Unit name | Environmental Field Analysis |
---|---|
Unit code | EASCM0023 |
Credit points | 20 |
Level of study | M/7 |
Teaching block(s) |
Academic Year (weeks 1 - 52) |
Unit director | Professor. Sherman |
Open unit status | Not open |
Pre-requisites |
Successful completion of years 1, 2 and 3 of the Environmental Geoscience degree programme curriculum |
Co-requisites |
n/a |
School/department | School of Earth Sciences |
Faculty | Faculty of Science |
This unit will give practical experience in sampling and analyses of water and sediments in streams and lakes. We will use both field-based analytical techniques and instrumental methods in the laboratory. The study will explore Lake Windermere and its watershed. From our analytical data, we will
(1) identify how weathering and atmospheric inputs control stream water chemistry
(2) estimate riverine fluxes into Lake Windermere
(3) identify the biogeochemical processes occurring in the lake, and
(4) estimate the nature and significance of anthropogenic fluxes in to the lake system.
The study will be summarised by a box model for the chemistry of Lake Windermere.
On successful completion of the class you will be able to:
Practical laboratory work including 2 lectures in the labs, fieldwork and 3 on-site lectures. Lab and on-site lectures will last approximately one hour.
The course will be assessed (100%) by a written report that describes the field problem, reviews the existing literature, outlines the methods used, presents the analytical data and provides an interpretation of the results. The report should be no more than 20 pages, excluding figures and tables. Part of the overall assessment (15%) will be based on the quality of both the written and graphical presentation.
A number of key papers will be provided to help students begin their literature search. However, as part of the synthesis of the geochemical data, and the writing of the report, students will be expected to undertake their own research in the literature to obtain both the background material they require and key pieces of data that we do not obtain in the field.