Explore UCD

UCD Home >

GEOG30790

Academic Year 2024/2025

Planetary Geomorphology (GEOG30790)

Subject:
Geography
College:
Social Sciences & Law
School:
Geography
Level:
3 (Degree)
Credits:
5
Module Coordinator:
Dr Colman Gallagher
Trimester:
Autumn
Mode of Delivery:
Blended
Internship Module:
No
Module Type:
Fieldwork Module
How will I be graded?
Letter grades

Curricular information is subject to change.

Our solar system is endowed with a fascinating family of planets and planetary bodies. Some are giant gas planets, like Jupiter, but most are smaller rocky or icy bodies. This group of smaller planets and satellites includes Earth. Intriguingly, the other bodies in this group share many geomorphological characteristics with Earth, pointing to many shared environmental processes: all have a history of planetary bombardment and cratering; some have atmospheres and show evidence of wind-sculpting, e.g.Venus, Mars and Titan; volcanism has been, or is currently, an important surface-producing agent on at least three, Venus, Mars and Jupiter’s satellite Io; Venus is the near-twin of Earth in size and has a dense atmosphere but its evolution has been very different from Earth’s, with crushing surface pressure, searing temperatures and aggressive atmospheric chemistry; several large satellites are shrouded in a mobile crust of ice overlying a global liquid ocean, e.g. Europa, Ganymede and Enceladus; the giant satellite Titan has a dense atmosphere that is chemically very similar to the Earth’s first atmosphere and it shows abundant evidence of a ‘hydrological’ cycle (although not involving water), including the presence of rivers and lakes; Mars, tantalizingly similar to Earth, is distinctly not an identical twin but it is relatively nearby and has been visited by many orbiters and landers that have shown it to be, or have been, very Earth-like at certain places and/or times or in specific process-domains. Given the close, but tantalizingly different, planetary evolution of Earth and Mars, the wealth of data available and the potential Mars offers for learning and research, including learning more about our planet, it will be the primary focus of this module, with an emphasis on the processes and landforms associated with water in all its phases (i.e. ice, liquid and vapour).

Currently, the best way to understand the geomorphology of another planet, and hence the environmental processes operating at the surface of that planet, is to find analogous landform assemblages here on Earth and to study as many of their genetic factors as possible. Many landforms and geomorphological assemblages on Mars are analogous to morphologies on Earth that formed in volcanic, aeolian, fluvial, lacustrine, marine, periglacial, glaciofluvial and glacial process environments. These include: volcanoes and lava; sand dunes and yardangs; rivers, gullies and river networks; lake basins and shorelines; extensive marine basins, seabeds and shorelines; rock glaciers and glaciers, patterned ground (polygons), sorted periglacial landforms, thermokarst and pingos. The discovery of these landforms on Mars, in high-resolution images of the surface, has led to the conclusion that volcanism, wind, liquid water and ice have collaborated to produce a very Earth-like planetary surface. However, the geomorphology of Mars is showing evidence of one or more recent major changes in Martian climate, possibly including brief periods when water recently became morphologically effective. The likely cause for such a change is orbitally-driven variability in the axial obliquity of Mars. The same process is a major factor behind the repeated cycles of glaciation experienced by Earth over the last 2 Ma. If this can be confirmed, it would have major implications for our understanding of climate and water on Mars and would tell us more about the processes of environmental change on Earth, including the feedbacks between climate forcing, global warming, cryospheric stability and the hydrological cycle. Many tailored field campaigns are active on Earth, with research agendas that are Mars-specific and targeted, for example, at parameterization of key morphologies as proxies for those key processes, i.e. climate change, cryospheric stability and the cycling of water from sources to sinks. Insights from these analogue studies should provide a better understanding of the relationships between landforms, surface materials (including chemistries) and the surface processes of both Mars and Earth. For that reason, this analogue approach to planetary geomorphology will be the focus of this module, both conceptually and methodologically.

