| Unit name | Our Habitable Planet |
|---|---|
| Unit code | EASC10014 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | C/4 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Dr. Hendy |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
N/A |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
All mandatory Year 1 units on the relevant programme |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
N/A |
| School/department | School of Earth Sciences |
| Faculty | Faculty of Science |
Why is this unit important?
‘Our Habitable Planet’ introduces the science of how energy, water and elements (most importantly, carbon) move around the Earth, and the climate and environmental hazards involved. Understanding how our planet works has never been more critical to the future of society, and current environmental challenges require experts who can think globally and solve problems quantitatively. In this unit you will start developing these capabilities. You will actively use global visualisation tools, simple models and calculations to track environmental processes and assess the risks related to climate change and natural hazards (including earthquakes and volcanic eruptions). During classes you will monitor current events and predict outcomes to test your understanding. You will also explore the critical role of time and rates of change in order to understand how and why our planet has evolved to its present state - prior to when humans started shaping the Earth’s surface, biosphere, oceans and atmosphere.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study?
The unit is one of the core, must-pass, Year 1 units that establish a fundamental grounding in Earth Sciences. No student starts their university studies with all the foundations in chemistry, physics, maths, geology, biology and geography necessary for a degree in Earth Sciences (whether Environmental Geoscience or Geology). However, to solve global environmental issues you need to combine and apply all these subjects in a problem-solving approach. This unit is designed to introduce you to the breadth of Environmental Geosciences.
An overview of content
The course begins with exploring the physical processes that control the large-scale behaviour of the atmosphere, oceans and cryosphere, and the cycling of energy, water, and key elements such as carbon. With this background we then investigate variations in Earth’s surface environment and climate from the early Earth through to current global climate change. The impact of the environment on human society is then examined from the perspective of natural hazards (e.g. weather events, landslides, volcanic eruptions and earthquakes) in terms of physical cause, monitoring, risk assessment and mitigation.
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit?
You will be empowered by a better understanding of the operation of the global environment, and come away with a taster of the broad scope of Earth Science by being introduced to topics available for more intensive study in later years of the Environmental Geoscience and Geology Programmes, and beyond. This unit is designed to help you develop active problem-solving approaches and put into practice core skills and knowledge including maths, physics and chemistry being taught in other units.
Learning Outcomes
On completion you should be able to:
Practical skills will include the ability to:
The unit will comprise 3x 1-hour lectures and 1x3-hour practical class each week, together with a 1 hour office hours session.
The lectures provide the basic framework of understanding to undertake problem solving practical sessions. The practical sessions reinforce knowledge by its implementation and develop key transferable skills in tackling quantitative problems. This is a relatively traditional mode of delivery but effective in acquisition of the foundational skills required for this unit.
Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative)
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
One 2-hour, end of unit exam to make an integrative assessment of the unit.
When assessment does not go to plan
The University’s Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes outline the requirements for progression on and completion of degree programmes.
Students who miss an exam and self-certify their absence may complete a supplementary assessment for an uncapped mark as if taken for the first time. Resit and supplementary exams are habitually taken during the reassessment period later in the summer. As far as is practicable and appropriate, resit and supplementary assessments will be in the same form as the original assessment but will always test the same intended learning outcomes as the initial missed or failed assessment. In the case of group work, failure by a whole group would result in an appropriate group task being set and reassessed for all group members. If a single student fails a group assessment or is unable to participate for an evidenced reason, an individual reassessment will be set.
There are rigorous and fair procedures in place to support students who are ill or whose studies and assessments are affected by exceptional circumstances.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. EASC10014).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
