Undergraduate Course: Environmental Geochemistry of the Earth's Surface (EASC08024)
Course Outline
| School | School of Geosciences |
College | College of Science and Engineering |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 8 (Year 2 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | *** Enrolment in this course is restricted to students enrolled in the Environmental Geoscience degree programme (UTBSCENVGS1F) for whom the course is listed as compulsory. ***
Note: The course has weekend field trip.
The course focusses on geochemistry and biogeochemistry of natural water It takes an integrated view of the geochemical and biological processes that govern the composition of water and the fluxes of elements through the earth 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.
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| Course description |
Environmental geochemistry is about the sources, distribution and interactions of chemical species in the earth system, covering rocks, minerals, soil, water and biota. Water is the key medium through which chemical constituents move on the earth surface and interact with rocks, gases biology and humans. These processes in turn speed up many geological reactions. In this course, we focus on the composition of natural waters, the mobility and speciation of chemical elements in natural waters and the geochemical and biological processes that governs them. The course takes a source-to-sea approach in describing chemical fluxes of key elements on the earth surface.
The course is delivered in the form of lectures, geochemical laboratory practical and field trips, the latter designed to showcase the practical applications of your theoretical understanding. Topics/lectures are divided into two parts covering (A) Geochemistry and (B) Biogeochemistry.
The course work comprises of (1) one weekend field trip to Keswick (lake district) and (2) chemical laboratory practicals.
Taken together, these approaches will equip you with knowledge and skills sets essential in (i) field observations, (ii) geochemical analysis coupled with data analysis and modelling, leading to (iii) robust scientific interpretation and professional/scientific reporting.
Course content
Section A Geochemistry
(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) Geochemical reactions, reaction pathways and rate determining reactions
(5) Sources of energy for natural reactions in the natural environments
(6) Acid mine drianage & Keswick field trip
Section B Biogeochemistry
(7) Autotrophic Metabolism: Living off sunlight and inorganic substances
(8) Heterotrophic metabolism: Living off organic compounds
(9) Carbon, Nitrogen and Phosphorus: Cycling, forms and tranformation
(9) Riverine and estuarine processes
(10) Source to Sea: Trace elements
11) Source to Sea: Carbon and Nitrogen
(12) Human interactions
(13) Exam Revision/ reports (TBA)
https://path.is.ed.ac.uk/courses/EASC08024_SS1_SEM1
http://www.drps.ed.ac.uk/current/dpt/cxeasc08024.htm
***** Fieldwork *****
Weekend field trip to Lake District (Keswick) on week 5: Friday-Sunday
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Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | This course does not allow visiting students due to the compulsory field trip component. |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2025/26, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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Quota: 35 |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
| Course Start Date |
15/09/2025 |
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 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
50 %,
Coursework
50 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Assessment Details
Written Exam: 50%, Course Work: 50 % based on 4 laboratory reports (20%), field report (30%).
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 practical laboratory carried out during laboratory sessions and the Keswick field trip.
RESIT: Student failing the course by not achieving a 40% on the aggregate of course work and exam marks will be offered a resit in August. The course work mark will count for resit.
All details related to extensions procedures and late penalties can be found in the School of Geosciences General Information Handbook, which can be found on the Learn UG Student Information Hub.
Assessment Deadlines
Laboratory reports should be submitted via Turnitin on the course Learn page by the following dates:
Lab reports - 12 noon, Thursday Week 9
Field report - 12noon, Thursday Week 11
All details related to extensions procedures and late penalties can be found in the School of Geosciences General Information Handbook, which can be found on the Learn UG Student Information Hub.
AI usage statement for assessments:
AI Assisted Generation: Academic integrity is an underlying principle of research and academic practice. All submitted work is expected to be your own. AI tools (e.g., ELM) should not be used to generate content for this assessment. However, you are allowed to use these tools to identify ideas, key themes, and plan your assessment. If you use AI software, you must acknowledge its use in your submission.
In order to pass the course students need to achieve an overall pass of 40% or above for this course. |
| 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
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| Exam Information |
| Exam Diet |
Paper Name |
Minutes |
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| Main Exam Diet S1 (December) | Environmental Geochemistry of the Earth's Surface (EASC08024) | 120 | | | Resit Exam Diet (August) | Environmental Geochemistry of the Earth's Surface (Resit) | 120 | |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Consolidate knowledge of fundamental concepts in Environmental Geochemistry
- Integrate theoretical concepts with their practical applications
- Acquire skills in geochemical speciation modelling
- 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.
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Reading List
D. Langmuir: Aqueous Environmental Geochemistry
J.I. Drever: Geochemistry of Natural Waters
J.E. Andrews et al: An Introduction to Environmental Chemistry
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Field design and sampling
Laboratory analysis and statistical data analysis
Geochemical speciation modelling
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| Keywords | Environmental geochemistry,Earth's Surface,Aqueous environments,biogeochemistry,minewater chemis |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Raja Ganeshram
Tel: (0131 6)50 7364
Email: R.Ganeshram@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mr Johan De Klerk
Tel: (0131 6)50 7010
Email: johan.deklerk@ed.ac.uk |
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