Earth, Climate and Environmental Change - MSci (Hons)

Royal Holloway, University of London

In this module you will develop an understanding of how computation tools are used to read, create, analyse, and visualise digital earth science data. You will learn to use python, a popular scripting language, to read and manipulate data from digital files, and look at digital mapping techniques, using data to plot 2D and 3D maps. You will consider how to fit linear data and analyse the goodness of fit using statistical analysis tools, and examine how to produce simple models of geological processes using algebraic expression, such as generating models for seismic travel time curves, major element concentration during magma crystallization, sedimentary basin thickness, and other similar geological phenomena.

Skills in GIS and Remote Sensing are most effectively acquired through practical work and the use of industry-standard commercial software packages. Practical work is entirely computer-based and involves learning techniques of handling, using and interrogating GIS data, through exercises and projects which have relevance to geology.; The applications currently used are ArcGIS and ER Mapper.

In this module you will develop an understanding of advanced chemical concepts relevant to the Earth Sciences. You will focus on isotope geochemistry and consider techniques that are directly applicable in most geological contexts. You will attend practical classes and conduct a small project involving the analysis and interpretation of a real geochemical dataset.

In this module you will develop an understanding of the hazards associated with geological activity, their causes, and approaches to risk management. You will look at volcanoes, earthquakes, and radon, and the hazards associated with the exploitation of geological resources and associated anthropogenic activity, including asbestos, the mining industry, and contaminated land. You will examine a variety of geological and geochemical data, and learn to interpret and analyse these in order to make scientifically justified decisions as to the level of risk.

The oceans form a critical component of the global climate system. They redistribute heat and nutrients around the world and in doing so exert a significant influence on the proliferation of different organisms, regional climatic zones, and the formation of mineral deposits on the seafloor. In this module you will learn about the physical and chemical constituents of the oceans. You will be introduced to the types of oceanographic measurements that can tell us how the modern oceans behave, and how this behaviour might be extended into predictions of future behaviour. You will also learn how to extract and process large oceanographic datasets using open-access oceanographic software.

In this research led module skills in scientific writing, communication and data interpretation will be developed alongside an understanding of current research topics in Earth, Climate and Environmental Change. A series of seminars will be led by experts on a range of research topics in the field of Earth, Climate and Environmental change. From these seminars, you will gain an understanding of cutting edge research and the way in which research projects are planned and carried out. A literature review exercise on one of the research topics from the seminar series will be undertaken with support from tutors.; You will receive training in techniques for literature searching, synthesising a large quantity of literature and reference managing. Data interpretation skills will be developed through a short guided quantitative project.

This module will provide you with a working knowledge of basic meteorology. The module will begin with atmospheric basics and terminology including didactic sessions and workshops/practicals on solar radiation, thermodynamics, water vapour, stability, clouds and precipitation. It will progress into skill sessions (lectures and practicals) on radar, interpreting satellite maps and weather reports and finish with sessions (lectures and practicals) putting it all together (review and consolidation) for understanding of winds, fronts, air masses and thunderstorms. The module will finish up with lectures and practicals demonstrating how basic meteorological understanding can be applied for career useful consideration of meteorological hazards: tropical and extra tropical cyclones, regional winds boundary layers and pollutant dispersal, numerical weather prediction and atmospheric optics.

Projects can be field and/or laboratory based, generating new scientific data, or they can be computational, analysing existing data that has not been subject to detailed and critical analysis. Early in term 1 you will submit a project plan to the supervisor and course leader and will receive written feedback on the project plan. Formative feedback will also be provided at the end of term 1 following presentations showing progress made so far. You will be expected to regularly meet with your project supervisor for guidance. At the end of the project you will present the results of your research as a scientific report and as an oral presentation.

This course has two main aims:; 1) To introduce you to the evidence for and mechanisms of modern climate change ? what climate change is, how the climate change is manifested, what physical mechanisms are driving it, and what its future status might be.; 2) Methods of research in multi-disciplinary topics, report writing, and communication of complex ideas for policy makers using Earth Science as a subject matter.

The Earth?s climate has changed across geological time, due to the interaction of a huge array of inter-related climate forcing agents. These changes have been reconstructed using many different lines of chemical, biological and physical proxy data, and mechanistically interrogated using computer simulations (Earth-System models). In this module, you will be taught about the key features of major climatic events in Earth?s history and should gain an appreciation of the typical rates and magnitudes of change that characterise these episodes. A key aim of the module is to demonstrate some of the techniques used for quantitative palaeoclimate reconstruction, and for you to learn the critical evaluation skills needed to interpret these datasets. These skills will be developed through class practical exercises and a summative task that requires the interpretation of a raw palaeoclimate dataset.

This course will integrate sedimentary, palaeontological, oceanographic and atmospheric information from the geological and modern record to understand the evolution of the modern Earth. Students will investigate the climate record through geologic time and what it can tell us about the future challenges of climate change, utilising a varied range of paleoclimatic proxies from both paleontology and sedimentology and looking at the range of climate data. They will explore the links between climate, tectonics and sedimentary systems. They will assess the intimate relationship between the evolution of land life and the evolution of the atmosphere.

The aim is to equip MSci students (and potentially new PhD students) with the skills and techniques to undertake research. The course will include scientific ethics, the intelligent and efficient design of research or experiments, including how to capture, store and deal with data and meta-data, project planning, how to publicize your science, press release, video, outreach etc, an Introduction to Unix/Linux and a scripting language such as python i.e. how to do many things to a large number of files or large files and how to run them efficiently. Data reduction and interrogation with Igor or R or python with plotting publication ready data to maximum effect. Uncertainty in scientific measurement and modelling and how to propagate it. An introduction to basic electronics and interfacing your computer to an experiment and log/capture data, and ending with image capture and analysis.

Under the guidance of a departmental supervisor, you will design and execute an independent research project which will be submitted for examination as a report of 45 pages. The project will utilise data collected in the field or the laboratory and may involve an industrial placement. Field-based projects will normally be based on 7-10 days of fieldwork. Data handling using statistical techniques must be integrated into the project. You will use departmental facilities to supplement data already acquired or produce their main database. Emphasis will be placed on ensuring that topics are properly designed before the commencement of the project and that appropriate progress is being made throughout both terms. Selection and outline of agreed topic and agreed deadline will be presented on a form to be countersigned by member of Academic Staff who will act as a supervisor.