GEOGG072 Aquatic Monitoring

CORE GEOGG072 - AQUATIC MONITORING
(15 credits)

Term 1 (2011)

Staff:
Neil Rose, Jon French, Chris Curtis, Rick Battarbee, Gavin Simpson, Richard Taylor, Sophie de Clers

Aims:
·    to outline the principles of effective monitoring of aquatic environments
·    to provide examples of monitoring initiatives in a range of aquatic environments
·    to provide the conceptual tools necessary for the design of monitoring systems
·    to enable critical scrutiny of current and future programmes and monitoring data

Content:
Starting with an introduction to the philosophy behind the monitoring of aquatic environments, the course will outline the rationale and procedures behind the effective design of chemical, biological and physical monitoring systems, and the techniques necessary for the interpretation of monitoring data. The application of these concepts will be explored with a series of case-studies covering a wide range of aquatic environments, including upland waters, groundwater, estuarine and coastal systems. Emphasis will be placed on assessing the suitability and effectiveness of existing monitoring programmes and consideration of how these might be developed in the light of changes in environmental legislation and advances in instrument technology. The following topics will be covered:

·    Introduction to aquatic monitoring
·    Principles behind the design of monitoring systems
·    Monitoring instrumentation
·    Monitoring upland waters: the UK Acid Waters Monitoring Network
·    Time-series analysis
·    Groundwater monitoring
·    Monitoring estuarine processes
·    Coastal Monitoring
·    Monitoring marine sites of conservation value
·    Monitoring of trace metals and persistent organic pollutants in aquatic systems


Assessment:
Written report based upon a write up of two practical exercises (max 2000 words in total; worth 8% of total assessment)


Format:
The course is based upon lectures, and on supervised and self-paced practical work.


Learning Outcomes:
At the end of the course students should be able to understand:
the principles behind the effective design of aquatic monitoring systems
principles and specifications of commonly used aquatic monitoring instrumentation
techniques for interpreting data derived from monitoring exercises
the structure, function, successes and pitfalls of a wide range of monitoring schemes
the likely future requirements of aquatic monitoring systems in a changing world