Excursion report Western Norway GEG 2130 Sept 2008

Excursion report Western Norway GEG 2130: Sept. 2008

Deadlines • Report from excursion, Western Norway: 1 st Oct. (individual report) • Exercise Stroplsjødalen: 22 nd Oct. (2 -3 pers. )

Excursion report • Title • Introduction • Main part: – Thematic or – Chronologic • Conclusion (summary) • References • http: //www. biochem. arizona. edu/marc/Sci -Writing. pdf • http: //www. columbia. edu/cu/biology/ug/re search/paper. html • Search for ”Scientific writing” on Google. Remember: The report should be written so that people that did not participate on the excursions finds it logical and interesting!!

Title • Straight to the point – Use the fewest possible words; avoid phrases like “A study of…”, “Investigations of…”, “Observations on…” etc. • Concise • Informative – If limited to a specific region, name the region in the title.

Introduction • • Why did you go on an excursion? What was the aim of the excursion? Where did you go? (Map!) A small introduction to the study area is given • Do you want to answer a scientific research question? (often completed or re-written after the discussion and the conclusion(s) is finished)

Main part – Thematic, ex. 1 • Main subdivisions could be: – Geological history of the study area – Quaternary ice ages – Large-scale landforms • Paleic surface • Valleys/fjords/cirques – Small-scale landforms • • Depositional landforms Erosional landforms Landforms formed by slope processes Block fields • Use examples/pictures from the excursion • Some theory should be included

Main part – Thematic, ex. 2 • Main subdivisions could be: – Geological history of the study area – Quaternary ice ages – Glacial landforms • Valleys/fjords/cirques … • Eskers, drumlins, flutes, glacio-fluvial deltas, striae, … etc. – Fluvial landforms • Valleys • River related landforms • … – Periglacial landforms • • Block fields Slope processes Patterned ground …

Main part - Chronological • (Not recommended)

Discussion • (Hard to write in an excursion report) • If you made a scientific problem in the introduction, make a small discussion concerning it. • Do not present new data here.

Summary • Make a small summary to conclude your report. – What did you see? – Is it possible to put today’s observations into a longer time frame? • Conclude your report if your scientific question need a conclusion.

References • In-text citing: … Grimsmoen is a glacio-fluvial delta (Holmsen, 1915; Gjessing, 1960). … Interpretations done by Nesje and Dahl (2003) … … According to IPCC (2001) … • Reference list: Gjessing, J. (1960) Isavsmeltingstidens drenering, dens forløp og formdannende virkning i Nordre Atnedalen: med sammenlignende studier fra Nordre Gudbrandsdalen og Nordre Østerdalen. Ad novas: Norwegian geographical studies. 492 pp. Holmsen, G. (1915) Brædæmte sjøer i Nordre Østerdalen. Norges geologiske undersøkelse. 211 pp. IPCC (2001) Climate Change 2001: Synthesis report. Summary for ploicymakers. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Changes. http: //ipcc. ch/pub/syreng/spm. pdf 16. 11. 2006. Nesje, A. and Dahl, S. -O. (2003) The “Little Ice Age” – only temperature? The Holocene, 139 -145. • Not to cite in the text is cheating!

Other things… • Use a passive voice in your report: – Avoid “I think…”, “We observed that…”, instead use phrases like “Based on observations in the field, one interpretation is that…”, “A decision was made to…”, etc. • Be neutral in descriptions: – Avoid words that express a subjective impression (fantastic scenery, beautiful nature, …)

Other things… • Remember to give pictures/maps captions (numbering and title), i. e. “Fig. 1: Excursion route, Western Norway. ”

Helpful advices • End. Note: – Reference program available on all computers in the University (or can be downloaded to your personal computer for free) • Libraries: – http: //ask. bibsys. no/ask/action/resources? lang=nb: library database, both printed and electronic resources is searchable. – http: //x-port. uio. no: searches for international scientific databases (ISI Web of Knowledge, Geo. Ref…), electronic journals etc.