| CODE | GEO2017 | ||||||||
| TITLE | Hydrology and Water Management | ||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 02 - Years 2, 3 in Modular Undergraduate Course | ||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 5 | ||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 4 | ||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Geography | ||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | Hydrology deals with the properties, distribution, and circulation of water on and below the earth's surface and in the atmosphere. In addition, it is the study of water and its interchangeability between, and behavior, in its three main states of solid, liquid and gas. The hydrology unit first tackles the physical and chemical components of the properties of water with the part played by gravity and capillarity and the associated spatial implications within the vertical, planar and angular flows. Key aspects should also include hydrogeological considerations such as the geological framework for the occurrence of groundwater, aquifer properties, recharge, storage and transmission of ground water, fundamentals of groundwater flow (hydraulic head and Darcy's Law) and resource estimation. Secondly the water management aspect will focus on the effect of climate, percolation, run-off, channeling and flooding over rural and urban areas including developing alternative energy from water movement. As examples from the Global, Mediterranean, Middle East, and Maltese scenarios the importance of water as a vital but scarce resource is emphasized through a number of case studies including the production of fresh water by industrial means. Security through its harvesting, control and supply form the basis of the management of water resources as a third part of the unit. A fieldwork component deals with estimating local flows in an urban and examination of hydrogeological conditions in rural areas. Study-Unit Aims: - To help students understand the relationship between water in its various states and its movement and spread over land and beneath the surface, in the atmosphere, and on, and within, the marine environment; - To aid participants to appreciate water and the transport of sediment and consequent geomorphological and geological changes to the land surface and sub-surface, soil erosion and gullying and delta formation and effects on the transparency of the immediate marine areas; - To guide students to view the importance of vertical water movement: downward under gravitational influence, and, upwards, in the opposite direction, through capillarity; - To promote the value of the impact of water scarcity, and also of abundance, especially over short periods of time, on the population; - To assist students to recognize the importance of water in conflicting geopolitical situations from river water flows between countries and regions to underground water resources during wars; To identify the patterns made by the movement of surface waters over different spatial scales; and - To support undergraduates to measure and calculate water flows in the field at selected sites. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Identify the part played by each state of water within the hydrological cycle; - Recognize the influence of flowing waters and sediments in shaping the macro, and micro features of the land masses; - Appreciate that water movement in all directions is vital for its natural storage, dissipation and evaporation; - Describe the role of geology in hydrology catchment at surface and subsurface levels; - Demonstrate how the survival of humanity depends in large part on the processes involved in the change of state of water; - Value the strategic importance of water resources in resolving conflicts between states; and - Estimate surface water flows through urban and rural zones. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Show more social responsibility in the value of harnessing and using water supplies; - Develop awareness in understanding and appreciating the value of water supply and use in different regions; - Value that it is the change of state of water that keeps humanity and the natural environment in shape; - Associate the implications of population growth, climate change and economic needs with water resource exploitation; - Assess the negative implications that the contamination of water has through anthropogenic activities; - Connect the effects of land-use change on water use and supply; and - Analyze and express the results derived from the field. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts: - Alley, W.M. and Alley, R.A. (2017) High and Dry: Meeting the Challenges of the World’s Dependence on Groundwater. Yale University Press, New Haven and London. - Hornberger, G. M. and Perrone, D. (2019) Water Resources: Science and Society. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore. - Madan, M.M. and Saikia, M.D. ( 2009) Hydrology. PHI Learning, New Delhi . Supplementary Readings: - Rose, E.P.F. and Mather, J.D.(eds) 2012 Military aspects of Hydrogeology. The Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 362. - Sciberras, E., Buhagiar, G., & Schembri, M. (2017). Deriving hydrological networks in the Maltese Islands for flood risk assessments. - a comparative study. In S. Formosa (Ed.), Emergent realities for social wellbeing: environmental, spatial and social pathways (pp. 245-266). Malta: University of Malta, Department of Criminology. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture, Fieldwork and Independent Study | ||||||||
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| LECTURER/S | Ritienne Gauci John A. Schembri |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2025/6. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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