6 EC
Semester 1, period 2
5264THES6Y
| Owner | Master Earth Sciences |
| Coordinator | prof. dr. ir. Franciska de Vries |
| Part of | Master Earth Sciences, track Environmental Management, Master Earth Sciences, track Earth System Science, year 1 |
Understanding the functioning of the Earth system on various temporal and spatial scales is crucial for assessing the impacts of global change on the Earth’s functioning, and for designing and evaluating strategies to mitigate these impacts. In this course, we will analyse how the earth system functions on various scales,from global to local and from deep evolutionary time scales (>My) to ecological time scales ( This course will take a sedimentary Source to Sink perspective – including mountains to low-land coastal systems - and focus on Earth system processes in the lithosphere, hydrosphere (rivers, coasts), pedosphere (soils), and atmosphere, and assess how they interact and are influenced by humans.
Key aim of this course is assessing the Earth System’s process rates on deep time scales, and how human actions in the Anthropocene are exceeding these rates and affect the functioning of the Earth system. The course aims to enhance critical thinking based on the analysis of evidence, facts, observations, logic and discussion to arrive at a science-based judgement on the quality of the scientific underpinning of a current strategy employed to mitigate, or adapt to, the influence of humans on the functioning of the Earth System.
The students will review the state of the art of scientific knowledge on natural and human induced global matter and energy fluxes using selected topics. These topics will be introduced by IBED experts, which will be followed by a group assignment on one topic supervised by the relevant expert.
The course will conclude with a mini symposium in which the students present their group project.
The Lectures will introduce the theory and relevance of the topics of the course.
The Lectures will be followed by Practical seminars, during which the students can work independently or in groups on an assignment to deepen their understanding and the practical relevance of the topic.
The Excursion will demonstrate processes and mechanisms covered in the Lectures, as well as real-world applications, experiments, and measurements.
The students will work independently, in groups, on a case study related to one of the main topics during the course.
There will be interim Presentations by the groups on their progress and a final Symposium to present the group projects.
During the course, groups will have regular supervision and feedback meetings with the lecturers to monitor progress and provide feedback.
|
Activity |
Hours |
|
|
Excursie |
8 |
|
|
Hoorcollege |
18 |
|
|
Presentatie |
8 |
|
|
Tutoraat |
2 |
|
|
Vragenuur |
4 |
|
|
Self study |
128 |
|
|
Total |
168 |
(6 EC x 28 uur) |
Requirements of the programme concerning attendance (OER-B):
| Item and weight | Details |
|
Final grade | |
|
0.3 (30%) Submission of popular science communication piece | Must be ≥ 5.5 |
|
0.35 (35%) Submission of research portfolio | Must be ≥ 5.5 |
|
0.25 (25%) Submission of final mini-symposium presentation | Must be ≥ 5.5 |
|
0.025 (2%) Quiz - The Earth System - Geomorphology and mountainbuilding in the Andes-Amazon landscape | Must be ≥ 5.5 |
|
0.025 (2%) Submission powerpoint assignment The Terrestrial C sink | Must be ≥ 5.5 |
|
0.025 (2%) Anthropocene ppt slide | Must be ≥ 5.5 |
|
0.025 (2%) Submission Powerpoint One Sea Level for All? - assignment after lecture | Must be ≥ 5.5 |
All partial grades need to be 5.5 or higher.
Students can request a meeting with the lecturers for more detailed feedback on their group project.
Laptop seminar assignments
These assignments together contribute 10% towards the final grade and are crucial for the students' understanding of the main topics and the choice for a case study topic.
Proposal
In week 2, the project groups will submit a proposal for their chosen topic, including a time planning. This proposal needs to be passed but the grade will not contribute to the final grade.
Progress presentation
In week 3, the project groups will present their progress to the wider group. This presentation will need to be passed but the grade does not count towards the final grade.
Final presentation
In week 4, the students will present their findings in a short-format scientific presentation. This presentation will be graded and will contribute 25% to the final grade.
Popular science communication piece
Groups will produce a non-technical TED-talk or a short article to communicate their findings to the general public. This piece will be graded and will contribute 30% to the final grade.
Research portfolio
The students will submit their research portfolio at the end of the course, which will be graded and contributes 35% towards the final grade.
The 'Regulations governing fraud and plagiarism for UvA students' applies to this course. This will be monitored carefully. Upon suspicion of fraud or plagiarism the Examinations Board of the programme will be informed. For the 'Regulations governing fraud and plagiarism for UvA students' see: www.student.uva.nl
| Weeknummer | Onderwerpen | Studiestof |
| 48 | General introduction and introduction of the four main topics, assignment of case studies |
Earth's Climate Past and Future Mountains, Climate and Biodiversity |
| 49 | Group work, supervisory meetings of project groups with lecturers | |
| 50 | Excursion, peer-to-peer feedback presentations on group progress | |
| 51 | Feedback meetings with lecturers on group work, peer-to-peer feedback, final symposium | |