B.Sc. Environmental Geoscience

In addition to the following compulsory courses, you can take further option courses in different schools or colleges across the University.

Volcanoes, earthquakes, mountain chains and the diversity of the Earth's rocks tell us that the Earth has been a dynamic planet since its formation 4.6 billion years ago. This course aims to impart an understanding of the processes which shape the Earth, and to develop practical skills in recognising the evidence of these processes in rocks, both in the field and in the laboratory. The course will focus primarily on the materials of which the Earth is made, how the major constituents are distributed between core, mantle and crust and how this changes with time through the agencies of plate tectonics and volcanism. From this viewpoint of underlying process, the course will also consider the inherent availability of natural resources and the potential for predicting natural hazards.

This course is intended as a foundation course for all Earth Science students with emphasis on processes that operate at the global scale. In particular, the concept of the Earth System as the operation of inter-linked components of the geosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere and biosphere is stressed. This concept is used to study the interaction between geology, chemistry, physics and biology affecting the surface processes of the planet that together form the characteristics of the environment in which we live.

The course will teach 3D mapping and cross-section skills, as well as 4D-thinking abilities. These will be taught via integration of maps with rock identification and the course will also introduce the application of online digital databases (BGS and USGS maps; DEM; radar interferometry; remote sensing imagery) in solving global geological problems and has an integrated field trip to the Lake District, England.

There are local day trips throughout Year 1 as well as the residential Lake District field trip.

In addition to two compulsory courses, you can take further option courses in different schools or colleges across the University. The two compulsory courses are:

In Geomaterials we investigate the solid materials which constitute the Earth. We study how atoms are arranged in crystalline materials and how these arrangements influence physical properties. The complex relationships between mineral structure, composition, properties and stability are then investigated as we consider the main materials which make up the surface of the Earth, and how the study of Geomaterials is used to understand processes which have shaped the Earth through time.

This course focuses on physical, chemical, biological and geological aspects of the subject; it is non-mathematical but knowledge of chemical principles is useful. The oceans are remarkably influential in moderating climate, but at the same time they can trigger substantial climate change, such as the onset of glaciation. They are also remarkable in that through the sedimentological record they preserve the record of global environmental change in the recent geological past. Topics covered in this course include surface- and deep-ocean circulation, biological productivity and diversity, structural development of ocean basins and their sediment infill, the chemical composition of sea water, oceanic mineral deposits, and the human impact on the oceans.

Your courses will develop deeper theoretical and practical knowledge of many different branches of the earth sciences, with an emphasis on environmental geoscience. Tutorials give an opportunity to discuss Earth Science concepts in small groups. The courses are both interlinked and independent, so that you will have a core set of subjects, supplemented by option courses.

In the Easter vacation students take a specialist field course in Jamaica, designed to develop skills in observation, sampling, measurement and interpretation of natural environmental processes and human impacts. A further field course takes place towards the end of Year 3, at the Dunstaffnage Marine Laboratory, Oban, which covers coastal and marine processes.

In the summer between Years 3 and 4, you will begin an independent research project, mixing field and laboratory studies and literature research. This is continued and written up during Year 4 and forms a major part of Honours assessment.

You will develop a theoretical understanding of the physical, chemical and biological processes which control the earth's near-surface environment, backed up by practical skills in measurement and interpretation of these processes. These need interdisciplinary approaches to understand the interactions and feedbacks between natural cycles and human influences, and the role of earth sciences in this context. Each course consists of a mixture of lectures, practicals, small projects, student seminars, and tutorial/discussion groups.