Quantification of Physical Processes A

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2008:

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Student Support and Engagement Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Overview, Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Generic Skills sections of this entry.

It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the University's programs. Students who feel their disability may impact on meeting the requirements of this subject are encouraged to discuss this matter with a Faculty Student Adviser and Student Equity and Disability Support: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/disability

This is a companion subject to 421-491 Quantification of Physical Processes B. At the conclusion of this subject students should be capable of undertaking quantitative analyses of physical processes related to surface hydrology. Emphasis will be placed on the application of fundamental principles of mathematics and physics to the conceptualisation and analysis of the complex interactions that are the hallmark of environmental systems. Students should also be able to build computer models of these interactions and interpret the output from such models. Topics covered include global water, energy and carbon cycles, precipitation, evapotranspiration, interaction between surface and subsurface water, runoff processes, hydrological modelling and water quality.

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

At the end of this subjects students should be able to:

• describe and quantitatively analyse the global energy balance and water carbon cycles, and their interaction
• describe the process of evapotranspiration and perform quantitative analyses on meteorological and environmental data to compute evapotranspiration
• describe and perform quantitative analyses on precipitation processes and measurements
• describe and perform quantitative analyses on processes that control runoff and streamflow at the catchment scale
• describe and perform quantitative analyses on processes of particulate and soluable contaminant generation and transport in surface waters
• describe approaches to hydrological modelling and develop quantitive models of hydrological processes