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DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2019/2020

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DRPS : Course Catalogue : School of Geosciences : Earth Science

Undergraduate Course: Environmental Geochemistry of the Earth's Surface (EASC08024)

Course Outline
SchoolSchool of Geosciences CollegeCollege of Science and Engineering
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 8 (Year 2 Undergraduate) AvailabilityAvailable to all students
SCQF Credits20 ECTS Credits10
SummaryThe course focusses on geochemistry of natural water as imprinted by its interaction with local geology. It takes an integrated view of natural and biological (anthropogenic) interactions that shape the earth's surface. Significantly, the approach is based on integrating theoretical geochemistry with practical skills such as (i) fieldwork and sampling design, (ii) data processing and statistical analysis, (iii) geochemical modelling, (iv) environmental remediation.
Course description *Please note that although this course is open to visiting students applying, their acceptance onto the course is subject to CO approval in each case.*

Environmental geochemistry is about the sources, distribution and interactions of chemical species in the earth system, covering rocks, minerals, soil, water and biology. The surface environment has dominant controls on these interactions because the exposure of minerals to water and biology has the effect speeding up many geological reactions. In this course, we focus on natural waters because the mobility and speciation of chemical elements in natural wasters is central to many of the feedbacks that connect geochemical, biological, and geological processes at Earth's surface.

The course is delivered in the form of lectures, practicals and field trips, the latter designed to showcase the practical applications of your theoretical understanding. Topics/lectures include (1) Controls on the composition of natural waters and classification, role of colloidas and their surface chemistry in contolling water composition, energy demand for geochemical reactions and reaction pathways, metabolic pathways exploited by micro-organisms and higher organisms and their impact on organic matter (carbon cycling) in the environment, and material cycling in estuarine environments. Two residential weekend field trips form part of the course, one in Lucie to examine estuarine physical and chemical dynamics, and another in the Lake Districts (Keswick) to study minewater pollution and how our understanding og geochemical processes can help to inform treatment options. Taken together, these approahes will equip you with vital skills in (i) designing field and sampling campaigns, (ii) geochemical analysis coupled with data analysis and modelling, leading to (iii) robust scientific interpretation and professional/scientific reporting.

Course content
1) Controls on the composition of natural waters and classification (2) Forms of natural dissolved substances in natural waters (3) Colloids/ mineral surface chemistry surface adsorption reactions (4) Energy demand for geochemical reactions, reaction pathways and rate determining reactions (5) Sources of energy for natural reactions in the natural environments (6) Autotrophic Metabolism: Living off sunlight and inorganic substances (7) Heterotrophic metabolism: Living off organic compounds (8) Organic matter cycling in natural environments (9-11) Estuarine Circulation (12) Estuarine Sedimentation (13) Estuarine Chemistry: Basics (14) Estuarine Chemistry: Metals (15) Estuarine Chemistry: Carbon (16) Estuarine Chemistry: Nitrogen (17) Estuarine Human Impacts/Exam Overview (18) Field & Data module: Sediment and mine water geochemistry, Environmental sampling and analysis (19) Designing a field campaign: Samplingand geochemical data analysis and interpretation (20) Minewater generation, chemistry and classification, treatment options and design

https://path.is.ed.ac.uk/courses/EASC08024_SS1_SEM1
http://www.drps.ed.ac.uk/current/dpt/cxeasc08024.htm

Fieldwork:
We will run a practical in week 1 during which Professor Ganeshram will outline Luce fieldwork plans.
There will be two compulsory weekend field work as part of the course (1) Luce field work Friday to Sunday end of week 1 and (2) Keswick field work Friday to Sunday end of week 7.
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites It is RECOMMENDED that students have passed Earth Dynamics (EASC08001) AND Evolution of the Living Earth (EASC08023)
Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements Higher Chemistry
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisitesNone
High Demand Course? Yes
Course Delivery Information
Academic year 2019/20, Available to all students (SV1) Quota:  28
Course Start Semester 1
Course Start Date 16/09/2019
Timetable Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) Total Hours: 200 ( Lecture Hours 20, Supervised Practical/Workshop/Studio Hours 18, Fieldwork Hours 16, Feedback/Feedforward Hours 2, Formative Assessment Hours 2, Summative Assessment Hours 2, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 136 )
Assessment (Further Info) Written Exam 50 %, Coursework 50 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment) Written Exam: 50%, Course Work: 50 % (35% for lab reports and 15% for fieldtrip report), Practical Exam: 0%.

There will be an exam in December consisting of a mixture of short answer questions and essay questions. The course work will be based on written reports on each of the practicals carried out during laboratory sessions, and a 2500 word report synthesising and interpreting data collected during the Keswick weekend fieldtrip.

Assessment deadlines
Laboratory and Fieldwork reports should be submitted as SEPARATE documents via Turnitin on the course Learn page by the following dates:
» Lab reports ¿ 12noon Thursday of week 7.
» Field reports ¿ 12noon Thursday of week 10.

Feedback The course includes laboratory practical sessions for which you will submit written reports. The first of these will be used for formative feedback to allow you to improve on subsequent reports. You will also receive on-going feedback from demonstrators during and after practical sessions.

We plan to hold 1-2 tutorials during exam revision season. During these sessions, we will review the type of questions likely to come up in the exam and discuss how best to tackle them.
In semester 2, the course team will be available to discuss examination scripts.

Examples of feedback can be found here: http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/geosciences/teaching-organisation/staff/feedback-and-marking

Assessment and Feedback information can be found at https://www.ed.ac.uk/files/atoms/files/tar19-20.pdf
Exam Information
Exam Diet Paper Name Hours & Minutes
Main Exam Diet S1 (December)2:00
Resit Exam Diet (August)2:00
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. Consolidate knowledge of chemical concepts in Environmental Geochemistry
  2. Integrate theoretical concepts with their practical applications
  3. Design and carry out a sampling campaign for environmental analysis
  4. Acquire skills in geochemical speciation modelling
  5. Be cognisant of skills in Technical report writing, critical appraisal of analytical data and accounting for uncertainties when drawing conclusions, appreciation of assumptions required for modelling.
Reading List
D. Langmuir: Aqueous Environmental Geochemistry
J.I. Drever: Geochemistry of Natural Waters
J.E. Andrews et al: An Introduction to Environmental Chemistry
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills Field design and sampling
Laboratory analysis and statistical data analysis
Geochemical speciation modelling
Additional Class Delivery Information Two lectures per week. One three hour practical per week from weeks 1-5. One three hour computer workshop per week in weeks 6 and 7.
KeywordsEnvironmental geochemistry,Earth's Surface,Aqueous environments,biogeochemistry,minewater chemis
Contacts
Course organiserProf Bryne Ngwenya
Tel: (0131 6)50 8524
Email: Bryne.Ngwenya@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMs Katerina Sykioti
Tel: (0131 6)50 5430
Email: Katerina.Sykioti@ed.ac.uk
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