Key Skills and Applied Coastal Oceanography

Learning Outcomes

Learning Outcomes

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Critically research, evaluate and synthesise the findings of peer-reviewed publications
• Plan and execute coastal fieldwork
• Structure an academic literature review
• Write a well-structured scientific report
• Deliver a research seminar suitable for a scientific audience
• Work effectively individually and as part of a team for field sampling and data collection.

Seminars, tutorials and fieldwork covering the material in this course take place throughout Semester 2. Sessions cover the following areas:

Communication and research skills:

• Academic integrity
• Writing an academic literature review
• Communicating research to wider audiences

Fieldwork:

• Boat work covering applied coastal oceanography
• Chartwork for coastal boat work planning
• Production of a fieldwork report

Directed study materials covering a range of wider skills are also included.

Communication and Research Skills:

These sessions provide students with training and experience in evaluating research papers, preparing academic literature reviews, and presenting results to their peers.

Boat work:

Boat work activities are intended to familiarise students with a range of techniques used in coastal oceanography, while also exercising teamworking skills. Students will be able to plan, carry out and report on a field campaign to measure water column structures, sediment characteristics and other parameters to describe and characterise a UK estuary. Students will also receive training in preparing a Risk Assessment for the work; and will gain experience in using Conductivity-Temperature-Depth profilers and water samplers, water filtration for suspended sediment concentration, sediment grabs, plankton net trawls and other appropriate sampling and data collection methods for coastal and estuarine oceanography.

A wide range of support can be provided for those students who have further or specific learning and teaching needs.

Summative

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