UWA PLUS
Introduction to Groundwater Systems - GEOSM401
Groundwater is a vital freshwater resource that supports billions of people and a vast range of ecosystems globally. This UWA micro-credential introduces the key components and processes at play in groundwater systems.
- What is groundwater and where does it come from?
- How fast does it move, how long does it stay in the ground?
- Can we use groundwater sustainably?
This micro-credential focuses on these questions to develop knowledge of groundwater systems. It is designed for people who have undergraduate-level scientific literacy and numeracy skills and are interested in advancing their understanding of groundwater systems.
Topics covered include the geological setting of groundwater
resources, groundwater storage and flow, groundwater recharge, surface water–groundwater interaction and groundwater dependent
ecosystems.
Upon successful completion, you'll receive:
- Three PD Points, convertible to academic credit
- A Certificate of Achievement
- A UWA Plus Professional Development Transcript, listing all successfully completed micro-credentials
- Delivery mode
- Online
- Course Dates
- To be announced
- Duration
- 3 weeks total
- Effort
- 75 hours composed of readings, videos, learning activities and discussions during online workshops, and completion of
assessment tasks. - 2x 3hr online classes per week for 3 weeks.
- Academic Leads
- Dr Sarah Bourke
- Cost
- $1,188 inc. GST
- Critical information summary
- GEOSM401 – Critical information summary [PDF, 244KB]
Registrations close
To be announced
What you'll learn
Describe fundamental hydrogeological principles of groundwater storage and flow
Analyse and interpret basic groundwater data
Explain and report on groundwater-related issues
Why study this course?
- Learn about the world's most important freshwater resource: groundwater
- Advance your understanding of water storage, flow, recharge and discharge in groundwater systems
- Improve your understanding of the links between groundwater and other landscape elements
Who should study this course?
- This micro-credential is for people who are working in groundwater-related roles, or who are considering a career in groundwater and are seeking to deepen their conceptual knowledge and understanding of processes in groundwater systems.
Recommended prior knowledge
- Students in this micro-credential should have:
- Undergraduate-level numeracy skills including unit conversions and rearranging equations
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office suite, especially Excel for data analysis and data plotting and PowerPoint for drawing simple schematic diagrams and making presentations.
- Some familiarity in applying differential equations to quantify natural systems is beneficial.
- Future study
- This micro-credential is paired with GEOSM402 Characterising Groundwater Resources. Completion of both micro-credentials can be used as academic credit towards GEOS4401 Hydrogeological Systems on enrolment in the Master of Hydrogeology at UWA.