12 EC
Semester 1, period 1
5264VAG12Y
| Owner | Master Earth Sciences |
| Coordinator | dr. A.C. Seijmonsbergen |
| Part of | Master Earth Sciences, |
Central themes are centered around the following topics:
Course set-up:
Theoretical information based on literature study, preliminary GIS and remote sensing data analysis will be used to formulate research objectives and accompanying research questions that fit into one of the central research themes on Tenerife. The Dutch template of the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) research proposal format will be used to write a pre-proposal that includes; title and general information of the applicants, scientific summary, summary for the general public, experimental design, descriprion of the proposed research, time table of the project, scientific embedding of the project, knowledge utilisation, budget and statement by the applicants. See the detailed NWO template on the Canvas site for details. After presenting and ‘defending’ their pre-proposal, the students will test the feasibility in a fieldwork area on Tenerife. Here, we start with a two-days excursion, which is followed by field work in an areas dominated by either (abandoned) agricultural terraces or coniferous forests. Staff will visit the students during fieldwork and offer guidance in field situations. The student present their preliminary findings during a closing half-day excurision. The collected field data will be analyzed in the lab and visualized in a GIS project. The results of the case study will be included and discussed in an updated, final report, which is an update of the preproposal plus the prelimnary findings of the field study. A separate deliverable is a a technical log, that includes all produced data, labwork reults, models and metadata descriptions. The final proposal is defended during a second presentation. Details on precise procedures, grading and templated are published on Canvas and discussed during lectures, laptop meetings and fieldwork.
In addition, this course informs on the structure of the Master Earth Sciences, which includes:
Selection of handbook chapters, research articles, PowerPoint-presentations and hand-outs on Canvas
An .eExcursion guide will be distributed before the fieldwork starts
GIS and RS basic exercises are available upon request
ArcGIS and other software (to be decided)
Precise activities will be published on the Canvas digital learning environment before and/or in the first week the start of the course.
| Activity | Contact hours | Activities for students | |
| Lectures (12) | 24 | Get inspired, informed, curious, get ideas and distill links between all topics, relevant for the design of an innovative and interesting research proposal and thorough preparation for your field work | |
| Computer practical (12) | 48 | Use the time to support your fieldwork with digital data of your area by collecting digital base-information and use GIS for some basic technical procedures (clipping, masking, digitizing, printing various maps etc.) | |
| Presentation I and II | 8 | Group presentation using PowerPoint to communicate your proposals to the audience | |
| Fieldwork/excursion | 80 | Fieldwork to test the feasibility of your preproposal. data collection, mapping, sampling, closing excursion. | |
| Self study (writing, reading) | 176 | Time around all other activities for preparing the deliverables (reading, (re-)writing, analysis in lab/behind computer/statistics etc.) | |
| Total | 336 |
The programme does not have requirements concerning attendance (OER-B).
Additional requirements for this course:
During the course you will be working in a team of three students. Diversity in background will ensure skills and knowledge necessary for successfull completion of this course are available within teams.
| Item and weight | Details |
|
Final grade | |
|
10% Pre-presentation | Must be ≥ 5 |
|
15% Pre-proposal | Must be ≥ 5 |
|
20% Fieldwork | Must be ≥ 5 |
|
25% Technical log | Must be ≥ 5 |
|
10% Final presentation | Must be ≥ 5 |
|
20% Final proposal/report | Must be ≥ 5 |
Evaluation criteria / grading information will be published on the Canvas Learning Environment. For each type of assignment (presentation, fieldwork, proposal, technical log) we use rubriks for assessing the grade.
Deadlines - hand in via the Canvas digital learning platform:
The manner of inspection will be communicated via the digitial learning environment.
You will receive individual or group-wise feedback on each of the grading components using rubriks . You will receive an invitation for the evaluation of the final grading.
A group of three students will write a pre-proposal according to the Dutch NWO format (template available on the Canvas learning environment). The topic is based on information from lectures, from a literature review and by developing ideas, research objectives and research questions that fit within the course content of this year.
A two-days excursion will cover most geo-ecological zones during which the geological and geomorphological set-up of the island will be illustrated. Fieldwork takes place in a fieldwork area that runs from the pine forest zone (pinar canariensis) to the lower agricultural zone. Students working in groups of three have the possibility to test their pre-proposal and collect samples, descriptions and relevant information for their proposal.
This deliverable includes two parts, 1.is a short written technical log and 2. are the newly generated datasets. As an example of 1. the fieldwork activities and results will be described such as information and description of field strategies, preliminary results of data analyzes, spatial information and produced maps not included in the final proposal. As an example of 2. a GIS geodatabase, project files and metadata descriptions should be handed in. For lab work details of lab analyses should de described. In case of model use/codes, the codes should be included and model settings explained in detail.
Students present their pre-proposal (I) and final proposal (II) before the field work and in a closing session after the fieldwork. Goal is to gain experience in presenting a research in an effective, convincing and complete way.
Students improve their pre-proposal based on the information gained in Tenerife and post-fieldwork analyses. The final proposal includes the main results from the fieldwork and analysis campaign that support the proposal content. All other results/procedures can be included in the Technical log.
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
| Week nr. | Activities | Hand in assignments | Deadline |
| 36 | Lectures, GIS-practical, master info, self-study | ||
| 37 | Lectures, GIS-practical, master info, self-study | ||
| 38 | Lectures, GIS-practical, self-study, presentation | Presentation I; Pre-proposal | |
| 39 | Excursion and fieldwork Tenerife | ||
| 40 | Excursion and fieldwork Tenerife, closing excursion | ||
| 41 | Continuation lecture, self study, Lab/GIS, PEP | ||
| 42 | Self study, Lab/GIS, PEP | Technical log | |
| 43 | Self study | Presentation II; Final proposal |
The schedule for this course is published on DataNose.
The students that enrolled for this course will receive information on costs, travel, housing and other practical information before the start of the course via email or via the digital learning environment. Be sure that you have been officially admitted to the MSc Earth Science by July 2 and that you have finished your BSc. Having bought a flight ticket is not a reason for admission to this course. For insurance and safety issues: see the module with general documents on the Canvas digital learning environment. Knowledge of earth sciences, basic GIS knowledge; contact the coordinator before the start of the course for updating or refreshing these issues. This is not mandatory; you will be part of a group of 3 students with various skills, that combined are sufficient for this course.