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GG5578: HYDROLOGICAL EXTREMES UNDER GLOBAL CHANGE (2024-2025)

Last modified: 3 Days, 3 Hours, 3 Minutes ago


Course Overview

Hydrological extremes, i.e. floods and droughts, are the most widespread natural hazards with the largest impact on the environment and society. Increase in frequency and severity of hydrological extremes as a consequence of climate change make it one of the biggest threats to future water security. This course will provide the conceptual basis and practical illustrations of the changing and “wicked” nature of problems of floods, droughts and management responses in context of population growth and increasing demand.

Course Details

Study Type Postgraduate Level 5
Term Second Term Credit Points 15 credits (7.5 ECTS credits)
Campus Aberdeen Sustained Study No
Co-ordinators
  • Dr Jean-Christophe Comte

What courses & programmes must have been taken before this course?

  • Any Postgraduate Programme (Studied)

What other courses must be taken with this course?

None.

What courses cannot be taken with this course?

None.

Are there a limited number of places available?

No

Course Description

The course will provide students with a broad understanding of the physical and human aspects that underpin the impacts of hydrological extremes on the environment and society, and further illustrate adaptation strategies from scientific, regulatory, operational and social perspectives.

The course will entail the definition and illustration of key concepts, drivers, processes, and investigation methods relating to hydrological extremes:

  1. the definitions of hydrological flood, hydrological drought, hazard, exposure, vulnerability, risk, impacts, preparedness, response, resilience, adaptation, and the linkages with the SDGs;
  2. the dynamic drivers of hydrological extremes including their observed and projected trends in the context of a changing climate and population growth: climate change; land use change (including urbanisation); water use (including increasing abstraction trends);
  3. the physical processes underpinning floods, droughts and flood-drought transitions, including observation and modelling methods & tools to quantify their spatiotemporal patterns;
  4. the impact of hydrological extremes on the environment, the society and the people, and their resilience, with a particular focus on the UK and developing countries: soil/bedrock erosion, ecosystems, water resources quality and quantity, destruction of infrastructure, health, poverty;
  5. the scientific, operational, regulatory tools for short term preparedness (e.g. forecasting, early warning) and response (incl. humanitarian), as well as longer term management and adaptation including nature-based management, dam/reservoir operation and subsurface storage (flood capture and managed aquifer recharge). This will be put into the wider context of developed vs developing countries and the commitment to achieving the SDGs.

The course is delivered by Aberdeen lecturers and demonstrators, with a significant contribution from external expert guest lecturers from academia (University, BGS, JHI), policy (SEPA, water authorities) and practice (water utilities, consultancy). It will contain a mixture of lectures, practical, tutorials, seminars, field visit and student personal assignments that include both fundamental knowledge and practical applications.

Associated Costs

DescriptionValue
Day field trip GBP 500.00

Contact Teaching Time

Information on contact teaching time is available from the course guide.

Teaching Breakdown

More Information about Week Numbers


Details, including assessments, may be subject to change until 30 August 2024 for 1st term courses and 20 December 2024 for 2nd term courses.

Summative Assessments

Report: Individual

Assessment Type Summative Weighting 25
Assessment Weeks Feedback Weeks

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Feedback

Practical report 2 (2,500 words)

The report will synthesis the results of a series 3x class practicals on (1) mapping vulnerability to floods & droughts in a selected area (e.g. East Scotland), (2) apply water balance approaches to floods and droughts analysis, (3) apply modelling tools to floods and droughts analysis, and will examine the results to assess possible options for water capture and storage in order to both mitigate/attenuate floods and increase water availability during following droughts.

Standardized feedback will be provided through feedback sheets and will include:

  • Total CGS mark
  • Ranking (excellent, very good, good, pass, fail) of key components of the report (background/rationale; objectives; data & methods; results & discussion; general presentation) with specific feedback on these.
  • Overall feedback
Learning Outcomes
Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
FactualUnderstandUnderstand the socio-economic, policy, and practice aspects involved in the monitoring and managing of hydrological extremes, and their differences in developed and developing countries
ProceduralApplyApply methods and tools for measuring and modelling hydrological extremes and assessing vulnerability
ReflectionEvaluateEvaluate floods and droughts preparedness and response frameworks; evaluate early warning and management systems and tools; evaluate physical/engineering mitigation and adaptation techniques

Essay

Assessment Type Summative Weighting 25
Assessment Weeks Feedback Weeks

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Feedback

Based on literature review on one of the topics taught e.g. impacts of hydrological extremes in a selected geographical contexts.

