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2022/23 Undergraduate Module Catalogue

SOEE3760 Terrestrial Biosphere in the Earth System

10 creditsClass Size: 60

Module manager: Dr Cat Scott
Email: C.E.Scott@leeds.ac.uk

Taught: Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) View Timetable

Year running 2022/23

Pre-requisite qualifications

Physical Science background (eg Physical Geography) required

Module replaces

None

This module is approved as a discovery module

Module summary

By the end of this module students will have an understanding of the interactions between the terrestrial biosphere, climate and atmospheric composition. They will understand the important physical, biological and chemical processes through which terrestrial ecosystems affect and are affected by climate. This will include knowledge of biosphere-atmosphere couplings of carbon, water and energy and the interactions between ecosystems and climate. The module will also explore the policy implications of ecosystem – climate interactions.

Objectives

This module is designed to give students an understanding of the importance of the terrestrial biosphere within the Earth System. The module will explore the physical, chemical and biological processes through which terrestrial ecosystems affect and are affected by climate. The module will also cover human alterations to the terrestrial biosphere including policy relevant themes of climate adaptation and mitigation. Specific topics will include the cycling of water, energy and chemical elements, the global carbon cycle, biome shifts under climate change, deforestation and land-use change. The module will be designed around research-led lecture material. The module is interdisciplinary and will be of interest to students studying ecology, environmental science and management, atmospheric science and geography.

Learning outcomes
Students will gain an understanding of:
- The physical, chemical and biological interactions between the terrestrial biosphere and atmosphere
- Ways in which the terrestrial biosphere affects and is affected by climate
- Land-use change and policy relevance

Skills outcomes
- numerical interpretation and presentation of data
- analysis of numerical environmental data
- collection of field data


Syllabus

-Surface radiation budget and energy balance
-Biosphere-atmosphere couplings of carbon, water and energy
-Evapotranspiration
-Ecosystem-atmosphere CO2 exchanges
-Soil carbon and fluxes
-Climate – vegetation interactions
-Dynamic Global Vegetation Models
-Global fire patterns
-Emissions of trace gases and atmospheric composition
-Vegetation change through Earth’s history
-Land use change and impacts on climate
-Climate adaptation and mitigation, Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation

Teaching methods

Delivery typeNumberLength hoursStudent hours
Fieldwork18.008.00
Lecture141.0014.00
Practical42.008.00
Private study hours70.00
Total Contact hours30.00
Total hours (100hr per 10 credits)100.00

Private study

72 hours to include: 3 hours reading per lecture, 4 hours preparation/analysis per computer workshop (including writing worksheet answers for assessment), 12 hours exam preparation

Opportunities for Formative Feedback

Students have the opportunity to gain verbal feedback on their ideas, experiment design and results during the computer classes with staff and demonstrators before submission of their report. We will provide written feedback on the assessed coursework.

Methods of assessment


Coursework
Assessment typeNotes% of formal assessment
Computer ExerciseComputer workshops - assessed report with written up answers/ graphs40.00
Total percentage (Assessment Coursework)40.00

Students will analyse environmental observations using a Python jupyter notebook and explore the impacts of deforestation in the Amazon. This process allows students to gain a hands-on understanding of the complexities of ecosystem-atmosphere interactions, which leads to more intuitive learning than through traditional lecturing alone. This exercise will be written up in the style of a policy brief, giving students an opportunity to curate and present appropriate scientific content for a non-academic audience. A fieldtrip will be taken to the Leeds Forest Observatory, a 1 hectare woodland plot in south Leeds. Working in groups, students will collect measurements from the trees. In a follow up computer workshop this data will be collated and screened by the class, then analysed individually. Field trip and workshops will be supervised by academic staff and demonstrators. Students will work through a number of worksheets with specific tasks. The workshops will be assessed through two pieces of assessed coursework.


Exams
Exam typeExam duration% of formal assessment
Open Book exam48 hr 00 mins60.00
Total percentage (Assessment Exams)60.00

Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated

Reading list

The reading list is available from the Library website

Last updated: 26/05/2022 14:15:15

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