ENV3002

Environmental monitoring

Associate Professor Frank Burden (Chemistry)

6 points · Two 1-hour lectures per week · 36 hours of practical work, mainly in the form of field work · Second semester · Clayton

Objectives This subject provides a unifying theme for BSc(Env) students studying other environmentally related subjects. It is a cross-discipline 'finishing' course and will be taught by staff from the departments of Chemistry, Earth Sciences, Biological Sciences, Geography and Environmental Science, and Mathematics. It is designed to unify many areas of environmental study and includes a field trip during which students will be working in teams on a multi-disciplinary problem involving a site analysis.
Synopsis Introduction to quantitative methods in environmental monitoring: what to monitor; types of environmental impacts; populations and sampling. Chemical data: origins, types and measurement of chemical pollution. Biological monitoring: choice of variables, level of taxonomic resolution, sampling designs for point source impacts, statistical decision making. Atmospheric monitoring and analysis: the role of observations in weather forecasting and the role of numerical weather prediction in weather forecasting. Micro-meteorological measurements. Gaseous and particulate matter in the atmosphere. Batch sampling and continuous methods of air quality monitoring. Soils and sediments: issues relating to the volume of soil/sediment that needs to be sampled or described in order to ensure that it is representative of a particular site, and the number of sites that need to be sampled to adequately describe a particular landscape, will be explored. Surface and groundwater hydrochemistry: understanding piezometry; measurement of hydraulic parameters in the study of groundwaters; surface water hydrology; selection of sampling sites and critical parameters in establishing a water quality monitoring program; manual and automated sampling and in-situ analysis techniques; sampling, storage and analysis protocols; quality assurance issues.

Assessment The subject will be assessed 50% on the theoretical content and 50% on the practical work, by examination and assignments.

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