led lecture, followed by a 1.5-hour student-led discussion. Knowledge gained in the classroom will be applied via fieldtrips to an array of coastal environments (e.g., beaches, salt marshes, dunes). Open to graduate students as well as advanced undergraduates with appropriate scientific background. The topics covered in this course include:
- Drivers of coastal changes on geological and human timescales
- Coastal processes and geomorphology
- Reconstructing environmental changes in the coastal zone
- Climatic and tectonic influences on the coastal environment
- Relative sea-level change
- Impacts of high energy events (e.g., storms and tsunami)
- The future of the coastal zone
- Develop equipment skills (e.g., RTK GPS, Total Station, Coring)