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Unit of study_
GEOS3009: Coastal Environments and Processes
2025 unit information
The aim of this course is to introduce students to a variety of Coastal Environments and the major processes which control the morphodynamic evolution of these systems. The course offers a unique opportunity of learning the full spectrum of marine sedimentary environments from siliciclastic, temperate, highly urbanised and impacted estuarine ecosystems to carbonate, tropical, pristine and undeveloped/protected coastal and continental margin environments. The course is divided in three sections: Section A covers the basic morphodynamics and processes impacting carbonate-dominated coastal and continental margin environments. The focus is on carbonate reefal and margin systems and their geologic and biologic responses to past, present and future environmental changes; Section B covers the basic morphodynamics of temperate and tropical coasts, including beach morphodynamics and basic knowledge on waves and currents; Section C consolidates all concepts learnt in the previous sections by applying them to numerical modelling. There is a compulsory weekend fieldtrip to the NSW coast to study beach morphodynamics and fieldwork techniques. Depending on the year, there may be a voluntary fieldtrip to a coral reef environment, for example, The University of Sydney One Tree Island Research Station.
Unit details and rules
Managing faculty or University school:
Science
| Study level | Undergraduate |
|---|---|
| Academic unit | Geosciences Academic Operations |
| Credit points | 6 |
|
Prerequisites:
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12 credit points from (GEOS2X11 or GEOS2X15 or GEOS2X16 or GEOS2X21 or BIOL2022) |
|---|---|
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Corequisites:
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None |
| Prohibitions:
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GEOS3909 or MARS3003 or MARS3105 |
| Assumed knowledge:
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None |
At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:
- LO1. understand the main carbonate-dominated coastal to continental margin environments (including reefs) and the major process influencing them
- LO2. relate the different types of reef environments with different physical, chemical and biologic factors
- LO3. demonstrate the long term (geologic) development and sedimentary architecture of reefal and deltaic systems in space and time to changes in past climate, sea level and tectonic regimes
- LO4. establish the range of likely impacts of predicted future global climate changes on reef systems
- LO5. demonstrate techniques in evaluating and interpreting remote sensing data used to characterise coastal and continental margin environments
- LO6. demonstrate understanding of coastal processes and the morphodynamics of coastal systems
- LO7. define a beach system by its morphodynamic state and associated basic processes
- LO8. learn about the nature of wave breaking, transformation and impact on coastal environments
- LO9. establish scientific data analysis and interpretation techniques, using PYTHON & MATLAB
- LO10. setup, run and analyse data using a numerical model
- LO11. develop the ability to identify and evaluate relevant environmental information from written and spoken scientific presentations
- LO12. provide guidelines of how to address coastal studies in real-life situations.
Unit availability
This section lists the session, attendance modes and locations the unit is available in. There is a unit outline for each of the unit availabilities, which gives you information about the unit including assessment details and a schedule of weekly activities.
The outline is published 2 weeks before the first day of teaching. You can look at previous outlines for a guide to the details of a unit.
| Session | MoA ? | Location | Outline ? |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Semester 1 2025
|
Normal day | Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney |
Outline unavailable
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Modes of attendance (MoA)
This refers to the Mode of attendance (MoA) for the unit as it appears when you’re selecting your units in Sydney Student. Find more information about modes of attendance on our website.
