Knowledge of our surficial deposits is important in connection with land-use planning and utilization of natural resources for various purposes, for instance agriculture, forestry, the building of roads, waste water treatment plants and more. The course deals with the natural climate changes and processes that have controlled the development of the Norwegian landscape through the Quaternary. Emphasis is placed on how climate, ice ages and sea level changes have controlled the properties and distribution of typical Norwegian surficial deposits such as till, glaciofluvial, glaciolacustrine, fluvial, and marine deposits. The theoretical teaching is supported by exercises where the student works with geological problems, the use of Quaternary geological maps and profiles and the interpretation and understanding of various observations.

The student is to learn about how the natural climate changes in the Quaternary period have contributed to the formation of the landscape and the surficial deposits in Norway, the properties of the surficial deposits and their regional distribution.

Lectures, exercises/group work, seminars, excursions, independent study, semester assignment.

Through the course website on Fronter.

Jørgensen et al. 1997: Kvartærgeologi. Tun forlag (Landbruksforlaget). ISBN 978-82-5292-107-6 (82-529-2107-8)

Jørgensen et al. 2014: Norske jordarter. E-book.

GEO100 Geology.

Excursion. Submissions with approval of weekly exercises, excursion report and semester assignment.

Final written examination (3.5 hours): 100%.

300 hours.

Minimum requirements for entrance to higher education in Norway (generell studiekompetanse)

-

Lectures/exercises/seminars: 13 x 4 hours. Excursion with report: 2 x 10 hours.

The course is followed up by GEO211 Quaternary Geology - Field Course. The course can be taken together with GEO220 Hydrogeology.

The examiner, who comes from the same subject field at another Norwegian university, will be used actively for determining the course level and for approving the examination. The external examiner will also take part in the assessment of the examinations.