Undergraduate Course: Applied Environmental Geochemistry (EASC10048)
This course will be closed from 31 July 2025
Course Outline
| School | School of Geosciences |
College | College of Science and Engineering |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 10 |
ECTS Credits | 5 |
| Summary | This course is designed to build on environmental geochemistry introduced in previous years and is delivered through a suite of 2-hour sessions that include lectures followed by time for students to engage with and review the subject material. Students are expected to pursue independent study through recommended readings in order to reinforce and broaden their understanding of core material delivered in lecture. The course is assessed through a 90-minute exam in May. Consequently, the course is not suitable for students visiting for semester 1 only.
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| Course description |
Syllabus
The course is divided into the following topics, with one or more lectures dedicated to each.
Organic matter cycling: from organisms to fossil fuels.
Controls on the preservation and distribution of organic matter in marine sediments.
Biomarkers: applications of organic compounds, alone and with inorganic and stable isotopic parameters, as tracers of natural processes in present and past environments.
Geochemistry of trace metals in natural and contaminated environments.
Further Course Information https://path.is.ed.ac.uk/courses/EASC10048_SV1_SEM1
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Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Only available for full year visiting students |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Students will develop a thorough understanding of the principal techniques used in environmental geochemistry through this course.
- They will gain a detailed understanding of organic and inorganic geochemistry within a practical 'applied' context.
- They will view key natural and anthropogenic processes and issues, relevant to terrestrial, aquatic and marine systems in professional level contexts which contain an inherent degree of unpredictability.
- Students will learn how to interpret and apply organic and geochemical tracers, and will enhance their learning through extensive reading, and will therefore be expected to inform their discussions with reference to recent developments.
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Reading List
Recommended Reading
S. Libes: Introduction to Marine Biogeochemistry (Academic Press)
Killops and Killops: Introduction to Organic Geochemistry (Blackwell) D. Langmuir: Aqueous Environmental Geochemistry (Prentice Hall). Additional recommended readings will be provided throughout the course.
http://www.docs.sasg.ed.ac.uk/AcademicServices/Policies/Accessible_and_Inclusive_Learning_Policy.pdf
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | AEG |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Greg Cowie
Tel: (0131 6)50 8502
Email: Dr.Greg.Cowie@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mr Johan De Klerk
Tel: (0131 6)50 7010
Email: johan.deklerk@ed.ac.uk |
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