Module GEOG2601: RECONSTRUCTING ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE

Department: Geography

GEOG2601: RECONSTRUCTING ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE

Pre-requisites

Corequisites

Excluded Combinations

Aims

• This module introduces students to aspects of long-term and short-term natural climate variability on global and regional scales
• We will examine mechanisms that act to drive environmental change and will focus on the various archives that record this. The module aims to provide students with a sound theoretical background to environmental change and the skills to reconstruct and evaluate the evidence of change, from the last cold stage through to the last century
• Field and laboratory sessions provide hands-on opportunities to work with stratigraphic data and experience scientific research methodology

Content

• Mechanisms and principles of environmental change
• Reconstructing environmental change — litho-, morpho- and biostratigraphy; sediment analysis
• Dating methods
• Reconstructing the last glacial maximum
• Marine, coastal and terrestrial records of environmental change
• Environmental reconstruction from microfossil data
• Case studies of environmental change from the last cold stage through to the last century from the North Atlantic region

Learning Outcomes

• On successful completion of the module students are expected to be able to:
• Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the history and scales of environmental change from the last cold stage through to the last century
• Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the mechanisms that act to drive environmental change
• Understand and critically evaluate techniques that can be employed to reconstruct environmental change at a range of different scales from local through to regional to global
• Demonstrate knowledge of environmental change in the North Atlantic region and critical understanding of specific case studies of marine, terrestrial and coastal change

• On completion of the module students:
• Will be able to identify and evaluate in the field and laboratory the different types of evidence that can be used to reconstruct environmental change
• Will be experienced in the use of different techniques that can be used to investigate and interpret records of environmental change

• On completion of the module students will be able to:
• Present a critical synthesis of a particular project
• Work as a team and as an individual
• Define their own research problem, produce their own research findings
• Design and illustrate a poster displaying their work
• Defend this presentation orally as a group
• Write an individual scientific abstract of the work
• Critically evaluate the ideas of others, synthesise observations and articulate a structured and coherent exam essay that provides appropriate examples

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• The module uses a range of teaching, learning and assessment techniques
• Lectures will be used to impart basic facts and information necessary to fulfil the aims of this course
• Fieldwork will provide students with the individual and group working skills and the understanding to describe and interpret environmental change in the field using a range of techniques
• Practical sessions will cover techniques and methods for interpreting records of environmental change
• In the latter part of the module students will complete a group research project
• Students will be provided with a set of research projects from which they will elect one project for analysis
• The group poster presentation and final individual submission will test students understanding of a specific research question in the field of environmental change and their ability to communicate their findings both verbally and in poster format
• The examination will be used to test student understanding of basic facts and knowledge and their critical awareness

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment

In line with the Board of Studies policy for all Level 2 optional modules, formative assessment is provided through formative feedback on summative coursework. In this case, formative feedback is made at a group level to the projects following the group presentation of their outline poster. Individual students then complete their own project, responding to the group feedback provided.