About this Module

Learning Outcomes:

Students will be introduced to the major areas of research in planetary geomorphology, the datasets available and the methodologies of planetary geomorphology, all with a special focus on the geomorphology of Mars. From working in and studying for this module students should gain an understanding of the diversity of planetary geomorphology and planetary evolution in our solar system.

Indicative Module Content:

Module topics
Introduction
Key morphogenetic processes on the terrestrial planets and icy moons
Your exploration – Introduction to planetary remote sensing archives, data and tools including Google Earth (Mars), Arizona State University’s HiRISE (High resolution Imaging Science Experiment) and Jmars GIS (Java Mission-planning and Analysis for Remote Sensing), the ESA/FUB HRSCView (High Resolution Stereo Camera viewer), NASA’s Planetary Data System (PDS))

The formation of terrestrial planets
Crustal genesis and evolution
Your Exploration - the NASA PDS, HiRISE Science Themes and Midnight Planets in more detail

Planetary volcanism
Lava and magmatic landforms and processes

Impact cratering
Crater forms and processes and insights to surface properties from crater morphology

Weathering, denudation and deposition processes (including in the vacuum)
Aeolian landforms and processes
Hydrological landforms and processes (including rivers, lakes and seas, channels and shorelines)
Cryotic (i.e. icy) processes (including ground-ice and glacigenic)

Geomorphology of the icy moons
Crustal formation and evolution, insights to the sub-crust from geomorphology, cryo- and hydrovolcanism

Student Effort Hours:
Student Effort Type Hours
Lectures

12

Autonomous Student Learning

75

Online Learning

38

Total

125


Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
Recorded lectures, through Brightspace; face-to-face classes dealing with topic overviews (studied in detail through the recorded lectures) and data resources; reflective learning; enquiry & problem-based learning; case-study learning; topic-based reading; active/task-based learning; critical writing.

Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations
Learning Recommendations:


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Pre-requisite:
GEOG10080 - Dynamic Earth, GEOG10080 - Dynamic Earth, GEOG10080 - Dynamic Earth, GEOG20040 - Rivers, Estuaries and Coasts, GEOG20040 - Rivers, Estuaries and Coasts, GEOG20040 - Rivers, Estuaries and Coasts, GEOG20060 - Weather,Climate&Climate Change, GEOG20060 - Weather,Climate&Climate Change, GEOG20060 - Weather,Climate&Climate Change, GEOG20150 - Quaternary Env. Change, GEOG20150 - Quaternary Env. Change, GEOG20150 - Quaternary Env. Change

Additional Information:
Students must have passed two of GEOG10080, GEOG20150, GEOG20040, GEOG20060 OR be currently registered in the Space Sciences MSc OR have passed second year of the Earth Sciences curriculum. Entry by other pathways will be considered.


 

Assessment Strategy
Description Timing Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade In Module Component Repeat Offered
Individual Project: Notebook reflecting engagement, exploration and enjoyment of carrying out free-form, independently guided research relevant to the scope of the module, i.e. limited to topics inplanetary geomorphology Week 11, Week 12 Alternative linear conversion grade scale 40% No
35
No
Assignment(Including Essay): Essay building on your research notebook, focussing on detailed, technical reading applied to answering a research question arising from your notebook. Week 15 Alternative linear conversion grade scale 40% No
50
No
Participation in Learning Activities: Research oriented, in-class reading blitzes and mini-reports. Throughout the module. Work is in-class, therefore attendance is required to build marks towards the maximum of 15% of the total. Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5, Week 6, Week 9, Week 10, Week 11, Week 12, Week 14, Week 15 Alternative linear conversion grade scale 40% No
15
No

Carry forward of passed components
Yes
 

Resit In Terminal Exam
Spring No
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 

Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, on an activity or draft prior to summative assessment
• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Not yet recorded.

Name Role
Assoc Professor Gerald Mills Lecturer / Co-Lecturer

Timetabling information is displayed only for guidance purposes, relates to the current Academic Year only and is subject to change.
Autumn Lecture Offering 1 Week(s) - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 Thurs 14:00 - 15:50
Autumn Lecture Offering 1 Week(s) - 9, 10, 11, 12 Thurs 14:00 - 15:50