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DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2011/2012
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DRPS : Course Catalogue : School of Geosciences : Earth Science

Undergraduate Course: Computational Modelling for Geosciences (EASC09035)

Course Outline
SchoolSchool of Geosciences CollegeCollege of Science and Engineering
Course typeStandard AvailabilityAvailable to all students
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 9 (Year 3 Undergraduate) Credits10
Home subject areaEarth Science Other subject areaGeosciences
Course website None Taught in Gaelic?No
Course descriptionComputational methods and modelling are widely used in Geosciences. The course aims to teach students an interpreted language with integrated plotting tools and provide an introduction to Linux. Such languages are widely used in Geoscience research and enable scientists to be highly productive. It also teaches some simple software engineering principles in order to help the students program more effectively. The latter 7 weeks of the course would teach some numerical methods. These would use the tools taught in the first half of the course and be applied to simple Geoscience modelling problems. The numerical methods part of the course has three aims:

1) Develop the students&© knowledge of numerical methods.
2) Give students an environment in which to develop their software skills.
3) Give students some appreciation of computational modelling
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Students MUST have passed: Applicable Mathematics 3 (Phys Sci) (MATH08015) AND Mathematical Methods 3 (Phys Sci) (MATH08016)
Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements None
Additional Costs None.
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisitesNone
Displayed in Visiting Students Prospectus?Yes
Course Delivery Information
Delivery period: 2011/12 Semester 1, Available to all students (SV1) WebCT enabled:  Yes Quota:  None
Location Activity Description Weeks Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
King's BuildingsLaboratory1-11 10:00 - 12:00
King's BuildingsLecture1-11 09:00 - 09:50
First Class Week 1, Tuesday, 09:00 - 12:00, Zone: King's Buildings. JCMB Comp Lab 3210
Additional information 3 hour(s) per week for 10 week(s)
Tutorial week 11
Exam Information
Exam Diet Paper Name Hours:Minutes
Main Exam Diet S1 (December)Computational Modelling for Geosciences1:30
Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes
A comprehensive and integrated overview of numerical methods used in Geosciences so that students&© gain:

1. An ability to use interpreted language (Matlab) to apply numerical methods to problems in Geosciences
2. An ability to use interpreted language (Matlab) to visualise Geoscience data
3. A basic understanding of some software engineering ideas
4. An understanding of basic numerical methods:
a. Linear-algebra
b. Methods for solving 1D ODE's
c. Methods for solving 2D PDE's
5. A basic understanding of numerical stability, accuracy, convergence and computational complexity in numerical methods
6. A knowledge of how to apply the techniques of computational modelling to simple Geoscience modelling problems
Assessment Information
1 assessed exercise (20%) to be submitted by end of week 4.
1 assessed exercise (30%) to be submitted by end of week 13.
1 exam (50%) in weeks 12-13; choose 2 out 3 questions (90 mins)
Special Arrangements
None
Additional Information
Academic description Not entered
Syllabus Not entered
Transferable skills Not entered
Reading list Not entered
Study Abroad Not entered
Study Pattern Not entered
KeywordsComp_Mod
Contacts
Course organiserProf Simon Tett
Tel:
Email: Simon.Tett@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMiss Emma Latto
Tel: (0131 6)50 8510
Email: emma.latto@ed.ac.uk
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© Copyright 2011 The University of Edinburgh - 16 January 2012 5:53 am