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This is a one-week residential course which introduces a range of practical skills appropriate to the study of environmental science. You visit a variety of sites where you apply your knowledge of biology, chemistry, earth sciences and physics to study interactions and feedback in the environment, including landforms, soils, water and vegetation. These field studies are supported by tutorials and laboratory sessions in which you analyze your observations and the data that you have gathered; the course includes an introduction to statistical analysis. This material is taken from The Open University course SXR216 Environmental Science in the Field.
Track 2: Introduction to Environmental Science field work
A lecturer explains what is involved in environmental field work; aims, objectives and the assessment of a field study.
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Tracks in this podcast:
| Track | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Environmental Science in the Field | A short introduction to this album. Play now Environmental Science in the Field |
| 2 | Introduction to Environmental Science field work | A lecturer explains what is involved in environmental field work; aims, objectives and the assessment of a field study. Play now Introduction to Environmental Science field work |
| 3 | Conducting a field study | Carrying out a field study in a predominantly limestone-rich environment, identifying the depositional and erosional environments associated with a particular area and annotating to sketches. Play now Conducting a field study |
| 4 | Habitat Study | Habitat Study Phase One: indentifying the underlying geology using the vegetation cover, and describing the relationship between grass species and the underlying soils. Play now Habitat Study |
| 5 | Measuring the rate of Evapotranspiration | Steps taken in calculating the amount of evapotranspiration between two points, and the instruments involved. Play now Measuring the rate of Evapotranspiration |
| 6 | Water quality and flow rates | Measuring the water-flow rate between a set of given points, assessing the water quality and estimating the water budget. Play now Water quality and flow rates |
| 7 | An Introduction to Soil Studies | Assessing the soil types from the vegetation cover and the nutrients gradient across a slope. Play now An Introduction to Soil Studies |
| 8 | An insight into grass species | Understanding and identifying different grass species from different soil backgrounds Play now An insight into grass species |
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