6 EC
Semester 2, period 5
5132WAMA6Y
Freshwater is one of the most important resources for mankind. However the amount of fresh water on Earth is limited. Furthermore the amount of available water is not equally distributed both in time and space. Consequently at some place too much water is present whereas in other regions too little water is available. This course will focus on aspects of water management in both humid and dryland regions, hence in areas with excess water as well as in areas with water shortages. You will work on examples involving practical cases directly related to water management issues from the Netherlands, Western Europe and Southern Spain.
The course will contribute to your understanding on the hydrosphere as an important part of ‘System Earth‘ and how global change affects water availability, and how models can be applied to help improving our understanding and might be used to anticipate on changing water budgets under global change.
The course is structured around three themes. The principles of hydrology, water resources and the hydrological cycle will be applied in three selected environments and illustrated with case studies:
Part 1. The design of water systems in polders. Polders in the World need a typical design for water level management, for which the Dutch have become famous in the World. Knowledge of saturated and unsaturated water flow is discussed on the basis of the design of a polder.
Part 2. Climate change and desertification. Desertification is advancing in Spain. Rainfall and evaporation dynamics are used to evaluate the water balance for various land use strategies.
Part 3. Global change and catchment hydrology. A catchment model of the Rhine basin is used to discuss the potential risks of floods associated with climate change. Students use this model to evaluate their own management solution.
will be provided during the course
Matlab
Aquacrop
After the course the student:
1) Has obtained knowledge of hydrology, water resources and the hydrological cycle and components, including the behaviour of water in the soil".
2) Understands the physical principles behind hydrological processes and the function of these processes in landscapes.
3) Understands how these processes can be applied in water management applications in a societal context.
4) Is able to apply conceptual and computer models to study examples in water management and hydrological response at various environmental conditions and scales (soil, landscape and large catchment).
5) Is able to apply the principles of water resources in selected case studies.
10 lectures of 2 hours
12 (computer)practicals of 2-6 hours
Participation in practicals is mandatory.
Independent preparation of assignments
The course is divided into three separate modules:
1) Climate change and desertification (L.H. Cammeraat) (individual assignments and test)
2) The design of water management systems in polders (W. Bouten) (individual assignments and test)
3) Global change and catchment hydrology (L.H. Cammeraat and W. Bouten ) (group assignment). In each group should be 3 students of which at least two did the Matlab BSc course). Before the actual simulation of the catchment model will be carried out, ALL students in each group are supposed to have done the HBV model tutorial so everyone understands how the model works, also those with limited knowledge of Matlab.
Course Schedule: Please check locations and time in www.datanose.nl
The blocks of 4 or 6 hours of lectures and practicals contain both instruction and practical work and are mandatory. Computer practicals are also mandatory
|
|
Amount |
Duration |
Total |
|
Presence lectures, practicals part 1 |
8 |
2 hrs |
16 |
|
Self-study, preparation of lectures and test part 1 |
|
34 hrs |
34 |
|
Test part 1 |
|
2 hrs |
2 |
|
Presence lectures, practicals part 2 |
8 |
2 hrs |
16 |
|
Self-study ,Preparation of lectures, assignments and |
|
34 hrs |
34 |
|
Test part 2 |
|
3 hrs |
3 |
|
Lectures and practicals part 3 |
12 |
2 hrs |
24 |
|
Presentations |
1 |
4 hrs |
4 |
|
Self-study and writing report |
|
|
27 |
|
Preparation of presentation |
|
8 hrs |
8 |
|
Total |
|
|
168 |
Programme's requirements concerning attendance (OER-B):
Additional requirements for this course:
Presence at lectures is strongly recommended, whereas the practical classes are mandatory.
If you miss more than 2 practical classes (for each of part 1-3) you will fail for that part.
The tests and presentation are also mandatory. If you miss these then you will fail for that part.
For the third part the assignments is done in small groups of 3 persons. Each group should contain (at least) two students who did the BSc course Programming in Matlab, and one who did not this course.
| Item and weight | Details | Remarks |
|
Final grade | ||
|
0.3 (30%) Assessment part 1 | no retake possible | |
|
0.3 (30%) Assessment part 2 | no retake possible | |
|
0.1 (10%) Presentation part 3 | Must be ≥ 5 | no retake possible |
|
0.3 (30%) Report part 3 | Must be ≥ 5 | no retake possible |
Assessment 1 and 2 will also include practical assignments given during the practicals.
Assessment 1: A written test on the lectures, materials and practicals of Part 1
Assessment 2: A computer tests on the lectures, materials and practicals of Part 2
Report part 3: A written report and presentation on your project in Part 3
There are no re-takes for the separate assignments and tests. If one does not pass (the final mark is smaller than 5.5), then there is only one re-take where ALL material together will be tested again. If deadlines for assignments are not met then the mark will be 1.0 for that assessment.
However, if Part 3 (Report and Presentation) has been completed with a mark >= 5.0, this this mark can used in the grading of the retake and only part 1 and 2 will be assessed again in the re-take.
If your mark for Part 3 (Report and Presentation) was larger than 5.0 in the previous year, this mark can be used for the final grading. Part 1 and 2 have to be followed again, and completed in such a way that the final mark based on the new partial marks of Part 1 and 2 and the old mark of part 3 add up to at least a 5.5.
The assignment of part 3 will be described in a separate document, published on Canvas
The 'Regulations governing fraud and plagiarism for UvA students' applies to this course. This will be monitored carefully. Upon suspicion of fraud or plagiarism the Examinations Board of the programme will be informed. For the 'Regulations governing fraud and plagiarism for UvA students' see: www.student.uva.nl
| Weeknummer | Onderwerpen | Studiestof |
| 1 | Design of a polder | Lectures and practical material, material provided by lecturer |
| 2 | Design of a polder | Lectures and practical material, material provided by lecturer |
| 3 | Climate Change and Desertificaion | Lectures and practical material, material provided by lecturer |
| 4 | no letures | |
| 5 | no lectures | |
| 6 | Climate Change and Desertification | Lectures and practical material, material provided by lecturer |
| 7 | Global Change and Catchment Hydrology | Lectures and practical material, material provided by lecturer, project related literature |
| 8 | Global Change and Catchment Hydrology | Project related literature |
| 9 | Global Change and Catchment Hydrology | Project related literature |
The schedule for this course is published on DataNose.
Knowledge of Matlab is strongly recommended, e.g. obtained from the course Programming in Matlab.
If you don't have knowledge of Matlab, completion of the Matlab primer, available on Canvas, should be completed
Matlab should be installed and running on your computer prior to the start of the course
In order to provide students some insight how we use the feedback of student evaluations to enhance the quality of education, we decided to include the table below in all course guides.
| Water Management (6EC) | N=57 | Av mark = 6.9 |
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