Air Quality and Environmental Pollution

Learning Outcomes

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Recognising the moral and ethical issues of investigations and appreciating the need for professional codes of conduct
• Collecting and integrating several lines of evidence to formulate and test hypotheses.
• Applying knowledge and understanding to complex and multidimensional problems in familiar and unfamiliar contexts.
• Recognising and using subject-specific theories, paradigms, concepts and principles
• Analysing, synthesising and summarising information critically, including prior research.

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

• The terminology, nomenclature and classification systems used in environmental science.
• The applicability of environmental science to the world of work.
• The contribution of environmental science to the development of knowledge of the world we live in.
• The processes which shape the natural world at different temporal and spatial scales and their influence on and by human activities.
• Methods of acquiring, interpreting and analysing environmental science information with a critical understanding of the appropriate contexts for their use.
• The contribution of environmental science to debate on environmental issues and how knowledge of these forms the basis for informed concern about the Earth and its people
• Issues concerning the availability and sustainability of resources, for example, the different value sets relating to the Earth's resources as commodities and/or heritage.
• The need for both a multi-disciplinary and an interdisciplinary approach in advancing knowledge and understanding of Earth systems, drawing, as appropriate, from the natural and the social sciences.

Subject Specific Practical Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Referencing work in an appropriate manner.
• Planning, conducting, and reporting on environmental investigations, including the use of secondary data.

Transferable and Generic Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Appreciating issues of sample selection, accuracy, precision and uncertainty during collection, recording and analysis of data in the field and laboratory.
• Recognising and respecting the views and opinions of other team members
• Communicating appropriately to a variety of audiences in written, verbal and graphical forms.
• Identifying individual and collective goals and responsibilities and performing in a manner appropriate to these roles
• Developing an adaptable and flexible approach to study and work.
• Receiving and responding to a variety of information sources (e.g. textual, numerical, verbal, graphical).
• Identifying and working towards targets for personal, academic and career development.
• Solving numerical problems using computer and non-computer-based techniques
• Using the internet critically as a means of communication and a source of information.
• Preparing, processing, interpreting and presenting data, using appropriate qualitative and quantitative techniques and packages including geographic information systems.
• Developing the skills necessary for self-managed and lifelong learning (eg working independently, time management and organisation skills).

The module comprises a course of lectures, seminars and workshops that provide a scientific understanding of pollution in the environment by examination and evaluation of contemporary pollution issues. A broad range of topics is covered, including:

• History of air pollution.
• Physical and chemical composition of the atmosphere. Impacts of and on climate.
• Physical and chemical characteristics of gaseous and particulate air pollutants.
• Classification, pathways and atmospheric reactions of air pollutants.
• Air quality trends relative to existing standards (national and international).
• Impacts of air pollutants on living and non-living environments.
• Atmospheric chemical reactions; modelling and dispersion of air pollutants.
• Air quality management philosophies and strategies.
• Monitoring/control techniques and strategies for air pollutants.
• Social, economical, political, moral and legal aspects relating to air pollution control.
• Air quality information systems.
• Carbon footprinting.
• Noise and light pollution.
• Case studies.

The unit will be delivered by lecture, workshop and tutorial sessions. The sessions will be delivered by the course co-ordinator. Learning activities include:

• Attendance at lecture, workshop and seminar sessions.
• Self-directed learning - supplementary and complementary to lecture materials. This will include problem-solving exercises and quizzes.
• Private study – research for and preparation of module assignment.

Note that this is NOT a predominantly lecture-based module; every week the students will receive some guided learning material that they will be required to study in preparation for a tutorial the following week. The guided learning will NOT supply everything the students need. Rather, it provides a framework within which students can develop their knowledge and understanding through their own learning activities, as well developing your skills as an independent scientist. Wide reading is essential in order to get to grips with this key topic; students will need to demonstrate research and information technology (IT) skills in order to access some key items of reading material.

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Referral

This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.