Future students

Earth Science

Including:

The Earth’s Physical Environment

The Earth’s Climate

Geosciences

EAE1011:
Earth, atmosphere and environment 1

EAE1022:
Earth Atmosphere and Environment 2

Elective
SCI1300:
Climate change: From science to society

Earth Sciences is a broad discipline that addresses the major processes that have shaped our planet over deep geological time and continue to pose natural hazards to society, but also provide elements that we need to sustain a modern society.

You will learn about geological processes (plate tectonics, basin formation, volcanology, earthquakes, and the formation of ore deposits); the Earth’s physical environment (such as rivers, groundwater, soils, and landscapes) and the interaction of physical systems with the biosphere; and/or the Earth’s climate and how we understand and predict natural and anthropogenic climate change.

Major and minor unit requirements

Atmospheric Science

EAE1011:
Earth, atmosphere and environment 1

EAE1022:
Earth Atmosphere and Environment 2

Elective
SCI1300:
Climate change: From science to society

Geographical Science

ATS1310:
Extreme Earth! Natural hazards and human vulnerability

ATS1309:
The Global Challenge

EAE1022:
Earth Atmosphere and Environment 2

Elective
SCI1300:
Climate change: From science to society

Geographical Science is the interdisciplinary study of understanding how natural and human processes affect our planet including soils, vegetation, water, landforms and climate throughout time.

You will learn to analyse and synthesise complex environmental, economic, social and political information to enable a geographical understanding of humans, environments and the planet.

Major and minor units requirements

What you’ll study in first year

EAE1011: Earth, atmosphere and environment 1

Provides an introduction to the science involved in studying the Earth, including explanations of how and why our planet has changed since its formation 4.56 billion years ago. We will study the formation, history and anatomy of the Earth and the processes that drive change within our planet and its  environmental  systems, from the formation of the core to its crust, to the systems driving and sustaining the planet’s living surface to the forces and processes involved in the formation of mountains and oceans, and our changing atmosphere and climate.

EAE1022: Earth Atmosphere and Environment 2

This unit will expand your knowledge of the environmental, geological and atmospheric processes that create the unique physical environment in which we live, and will demonstrate how these processes influence our lives from the provision of resources to natural disasters. You will examine how and why  the Earth’s surface, atmosphere and vegetation have changed in the past, and are predicted to change in the future, as a result of human influences such as deforestation, agricultural practices and human-induced climate change.

ATS1310: Extreme Earth! Natural hazards and human vulnerability

This unit will focus on the catastrophes of our world today, such as droughts, earthquakes, epidemics, fires, floods, hurricanes, landslides, tsunamis and weather extremes. It seeks to understand the mechanics and dynamics of these environmental phenomena and how they interact with the social contexts  in  which these disasters occur. We will also investigate the role of international aid and risk management using local and international case studies.

ATS1309: The Global Challenge

What can you do in a world that is challenged by questions of poverty, environmental degradation, social inequality and economic exclusion? Insight is gained into the new and emerging forces of social, economic and environmental change. The unit examines how changing population and migration dynamics,  urban development, patterns of consumption and growth, and labour markets intersect at local, national and global scales.

SCI1300: Climate change: From science to society (Elective Unit)

This unit provides the scientific background to climate change, and it assesses the environmental and societal impacts, and community and political responses to climate change. Starting from the basic principles and processes that define and govern the Earth's climate, the unit explores how the different spheres  on Earth interact to produce the rich past and current variability of climate in space and time and how human influences are shaping the future of the Earth's climate. The unit investigates what options humankind has to respond to the economic, ethical and political challenges of climate change, including global and national governance models required to mitigate and adapt to its effects. The unit will provide students with the foundation and knowledge to respond to climate change challenges throughout their career, independent of their specific discipline.