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DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2020/2021

Information in the Degree Programme Tables may still be subject to change in response to Covid-19

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DRPS : Course Catalogue : School of Geosciences : Ecological Science

Undergraduate Course: Land-Atmosphere Interactions (ECSC10014)

Course Outline
SchoolSchool of Geosciences CollegeCollege of Science and Engineering
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate) AvailabilityAvailable to all students
SCQF Credits10 ECTS Credits5
SummaryAn honours level course in which we seek to address the following questions: (a) What are the important biophysical and biochemical processes that determine land-atmosphere exchange and how might they influence the wider questions concerning Global Change. (b) How do we measure and model biosphere-atmosphere interactions? (c) How do the atmospheric water, energy and trace gas cycles interact with the land surface?
Course description Not entered
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Students MUST have passed: Soil, Water and Atmospheric Processes (ECSC08003)
Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements None
Additional Costs None
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisitesNone
High Demand Course? Yes
Course Delivery Information
Academic year 2020/21, Available to all students (SV1) Quota:  None
Course Start Semester 1
Timetable Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) Total Hours: 100 ( Lecture Hours 20, Supervised Practical/Workshop/Studio Hours 10, Fieldwork Hours 3, Feedback/Feedforward Hours 1, Formative Assessment Hours 4, Summative Assessment Hours 10, Revision Session Hours 1, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 2, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 49 )
Assessment (Further Info) Written Exam 50 %, Coursework 50 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment) One written essay (50%) and one written exam (50%).

Coursework assessment deadline 12noon Friday week 10.

Feedback Class discussion and feedback on a written piece of summative assessment.
Exam Information
Exam Diet Paper Name Hours & Minutes
Main Exam Diet S1 (December)2:00
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. Gain a critical appreciation of land-atmosphere interactions at a range of scales from cell to biome.
  2. Discover how changes made to Earth's surface can have an effect on the atmosphere and vice versa.
  3. Use a range of planetary-boundary layer models in practical sessions to simulate land-atmosphere exchange processes and will be expected to offer professional level insights into the results of these models.
  4. Produce a research report which will involve analysing a complex problem: testing the sensitivity of a soil-vegetation-atmosphere-transfer model.
  5. Identify the relevant outcomes of this and make judgements where data is limited or comes from a range of sources.
Reading List
Before starting the course, you should re-read the relevant chapters on energy balance and surface properties in
OKE, T.R. (1990). Boundary-layer Climates. Routledge, London.
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills Not entered
Additional Class Delivery Information 1 three-hour lecture per week
KeywordsECSC10014 LAI
Contacts
Course organiserProf John Moncrieff
Tel: (0131 6)50 5402
Email: j.moncrieff@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMrs Nicola Clark
Tel: (0131 6)50 4842
Email: nicola.clark@ed.ac.uk
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