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) requiredModule replaces
NoneThis 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 type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
Fieldwork | 1 | 8.00 | 8.00 |
Lecture | 14 | 1.00 | 14.00 |
Practical | 4 | 2.00 | 8.00 |
Private study hours | 70.00 | ||
Total Contact hours | 30.00 | ||
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 preparationOpportunities 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 type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
Computer Exercise | Computer workshops - assessed report with written up answers/ graphs | 40.00 |
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 type | Exam duration | % of formal assessment |
Open Book exam | 48 hr 00 mins | 60.00 |
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 websiteLast updated: 26/05/2022 14:15:15
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