Standardized feedback will be provided through feedback sheets and will include

  • Total CGS mark
  • Ranking (excellent, very good, good, pass, fail) of key components of the essay (background/rationale; objectives; data & methods; results & discussion; general presentation) with specific feedback on these.
  • Overall feedback
Word Count 2500
Learning Outcomes
Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
ConceptualUnderstandUnderstand key concepts and processes relating to hydrological extremes: flood, hydrological drought, hazard, exposure, vulnerability, risk, impacts, preparedness, response, resilience, adaptation
FactualUnderstandUnderstand the socio-economic, policy, and practice aspects involved in the monitoring and managing of hydrological extremes, and their differences in developed and developing countries
ProceduralAnalyseAnalyse the drivers of hydrological extremes and their long-term trends under global change, and their role in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in a specific geographical context

Oral Presentation: Individual

Assessment Type Summative Weighting 25
Assessment Weeks Feedback Weeks

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Feedback

10 min+5 min questions presentation on one of the topics taught. Each student will choose a pre-defined topic among a list provided, which will be distributed so that each presentation is on a different topic.

Standardized feedback will be provided through feedback sheets and will include:

  • Total CGS mark
  • Ranking (excellent, very good, good, pass, fail) of key components of the presentation (background/rationale; objectives; data & methods; results & discussion; general presentation) with specific feedback on these.
  • Overall feedback
Learning Outcomes
Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
FactualUnderstandUnderstand the socio-economic, policy, and practice aspects involved in the monitoring and managing of hydrological extremes, and their differences in developed and developing countries
ReflectionEvaluateEvaluate floods and droughts preparedness and response frameworks; evaluate early warning and management systems and tools; evaluate physical/engineering mitigation and adaptation techniques

Report: Individual

Assessment Type Summative Weighting 25
Assessment Weeks Feedback Weeks

Look up Week Numbers

Feedback

Practical report 1 (2,500 words)

The report will synthesis the results of a series 3x class practicals on (1) floods and droughts return time analysis, (2) peak over threshold POT flood analysis, (3) standard precipitation/evaporation index SPI/SPEI analysis and will discuss the results in terms of hydrological extremes hazard and exposure.

Standardized feedback will be provided through feedback sheets and will include:

  • Total CGS mark
  • Ranking (excellent, very good, good, pass, fail) of key components of the report (background/rationale; objectives; data & methods; results & discussion; general presentation) with specific feedback on these.
  • Overall feedback
Learning Outcomes
Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
ProceduralAnalyseAnalyse the drivers of hydrological extremes and their long-term trends under global change, and their role in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in a specific geographical context
ProceduralApplyApply methods and tools for measuring and modelling hydrological extremes and assessing vulnerability
ReflectionEvaluateEvaluate floods and droughts preparedness and response frameworks; evaluate early warning and management systems and tools; evaluate physical/engineering mitigation and adaptation techniques

Formative Assessment

There are no assessments for this course.

Course Learning Outcomes

Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
ProceduralAnalyseAnalyse the drivers of hydrological extremes and their long-term trends under global change, and their role in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in a specific geographical context
ProceduralApplyApply methods and tools for measuring and modelling hydrological extremes and assessing vulnerability
ReflectionEvaluateEvaluate floods and droughts preparedness and response frameworks; evaluate early warning and management systems and tools; evaluate physical/engineering mitigation and adaptation techniques
FactualUnderstandUnderstand the socio-economic, policy, and practice aspects involved in the monitoring and managing of hydrological extremes, and their differences in developed and developing countries
ConceptualUnderstandUnderstand key concepts and processes relating to hydrological extremes: flood, hydrological drought, hazard, exposure, vulnerability, risk, impacts, preparedness, response, resilience, adaptation

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