Module Summary

MODULE SUMMARIES

GEOG5400M Issues and Skills for Catchment Dynamics and Management (15 credits)

This module provides an up-to-date overview of catchment problems and management practice. It provides training in skills for professional oral presentations and for written reports for academia and industry. Topical issues are covered including climate change, land management and the latest policy requirements. Visiting speakers from industry are involved with the course and there are visits to flood warning centres and water company premises.

GEOG5410M Water Resource Management (15 credits)

The module provides a comprehensive overview of the requirements for the water industry and catchment planning. This includes discussion of the required engineering principles, management structures and legislation. Subjects such as raw water quality requirements from the catchment (including how land management can be used to improve water quality) and effluent treatment requirements are considered. Drought planning and demand forecasting are also considered, as are urban drainage problems and sustainable urban drainage systems.

GEOG5740M Introducing GIS (15 credits)

This module introduces you to the main elements of GIS theory and concepts, including skills in the use of a desktop GIS (either MapInfo, ArcView or Idris; and gives you the ability to apply GIS effectively to a range of spatial problems. You will also be introduced to GIS data sources, research methods, spatial analytical capabilities, GIs applications areas, issues of data quality, and some scientific literature and technology.

GEOG5770M Hillslope Hydrology and River Discharge Analysis (15 credits)

This module involves lectures, a fieldclass to a 17th century water garden, computer lab practicals, and a physical soil laboratory practical. The module covers hydrological processes and the practical skills revolving around how to measure hydrological processes. It also provides core skills of river discharge and rainfall analysis techniques, flood modelling and land management impacts on river flow. These are key skills required by environment agencies, water companies and consultancies.

GEOG5810M Discharge, Sediment and Solute Dynamics in River Management (15 credits)

This module explores the key factors that determine the physical and chemical properties of rivers and how these have been influenced through changes in land use and river management. In particular the course covers the following topics:
(a) The impact of agricultural practices on the nitrate and phosphorus content of river water and the impact of this on water quality and river ecology.
(b) Management options available for reducing nutrient (nitrogen and phosphorus) loss from soil to rivers.
(c) River channel change and adjustment following (i) tectonic, climate and eustatic changes and (ii) anthropogenic changes.
(d) The success of river management projects: technical and social issues.

The course also includes a one day fieldtrip to Elsalck Reservoirs, near Skipton, which has water quality problems associated with high levels of turbidity, aluminium and manganese following storms. The field trip gives you an opportunity to collect water samples, analyse them for a range of chemical parameters in the School of Geography Laboratories and write a report on the data analysis.

GEOG5950M Dissertation for Catchment Dynamics and Management (60 credits)

Students follow an individual programme of original research under the guidance of a staff member appointed as their supervisor. Students identify and critically review the literature relevant to their research programme; they identify and apply the conceptual understandings and practical research skills necessary for the thorough and coherent exploration of their chosen topic; they locate their own original investigations within the wider current developments in contemporary geographical research. They prepare academic journal papers for submission, and succinctly and appropriately communicate their research findings.

GEOG5830M Environmental Assessment (15 credits)

This module aims to: (a) provide a vocationally oriented introduction to the principles and practice of environmental assessment (EA); (b) develop an awareness of the historical development of EA, its scope, processes and techniques, and current legislation (principally EU / UK); and (c) provide an integrating framework for knowledge and skills gained elsewhere. A broad range of environmental and sustainability assessment tools will be explored, including those in common usage (e.g., SEA, environmental risk assessment, life cycle assessment) as well as more recent developments in the field (e.g., health impact assessment, environmental equity appraisal). The course draws on case studies that address a wide variety of impact types (on air, water, etc) and development activities (e.g.. water resource management, transport planning, infrastructure development).

GEOG5840M Work Placement for Catchment Dynamics and Management (15 credits)

This modules provides an ideal opportunity to gain experience of applied projects with organisations that match your career ambitions. Individual projects are done with suitable organisations in which you can apply your existing skills and gain new ones in a workplace environment. The projects can be tailored to your needs and the needs of your chosen organisation.

GEOG5940M River Ecosystems (15 credits)

With the introduction of the recent EU Water Framework Directive, improving and maintaining the ecological status of surface waters has become a high priority. This module gives students a research level introduction to natural River Ecosystems, focusing predominantly on four dimensions of study: (1) temporal variability; (2) lateral processes linking terrestrial-aquatic systems; (3) longitudinal patterns and processes from headwaters to lowlands, and; (4) vertical patterns and processes (groundwater-surface water interactions). This module also provides students with an opportunity to apply understanding from earlier lectures by producing an assessed essay, and undertaking a data analysis practical. The data analysis practical provides an opportunity to develop sought after statistical skills by gaining experience of using multivariate ordination techniques (CANOCO) alongside more common techniques (e.g., ANOVA, Regression) to examine species-habitat relationships.

CIVE5330M Wastewater Engineering (15 credits)

This module comprises: selecting design flow and loadings; flow measurement and storm overflows; preliminary processes; theory of sedimentation; design and operation of primary sedimentation tanks; fixed film systems; rotating biological contactors; reaction rate kinetics; design and operation of trickling filters; suspended growth processes; types of biological treatment systems; theory of oxygen transfer; design and operation of secondary sedimentation tanks; sludge handling, treatment and disposal; land disposal (liquid and cake); and legislative aspects.

SOEE5234M Isotope Geochemistry (15 credits)

This module covers the basic principles of stable isotope chemistry. Types of isotopic fractionation and the mechanisms by which they occur. Stable isotope geothermometry. Stable isotopes in the global carbon cycle. Photosynthesis and its isotopic effects. Uptake of CO2 by the oceans. Isotopic compositions of major carbon reservoirs. Balances between burial of carbonate and organic carbon. Stable isotopes in the global sulfur cycle. Bacterial fractionation of S isotopes. Isotopic compositions of the major sulfur reservoirs. Evolution of S isotopes in sea-water and its relation to the origin of life.

FUEL5100M Pollution Sampling and Analysis (15 credits)

In this module you will study sampling requirements for pollutants from various sources; concentration techniques; the theory and practice of advanced analytical techniques for detailed chemical analysis of samples; on-line methods of analysis for air, exhaust gases and water; and methods for suspended particulate matter.

GEOG5060M GIS and Environment (15 credits)

In this module students will be introduced to the key concepts concerning the application of GIS to environmental problems; and learn about space-time variability within environmental data and what this means for GIS applications in the field. You will apply GIS software (principally Arc/Info and Idrisi) to the solving of environmental problems; and develop your own environmental applications of GIS.

LAW5810M Environmental Law - the Regulation of Pollution (15 credits)

You will study the regulatory regimes currently in use in England and Wales to control polluting emissions discharged to air, land, and water; and become familiar with the contents of the relevant legislation and the roles and responsibilities of the regulators and the regulated.

Glendhu Bay, New Zealand

"Not only is the course good for the academic side of things, but also gives the chance to meet new people and make many friends, both students and professionals! All in all, my opinion having done the MSc is that it was a year well spent and has helped me progress into a career that I wanted to follow, and certainly enjoy."