EAE3342 Environmental cycles on our living planet
Faculty of Science
EAE3342 Environmental cycles on our living planet is a level 3, 6-credit-point, undergraduate unit from the Faculty of Science, offered in 2023 in Semester 1 at Clayton. It has no prerequisites.
- Credit points
- 6
- Offered in 2023
- Semester 1
- Clayton
- Assessment
- No exam
- 4 tasks
This is the 2023 handbook entry. See the 2027 entry.
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Requisites
Before EAE3342
No prerequisites or corequisites besides the enrolment rules below.
After EAE3342
No unit lists EAE3342 as a prerequisite in the 2023 handbook.
Enrolment rules
PROHIBITION: ESC3190 and permission by the unit coordinator is required for students in S6002 who are undertaking the Environmental Security (Science) specialisation.
PREREQUISITE: EAE2322 or by permission of unit coordinator
Overview
The biogeochemical cycling of elemental nutrients controls earth's climate, the health of ecosystems and the sustainability of human societies. This unit explores how environmental cycling of the elements (1) shapes the nature of earth's surface (2) sustains our living planet and (3) may be managed to solve environmental and industrial challenges. Topics including earth's major nutrient cycles, anthropogenic cycling of commodity elements, and the influence of mineral-microbe interactions on environmental cycles will be covered in detail and applied to pressing, real world problems in contaminant mitigation and sustainable stewardship of natural systems.
Offerings in 2023
| Teaching period | Campus | Mode |
|---|---|---|
| First semester | Clayton | On campus |
Assessment
- PracticalsOther45%
- QuizzesOther10%
- Presentation10%
- Summative assessmentOther35%
Learning outcomes
When you finish this unit, you should be able to:
- 1
Explain the processes that underpin earth's major nutrient (ie. C, N, P and S) cycles.
- 2
Comprehend the importance of metal cycling in the earth system.
- 3
Describe the roles of microorganisms and minerals in environmental cycles.
- 4
Develop an understanding of how anthropogenic influence on environment cycles can either cause pollution or be used to remediate it.
- 5
Use geochemical tracer methods to identify sources and sinks for elements in natural and contaminated systems.
- 6
Analyse and interpret geochemical datasets from natural and contaminated environments.
Workload and teaching
- Practical activities36 hours
- Lectures24 hours
- Teaching approachProblem-based learning
- Two 1-hour lectures
- One 3-hour practical class and
- Seven hours of private study/research time per week
The teaching approach will consist of problem-based learning, analysis of data from case studies presented in class or in the literature and other authentic learning tasks. You will have the opportunity to work in groups on significant environmental questions, modeling the expert behaviour of environmental consultants and scientists.
Where it fits
EAE3342 is part of 7 areas of study in the 2023 handbook.
- EARTHSC01Earth's climate stream elective unitEarth scienceNo reviews yet
- EARTHSC02Additional earth science unitsEarth scienceNo reviews yet
- EARTHSC03Earth's physical environment and climate elective unitsEarth scienceNo reviews yet
- ENVIROSC03Level 3 unitsEnvironmental scienceNo reviews yet
- ENVIRSEC02Specialisation preparatory studiesEnvironmental securityNo reviews yet
- GEOGSCI09Geographical science major unitsGeographical scienceNo reviews yet
- GEOGSCI11Geographical science extended major unitsGeographical scienceNo reviews yet
Contacts
- Chief Examiners
- Dr Andrew Frierdich
- Unit Coordinators
- Dr Andrew Frierdich
Common questions
What are the prerequisites for EAE3342?
EAE3342 has no prerequisites, but enrolment rules apply.
When is EAE3342 offered?
In 2023, EAE3342 runs in Semester 1 at Clayton.
Does EAE3342 have an exam?
No. EAE3342 has 4 assessment tasks and no exam.
Which majors and minors include EAE3342?
EAE3342 is part of Earth science, Environmental science, Environmental security and Geographical science.