Environmental Science

AIMS

This subject will introduce students to the use of imagery in the mapping of both human and natural environments. Imagery is often the cheapest way to gain spatial information about the environment, especially for large areas, but analysis and interpretation of the data requires sophisticated techniques. Usually the light or other electromagnetic radiation being emitted or reflected from the surface being imaged needs to be interpreted into another variable of interest, such as the type of vegetation on the surface. Once interpreted, the information must be communicated to others; usually in the form of maps or reports.

This subject builds on a student’s knowledge of the physical and built environment relevant to their discipline and allows them to interpret and communicate that knowledge. On completion of the subject students should have the skills to perform routine image analysis tasks in the workplace using industry standard software. This subject partners with others to the Spatial Systems majors of the undergraduate science and environments degrees to allow the student to progress to the Master of Engineering (Spatial) or to enter the workforce in a paraprofessional role.

INDICATIVE CONTENT

• Image interpretation basics
• Image acquisition and formation
• Fundamentals of image processing and measurement
• Both aerial photography and satellite imagery will be used to illustrate the techniques of measurement and interpretation by which both spatial position and semantic content can be extracted from image data.

The lecture component of this subject covers the main sources and types of environmental contaminants with a focus on water contaminants and their effect on water quality. Frequently used analytical techniques in environmental and industrial monitoring and analysis, not covered in the prerequisite or other second year level chemistry subjects, will be outlined in the context of achieving desirable environmental outcomes. These include: volumetric analysis; gravimetric analysis; optical techniques (inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry); electroanalytical techniques such as potentiometry (ion-selective electrodes, potentiometric stripping analysis) and voltammetry (polarography, anodic stripping voltammetry); analytical separation techniques (ion chromatography, extraction); and automatic analytical techniques (flow injection analysis).

The practical component of this subject involves the application of chromatographic (ion chromatography, gas chromatography and high performance liquid chromatography), electroanalytical (potentiometry, polarography and anodic stripping volatmmetry) and optical (atomic absorption spectrometry) analytical techniques to environmental samples.

This subject will investigate, both qualitatively and quantitatively, the fundamental physical and chemical processes governing groundwater flow and composition, including aquifer properties, regional geology and hydrology, water-rock interactions, and subsurface microbial activity. Field and laboratory methods used to characterize aquifer properties and groundwater chemistry, including well pumping tests, chemical tracers, and major ion and isotope analyses will also be covered. A two-day field excursion will draw together many of these concepts and topics.

Geomicrobiology and biogeochemistry involve the study of interactions across interfaces of minerals, water, and microbes, and how such interactions impact environmental conditions and reflect evolution. This subject will survey the fundamental principles of geomicrobiology and biogeochemistry, explain how modern biological processes constrain many geochemical reactions, and show how palaeoenvironmental conditions impacted the evolution and preservation of prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms across geologic time. This subject will demonstrate how geomicrobiological and biogeochemical knowledge can be applied to problems in academic and government research, and in the petroleum, mineral or environmental industries. We will also look at contemporary “cross-over” applications of geomicrobiology/biogeochemistry to medical microbiology (e.g., coevolution of metals and antibiotic resistance), the microbiology and biogeochemistry of urban/built environments and astrobiological investigation of life’s potential to exist elsewhere in the known universe

The lecture component of this subject covers the main sources and types of environmental contaminants with a focus on water contaminants and their effect on water quality. Frequently used analytical techniques in environmental and industrial monitoring and analysis, not covered in the prerequisite or other second year level chemistry subjects, will be outlined in the context of achieving desirable environmental outcomes. These include: volumetric analysis; gravimetric analysis; optical techniques (inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry); electroanalytical techniques such as potentiometry (ion-selective electrodes, potentiometric stripping analysis) and voltammetry (polarography, anodic stripping voltammetry); analytical separation techniques (ion chromatography, extraction); and automatic analytical techniques (flow injection analysis).

The practical component of this subject involves the application of chromatographic (ion chromatography, gas chromatography and high performance liquid chromatography), electroanalytical (potentiometry, polarography and anodic stripping volatmmetry) and optical (atomic absorption spectrometry) analytical techniques to environmental samples.

This subject will investigate, both qualitatively and quantitatively, the fundamental physical and chemical processes governing groundwater flow and composition, including aquifer properties, regional geology and hydrology, water-rock interactions, and subsurface microbial activity. Field and laboratory methods used to characterize aquifer properties and groundwater chemistry, including well pumping tests, chemical tracers, and major ion and isotope analyses will also be covered. A two-day field excursion will draw together many of these concepts and topics.

