water | Ecology of the past

MSc Earth Sciences: Peru field course 2024

July 10, 2024
WDG

The University of Amsterdam MSc Earth Sciences “Geoecological Systems” field course took place this year in Miraflores (Peruvian Andes) during June and July. Eighteen students, including three from Peruvian institutions, spent four weeks exploring the high Andes. During this time the students developed scientific projects to address interests of the local population related to soil quality, environmental pollution, water resources and cultural heritage. Access to the area and embedding within the community was enabled by The Mountain Institute Peru. During the course the students gained extensive ‘hands on’ field experience, developed teamworking skills and discovered the benefits of a participatory approach to research.

This course runs once every two years (to find out about the 2022 expedition click here). Want to join us on a future expedition? Check out our degree program here to enroll.

Images from the University of Amsterdam Peru field course 2024

Landscape Dynamics in an era of change

March 15, 2023
WDG

The course “Landscape Dynamics in an era of change: Learning from the past to face the future” took place in the Drakensberg Mountains of South Africa between 5 and 15 March 2023. The course was run by the Graduate School for Production Ecology and Resource Conservation (PERC) and participants were drawn from universities in the Netherlands and South Africa. The main goal of the course was to investigate the past and current dynamics of the region and predict possible futures in an inter- / trans-disciplinary context. Consequently the content of the course was incredibly diverse including: geology, geomorphology, palaeoecology, cultural history, vegetation studies, soil science, farming systems and forestry. These topics were integrated into four group projects centered on invasive species, rewilding, commercial farming and small scale farming.

MSc Earth Sciences: Peru field course 2022

July 15, 2022
WDG

The University of Amsterdam MSc Earth Sciences “Geoecological Systems” field course to Peru took place this year during June and July (2022). A team of 18 students and 4 staff spent four weeks in Miraflores Town (c. 3700 m above sea level) working with, and for, local communities to study geomorphology, geology, land-use, water quality and carbon storage. The students were organized into teams of 3 or 4 each of which tackled a research question in the nearby landscapes that had been developed in conjunction with the local community. Access to the area and embedding within the community was enabled by The Mountain Institute Peru. The student reports will be translated into Spanish who will communicate findings to the community in Miraflores Town.

Want to join us on a future expedition? Check out our degree program here to enroll.

University of Amsterdam MSc Earth Sciences field course to Peru 2022

Ecosystem service provision sets the pace for pre-Hispanic societal development in the central Andes

July 31, 2013
WDG

Water resources in the Vacas region (near Cochabamba, Bolivia) deminished around the time of the founding of the urban centre at Tiawanaku

Gosling, W.D. & Williams, J.J. (2013) Ecosystem service provision sets the pace for pre-Hispanic societal development in the central Andes. The Holocene, 23(11): 1617-1622. doi: 10.1177/0959683613496296

Click here to download an open access version of this manuscript via The Open University Open Reseach Online repository.