EMSC3025/6025 is a course I convene and teach at the Research School of Earth Sciences, ANU. It covers the science of water from precipitation through to deep groundwater, with a particular emphasis on remote sensing and quantitative methods.
The course is structured around three modules. The first covers the hydrologic cycle — precipitation, evapotranspiration, and runoff — building up a quantitative picture of how water moves through the Earth system. The second focuses on remote sensing of water resources, including satellite gravity (GRACE), altimetry, and InSAR, taught in collaboration with Prof. Paul Tregoning. The third module dives into groundwater: aquifer systems, saturated and unsaturated flow theory, and the governing PDEs, connecting directly to my research in continental-scale groundwater modelling.
Students work with real Australian datasets throughout, including rainfall and streamflow records from the Murray-Darling Basin. The computational component uses Python tutorials delivered through Google Colab, covering geospatial analysis, interpolation methods, and data integration — skills that transfer directly into research.
Course website: water-course.github.io