Earth System Processes
Course description:
Earth system is characterized by an interaction of atmosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere. Each of these sub-systems have a distinct set of processes and feedbacks the understanding of which form the main emphasis of this course. Some of the important topics include hydrological cycle, surface and ground water systems, tectonic processes and landform evolution under different geomorphic settings.
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Course content: Earth System processes, geomorphic systems, Threshold and equilibrium; scale in geomorphology, key concepts in geomorphology, hydrologic cycle. Exogenetic and endogenetic processes, climatic vs. geomorphic processes, soil and weathering system. Drainage basins and river systems, river morphology and hydrology, fluvial erosion, transport and sedimentation, fluvial depositional landforms, geomorphometric concepts and drainage basin morphometry; Groundwater in hydrological cycle, water table, groundwater flow and storage; porosity and permeability, aquifers, chemistry of groundwater. Atmospheric composition and mixing, atmospheric circulation, greenhouse effect. Coastal environment, waves, tides and currents, description and classification of coasts, shoreline development, coastal erosion and resulting topographic features, coastal deposition and landforms. Earth’s physiography and landscape evolution; Landforms and tectonics of plate margins and plate interiors; Tectonic uplifts and denudation – rates and controlling factors, Sea level change – evidence, mechanism and effects; coupled tectonic-surface process models. |
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River Science
Course description:
This course deals with the science of rivers particularly on the geomorphic processes in river systems and their relationship with river ecology. The course will aim to develop awareness about rivers and their sustainable management through process-based understanding.
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Course content:
Integrated Multi-Disciplinary Approach in river science; River Science in Indian Context; Geomorphic Analysis of River Systems - Key Concepts in River Geomorphology, Catchment Scale Controls on River Morphology, Catchment Hydrology, Sediment Movement and Deposition in River System, Channel Geometry, Floodplain Forms and Processes, River Diversity and River Evolution, Human Impacts on River Systems; River Ecosystem Synthesis - Introduction to hydrogeomorphic patches, functional process zones, hierarchical patch dynamics and biocomplexity, river as a continuum, longitudinal, lateral, temporal, vertical dimensions; Hierarchical patch dynamics in riverine landscapes; hydrogeomorphic character of a riverine ecosystem.; Ecological Implications of RES Biocomplexity Concepts; River Health and River Futures - Human impacts on river systems including climate change impacts; river hazards and their causes, Environmental Flow (e-flow) – definition, data requirement, different approaches for e-flow estimation; Integrated approach to river management, River health and river futures. |
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Remote Sensing and GIS for Georesource Evaluation
Course description:This course focuses on remote sensing and GIS techniques for various earth science related applications. Basic principles of remote sensing and GIS techniques is covered and application studies are discussed using examples and case studies from India and other parts of the world.
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Global Climatic Change
Course description:This course focuses on the science of climate change and its impacts on oceans, rivers, and cryosphere. The course covers the forcing functions of climate change operating at various spatio-temporal scales and geopolitics of climate change.
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Course content:
Introduction, geologic time, time scale of climate change, earth systems; Climate system and interactions, climate forcings, Earth’s radiation budget, factors controlling heat receipt, climate system response, climate feedbacks; Earth’s radiation budget, water in climate system; Climate forcings, feedbacks and climate sensitivity; Energy-climate Nexus; Carbon cycle and climate change; Archives and proxies; Historical-scale climate change; Future climate change, projections of emission scenarios; Orbital scale climate change, Eccentricity, tilt and precession; Climate change impacts on Oceans, Cryosphere, rivers and water resources; Orbital scale changes in CO2 and CH4, carbon cycle and exchanges, carbon reservoirs, ocean pumping hypothesis; Stable isotopes and orbital response; Deglacial and millennial scale climate change, glacial maximum, deglacial sea level rise and melt water pulses, Younger Drayas, Tropical monsoon maximum, millennial scale oscillations, Heinrich events, Solar variability, CH4 changes, monsoonal reconstruction, teleconnections, Indian case studies; CCS, Climate policy, protocols and summits. |
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Applied Sedimentology and Basin Analysis
Course description:
This course deals with sedimentary basins in different environments ranging from continental to marine. Sedimentary basins are important reservoirs of water and hydrocarbons and they evolve through long-term geological processes. A thorough understanding of sedimentary basins and sedimentology could be very rewarding for resource exploration.
Course content:Introduction to Applied Sedimentology; Clastic sediment as a chemical and physical breakdown product; Carbonate, Silicates, Iron-rich and Evaporite sediments; Physical properties of particles, porosity and permeability; Types of fluid motion and sediment in fluid and fluid flow; Bedforms and sedimentary structures in flows and under waves; Deposits of sediment gravity flows; Sediment to rock - the Subsurface Environment; Allochthonous Sediments; Autochthonous Sediments; Sedimentary Basins- Basin-forming mechanisms; Basins due to lithospheric stretching; Basins due to flexure; Sedimentary basins: classification, evolution, metallogeny, and petroleum system; Major external controls on sedimentation; Continental sedimentary environments; Marine sedimentary environment; Basin fills and stratigraphy; Subsidence and Thermal history.
For detailed course content, visit:http://www.iitk.ac.in/es/list-of-courses-phd-m-tech