Undergraduate Course: Global Environmental Processes (EASC08007)
Course Outline
| School | School of Geosciences |
College | College of Science and Engineering |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 8 (Year 1 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | The course analyses the geological, chemical, physical and biological processes, together with their interactions, which determine the characteristics of the environment in which we live and how it changes with time. The course comprises three principal components: evolution of the Earth and the driving mechanisms for change; major physical and biochemical processes and how they change through time; understanding the operation of the 'Earth System'. It covers issues such as Earth origin, extinction events in Earth history, solar forcing of climate change, ice ages, natural archives of change from the oceans, ice sheets, lakes, etc., the history of the hydrological carbon cycle and other biochemical cycles, climate trends, El Nino events, human impact, global climate models and the future of the environment. The course is appropriately combined with Oceanography. |
| Course description |
Not entered
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
| Additional Costs | none |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
| Students will leave this course with a broad knowledge of Environmental Science as studied from a Geoscience perspective with an emphasis on biogeochemical processes that operate at the global scale. Students will gain a detailed knowledge of the inter-linked nature of the Earth System though a consideration of interactions between the geosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere and biosphere. Students will be able to evaluate how well predictive methods compare with actual field measurements of precipitation, transpiration and run off. They will be able to use a range of theoretical and practical approaches to formulate evidence-based solutions. The academic précis assessment exercise will give students the chance to inform their understanding with a summary of some recent work.
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Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Rachel Wood
Tel: (0131 6)50 6014
Email: Joshua.Stapp@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mrs Nicola Muir
Tel: (0131 6)50 4842
Email: |
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