Course Objectives

The course will provide knowledge of bedrock geology, quaternary geology, land and soil types and how the landscape has been shaped by geological processes and human culture. Students will learn about charts and how topographical and thematic charts may be used for experiencing and managing the landscape.

Course Description

The course will provide students with insight into how the landscape has developed over time, and how people have shaped the landscape.

The course is interdisciplinary, and integrates geology, the landscape and culture. The topics include:

Bedrock geology: mineral and rock types, geological processes on and below the land’s surface and the geological history of Norway.

· Quaternary geology: the shaping of the land during and following the last ice-age, glaciers and moraines, glacial runoff, the ocean, coastline and today’s waterways, the development of the landscape and the characteristics of various types of soil. We will also discuss changes in sea-level, stratigraphy, age-dating and quaternary history. The use of charts and topic-charts.

· Soil types and soil-forming processes.

· Cultural development and the use of the landscape.

· What is a chart? The use of topographical charts and topic-charts.

Learning Methods

50 lecture hours.

Obligatory: 28 hours of laboratory work and a 6-day field course. Field and laboratory methodology in natural science counts for 2 ECTS. Instruction is organised largely as fieldwork and excursions. These trips are preceded by lectures and followed up with reports. Internet will be used as a source in the instruction and project work. Supervision on report writing will be provided. Methodology, results, consequences and inaccurate sources will be discussed.

Assessment Methods

A 4-hour final examination counts for 100% of the course grade. The reports from the field course and group work must be approved before the student may sit the final examination. Attendance is mandatory for the chart and computer exercises.

Minor adjustments may occur during the academic year, subject to the decision of the Dean