Geomicrobiology and biogeochemistry involve the study of interactions across interfaces of minerals, water, and microbes, and how such interactions impact environmental conditions and reflect evolution. This subject will survey the fundamental principles of geomicrobiology and biogeochemistry, explain how modern biological processes constrain many geochemical reactions, and show how palaeoenvironmental conditions impacted the evolution and preservation of prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms across geologic time. This subject will demonstrate how geomicrobiological and biogeochemical knowledge can be applied to problems in academic and government research, and in the petroleum, mineral or environmental industries. We will also look at contemporary “cross-over” applications of geomicrobiology/biogeochemistry to medical microbiology (e.g., coevolution of metals and antibiotic resistance), the microbiology and biogeochemistry of urban/built environments and astrobiological investigation of life’s potential to exist elsewhere in the known universe

This subject provides a detailed knowledge of vegetation structure and natural values of Victorian plant communities and their assessment, including environmental limiting factors, threats due to land use, development and fragmentation, and management issues related to environmental impact assessment and conservation of native vegetation. The subject will be based around short excursions to examine different vegetation types in the Melbourne region, and a series of special lectures by scientists, managers and consultants from both the government and private sectors. Topics will include:

• ecology and natural history of Victorian plant communities;
• environmental impacts and vegetation assessment;
• conservation and management issues (e.g. revegetation, rare species, fauna habitat, weed invasions);
• biodiversity legislation and government agencies;
• consulting services and client focus.

Applied Ecology is the science of understanding and managing ecosystems. The subject describes and evaluates the applications of ecological concepts for the conservation and management of natural and human-altered ecosystems. In particular, it identifies the implications of global and local changes for ecosystems, communities and individual species, especially within the Australian environment. It examines approaches to management and conservation of terrestrial resources and ecosystems, the control of pest species, and restoration of modified habitats.

Australia is one of the most urbanised countries in an increasingly urbanised world. This subject will introduce students to urban ecology and landscape ecology concepts and illustrate how they can be applied to plan and design more ecologically sustainable human landscapes. Topics include the concept of scale in ecology, land transformation and habitat fragmentation, the structure and components of landscapes, patterns and processes along urban-rural gradients, the impacts of urbanisation on biodiversity and strategies to mitigate them.

This subject takes students through a process of identifying, planning, managing, analysing and reporting on a project relating to a problem or issue in either urban or forested ecosystem. Selection of the problem or issue is led by students and is structured to explore ecological, environmental, social, spatial, temporal and economic related topics.

Activities include developing a project proposal and objectives, project planning and timelines, scientific methods of analysis, evaluation and synthesis of data and/or information and the preparation and presentation of results, findings or outcomes. Students will also work in groups drawing upon their prior degree studies to develop recommendations, provide solutions, or outline further insights for their problem or issue.

In collaboration with industry representatives and academic staff, this subject enables students to explore projects based on real world problems through a work integrated learning and relevant capstone experience.

At a global scale forests are managed by societies in a wide range of ways for goods and services that reflect the needs of people and their aspirations for the environment. Forests are viewed and valued by society in many different ways, often in competition with each other, adding significant challenges to those that are entrusted to manage them. Forest Systems explores the complexity of managing the forests of Australia and around the world through case studies and real world scenarios that will help students develop a strong appreciation of the challenges and opportunities presented to those looking after forests and the stakeholders who value them. Starting with gaining an understanding of what a forest is, how it is valued and by whom, as well as how it grows, the complexity of its management is explored through the themes of water, fire, carbon, biodiversity, conservation, recreation and climate change. Field trips to explore first hand challenges faced by forest managers as well as interviews with industry partners will bring a real life context to the learning and build problem solving and decision making skills through practice. Field investigations culminate in two day overnight excursion to the Creswick campus where students will work on a major project exploring a local forest issue and make recommendations on how to proceed.

The subject is designed to develop students’ understanding of the physical processes of coasts and rivers, and how these processes interact, over time, to shape catchments and landscapes. A focus is on processes of erosion and deposition that occur as we follow the movement of water and sediment from hillsides, down rivers, through estuaries, to meet wave and tidal processes at the coast. A theme of the subject is the impact of humans on these geomorphic systems, and how these impacts can be predicted and managed. The subject will address major questions and challenges that are facing the management and research communities alike. These challenges include the impact of past and present management activities on both the fluvial and coastal processes. Furthermore, the impact of a changing climate on the rates and types of processes occurring in these dynamic environments will be addressed both from a holistic catchment perspective and at the individual landform scale. Management of coasts and rivers is a growing area of employment. 

Using practicals and field-trips, students will develop their empirical and analytical skills including the use of ArcGIS (spatial mapping and geomorphic analysis), stratigraphic logging and interpretation, and topographic surveying. This subject includes a 3-day field trip to the Otways Ranges in western Victoria, occurring over a weekend during semester, where students will collect and interpret field data from coasts and rivers. 

