Studying at York
Monitoring, Assessment & Control of Pollutants - ENV00091M
Module summary
Through a combination of lectures, practical classes and field trips this module aims to provide students with an understanding of different approaches to monitoring and assessing the status of aquatic ecosystems and the strategies available to minimise or eliminate pollution and the production of wastes. The module is assessed through two pieces of coursework.
Module will run
| Occurrence | Teaching period |
|---|---|
| A | Autumn Term 2022-23 to Spring Term 2022-23 |
Module aims
Understanding how to monitor the ecological quality of ecosystems and the organisms that inhabit them is important for determining the impact of human activities on the environment and for providing regulatory bodies with the information they require to develop and implement controls to minimise the impacts of pollutants. The first half of this module (autumn term) aims to provide students with a theoretical understanding of the different approaches used in environmental monitoring and an introduction into the key concepts involved in the design, implementation and use of environmental monitoring programmes. A series of practical sessions will be used to provide hands-on experience in relevant methodologies and to provide experience of collating and interpreting relevant datasets. This will enable students to gain theoretical and practical skills which are highly relevant for employment in e.g. government agencies, environmental consultancies and other similar bodies. The second half of the module (spring term) will focus on the strategies available to minimise or eliminate pollution and the production of wastes. Through a series of lectures, field trips and seminars students will be introduced to the science and engineering underlying pollution and waste management to equip them with the skills to evaluate and select feasible treatment technologies and management techniques for different classes of pollutants and wastes.
Module learning outcomes
Subject content
- Identify the important elements involved in monitoring and assessing the health of aquatic ecosystems and understand how to design and apply monitoring programmes using appropriate methodologies.
- Critically evaluate environmental data quality from monitoring exercises to support e.g. policy development, reviewing its reliability, validity and significance
- Understand the science and engineering underlying different treatment technologies and be equipped to select appropriate technologies and management techniques for different classes of pollutants
- Identify and apply strategies to minimise the discharge of pollutants to the environment
Academic and graduate skills
- Ability to work in a group
- Ability to collate and critically appraise environmental datasets
Experience of writing scientific reports and designing monitoring programmes
Indicative assessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| Essay/coursework | 50 |
| Essay/coursework | 50 |
Special assessment rules
None
Indicative reassessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| Essay/coursework | 100 |
Module feedback
Written feedback on coursework will be delivered individually - standard 4 week turnaround.
Indicative reading
Details of key texts are provided on the VLE site for this module.