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1) GG3034 Arid Africa: Climatic history, People and Geomorphology

This course introduces the main physical processes operating in arid environments, the climatic history of these regions and considers the interaction between human populations and their environment at a range of timescales. This is achieved through the development of three main themes. Firstly, a process based geomorphological approach is used to explain the formation and distribution of landforms in Africa’s arid zones, introducing key concepts such as event magnitude and frequency, tectonism and timescales. Secondly, the late Quaternary climatic history of the study regions is discussed. This element of the course emphasises the evidence used to infer past climate changes in arid zones and the changing consensus on Africa as an active or passive driver of climate. Thirdly, the course will study the interaction of ancient and modern human populations with changing environments. In particular, this element of the course will provide a physical background for some of the development issues addressed in human geography courses, as well as assessing the likely impacts of future, anthropogenically forced climate changes. The course is taught as ten two-hour sessions comprising lectures and discussion.

2) GG5212 Theory and Applications of Luminescence Dating

This course introduces the theoretical background to luminescence dating and explores recent applications of the technique in Quaternary Science. The main themes covered are 1) Physical mechanisms of luminescence dating; 2) Preparation techniques and measurement equipment; 3) Assessment of the equivalent dose and environmental dose rate values and 4) Case studies of luminescence dating in a range of sedimentary contexts. Each lecture is complemented by a practical session. By the end of the course students will have prepared a sample and estimated its age.