Fire is one of the most important controls over the distribution of vegetation on Earth. This subject examines the role of fire in natural systems, with a particular emphasis on the importance of fire in determining global vegetation patterns and dynamics over long periods of time. The aim is to understand how terrestrial systems have evolved to cope with and exploit fire, and to place the extreme flammability Australia's vegetation within a global context. The subject will examine concepts such as resilience, positive feedback loops, hysteresis and alternative stable states. The use of fire by humans to manipulate environments will be examined, with a particular emphasis on the variety of approaches employed by people across a diversity of environments over long periods of time, allowing an exploration of the social and cultural dynamics of fire and environmental management. A field excursion in Tasmania will visit a number of sites which will exemplify the subject themes. The practical exercises leading up to the field trip will focus on how to gather fire-related ecological data. The practical exercises following the field trip will be devoted to processing, analysing, interpreting and reporting on the field data. At the end of the subject, students will have gained an understanding of the way in which fire has shaped natural systems, as well as acquiring the skills necessary to formulate and test hypotheses.

More information about the subject and field trip can be seen at: http://michaelsresearch.wordpress.com/GEOG30025/

The estimated additional cost of the 7 day field trip to Cradle Mountain, Tasmania, is in the vicinity of $750.

Note this subject may be taken as the Capstone subject in the Geography major of the BA and BSc. All students, whether they are capstone students or not, will be required to complete online introductory materials that are common across all field classes.

This subject deals with methodologies for extracting geological information out of geophysical datasets. The subject mostly covers potential fields (gravity and magnetic methods) because these datasets are readily available, however it also visits seismic and electrical geophysical methods. GEOL30005 focusses on physics concepts and how they can be used to understand geology. Students work with industry standard software (eg. Geosoft - Oasis Montaj) which performs the maths in the background.

Topics covered include maps, projection systems, datums and GPS; theory, acquisition, processing and interpretation steps involved for gravity and magnetic methods; image enhancement and qualitative interpretation techniques; quantitative style 2.5D geophysical modelling; seismic theory, acquisition, processing and how this integrates with geophysical wire-line well logging; radiometric acquisition/interpretation; and electrical geophysical techniques such as resistivity, induced polarisation, self-potential, electromagnetics and magnetotelurics.

Geomicrobiology and biogeochemistry involve the study of interactions across interfaces of minerals, water, and microbes, and how such interactions impact environmental conditions and reflect evolution. This subject will survey the fundamental principles of geomicrobiology and biogeochemistry, explain how modern biological processes constrain many geochemical reactions, and show how palaeoenvironmental conditions impacted the evolution and preservation of prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms across geologic time. This subject will demonstrate how geomicrobiological and biogeochemical knowledge can be applied to problems in academic and government research, and in the petroleum, mineral or environmental industries. We will also look at contemporary “cross-over” applications of geomicrobiology/biogeochemistry to medical microbiology (e.g., coevolution of metals and antibiotic resistance), the microbiology and biogeochemistry of urban/built environments and astrobiological investigation of life’s potential to exist elsewhere in the known universe

Applied Ecology is the science of understanding and managing ecosystems. The subject describes and evaluates the applications of ecological concepts for the conservation and management of natural and human-altered ecosystems. In particular, it identifies the implications of global and local changes for ecosystems, communities and individual species, especially within the Australian environment. It examines approaches to management and conservation of terrestrial resources and ecosystems, the control of pest species, and restoration of modified habitats.

The oceans cover 71% of the earth’s surface and are vital to the well being of humans in many ways. This subject covers our current understanding of the biology of marine organisms and how marine scientists assess environmental impacts, manage exploited species and conserve biodiversity.

The subject is designed to develop students’ understanding of the physical processes of coasts and rivers, and how these processes interact, over time, to shape catchments and landscapes. A focus is on processes of erosion and deposition that occur as we follow the movement of water and sediment from hillsides, down rivers, through estuaries, to meet wave and tidal processes at the coast. A theme of the subject is the impact of humans on these geomorphic systems, and how these impacts can be predicted and managed. The subject will address major questions and challenges that are facing the management and research communities alike. These challenges include the impact of past and present management activities on both the fluvial and coastal processes. Furthermore, the impact of a changing climate on the rates and types of processes occurring in these dynamic environments will be addressed both from a holistic catchment perspective and at the individual landform scale. Management of coasts and rivers is a growing area of employment. 

Using practicals and field-trips, students will develop their empirical and analytical skills including the use of ArcGIS (spatial mapping and geomorphic analysis), stratigraphic logging and interpretation, and topographic surveying. This subject includes a 3-day field trip to the Otways Ranges in western Victoria, occurring over a weekend during semester, where students will collect and interpret field data from coasts and rivers. 

This subject examines principles in the two disciplines of hydrology and ecology, emphasising the application of both to understand how to solve environmental management problems in river ecosystems. The subject examines water in terms of quantity and quality; and the physical channel and floodplain systems in which it is conveyed and stored, along with transported materials such as sediments and organic matter. The subject also examines population, community and ecosystem dynamics of riverine organisms and their geographical distributions and diversities. Through practicals and fieldwork, students should develop skills in acquiring, analysing and presenting hydrological and ecological data, and in the identification and proper field sampling of stream biota. Students should become aware of the multidisciplinary nature of environmental management and the need for critical examination of ideas in the literature.