| Department of Natural Sciences
50 % Department of Agricultural Sciences 50 % | |||||||||||||||||
| Earliest Possible Year | MSc. 1 year to MSc. 2 year | ||||||||||||||||
| Duration | One block | ||||||||||||||||
| Credits | 7.5 (ECTS) | ||||||||||||||||
| Course Level | MSc | ||||||||||||||||
| Examination | Final Examination written examination Written Exam in Lecturehall All aids allowed Description of Examination: Evaluation of project report and 4 hours written exam. Weight: Project report: 33% Written exam: 67% 13-point scale, external examiner Dates of Exam: 03 November 2005 | ||||||||||||||||
| Requirement For Attending Exam | Submission of project report | ||||||||||||||||
| Organisation of Teaching | Contains the common and environmental chemistry parts of Soil and Environment A. The common part will be taugt the first two weeks, while the more specific environmental chemistry part one module the following weeks. One field excursion. | ||||||||||||||||
| Block Placement | Block 1 Week Structure: C, The two first weeks will be organized in respect of the students other study activities | ||||||||||||||||
| Teaching Language | English | ||||||||||||||||
| Optional Prerequisites | Jord, vand og planter or equivalent Miljøkemi i Biologiske Systemer or equivalent. Arealanvendelse, stofbalancer og miljøpåvirkning, Miljømikrobiologi. | ||||||||||||||||
| Areas of Competence the Course Will Address | |||||||||||||||||
| Basic Science Comprehend spatial and temporal variability of soils Comprehend the importance of soils as part of ecosystems Understand and comprehend the molecular mechanisms controlling pollutant fate in soils and sediments Transfer general principles from physical chemistry, biochemistry and physics in a soil environmental context Applied Science Understand soil description and sampling in the field Comprehend, apply and evaluate common models and procedures used for quantification of soil processes, pollutant fate and intrinsic soil quality measures Acquire knowledge on the specific behaviour of common soil pollutants for use in control and remediation Knowledge on instrumental methods used to analyse inorganic and organic soil solids and solutes Ethics & Values Ability to discuss the criteria underlying key terms such as "toxic", "pollution", "threshold concentrations" and "quality". Reflects on the precautionary principle and other principles | |||||||||||||||||
| Course Objectives | |||||||||||||||||
| The objectives of the course are to comprehend and to study i) how soils form in response to the soil forming factors and in particular to man-made disturbances, ii) the effiency of soils as "filters" for soil pollutants with focus on sorption, degradation and transport processes, iii) the biogeochemical functions of soils in a global context, and iv) quantification of soil processes for proper assessment, modelling and forecasting the fate of pollutans in soil environments. | |||||||||||||||||
| Course Contents | |||||||||||||||||
| Part I (common): Soil spatial and temporal variability is overviewed. Structure, chemical composition and properties of soil minerals and humic matter. Interactions between abiotic and soil biochemical processes. Sampling, fractionation and analysis of soil solutes in relation to land use and soil properties. Sampling, description, properties and notation of soil profiles and horizons. Diagnostic horizons and properties, and overall principles used in classification. Introduction to soil distribution and geography. Soil forming factors and soil forming processes with emphasis on acidification, mineral weathering, humification/mineralization, clay migration, podzolization, redox processes and leaching. Part III (environmental chemistry): Review of pollutants in soil environments with emphasis on biogeochemical properties, monitoring data and mass balances for N, P, heavy metals, radionuclides, acids, pesticides, endocrine disruptors, detergents, PAH's, halogenated compounds, veterinary drugs/biomedicine, natural toxins, and anthropogenic nanoparticles. Intro to activity and mode of action of soil enzymes. Gas-water exhange. Complexation, acid-base reactions, solubility, hydrolysis and enzymatic reactions in soil solution. Sorption equilibria and kinetics with emphasis on ion exchange, surface complexation, partitioning and hydrophobic sorption. Sorption, ageing, speciation and bioavilability. Mineral stability, dissolution (weathering) and redox processes at the solid-solution interface; redox zonations and sequences. Abiotic degradation reactions at surfaces of soil minerals and humic matter. Equilibrium computation software. Degradation pathways, formation of metabolites, and models to quantify degradation and mineralization kinetics. QSAR estimation software. Modelling of water and solute transport. Macropores and transport in macropores. Natural and artificial soil colloids as transport vectors. Cleaning and remediation of soils with emphasis on bioremediation technologies and methodology for new technologies for minimising soil pollution. Methods for soil quality assessment. Intro to risk assessment. Linkages between land use, soil quality and water quality. | |||||||||||||||||
| Teaching And Learning Methods | |||||||||||||||||
| Lectures, theoretical exercises and case studies as well as problem-based work on a selected topic. One 1-day excursion comprising examples of soil pollution, soil remediation, land use and groundwater quality and soil quality monitoring. Lectures are based on the textbook used. The topics of the theoretical exercises/cases run in parallel with the topics treated in the lectures. Groups of students work together to discuss and solve the selected problems. The aims of the project work are to train literature and data search, handling of literature data, to train the use of different models and computational tools introduced during the course, and to get detailed knowledge on the fate of a particular pollutant class. The project work is usually carried out by groups of 2-4 students. The project report is presented orally at end of the course. | |||||||||||||||||
| Course Litterature | |||||||||||||||||
| Hansen, H.C.B. (ed)(2006) Environmental Soil Chemistry including exercises. Handout notes. | |||||||||||||||||
| Course Coordinator | |||||||||||||||||
| Ole Kragholm Borggaard, okb@life.ku.dk, Department of Natural Sciences/Soil and Environmental Chemistry, Phone: 35332419 Hans Christian Bruun Hansen, haha@life.ku.dk, /VIVA - Knowledge about Water, Phone: 3528 Søren Hansen, sha@life.ku.dk, Department of Basic Sciences and Environment/Agrohydrology, Phone: 3528 | |||||||||||||||||
| Attendance Fee | |||||||||||||||||
| 100 DKK for participation in the excursion. | |||||||||||||||||
| Study Board | |||||||||||||||||
| Study Committee NSN | |||||||||||||||||
| Course Scope | |||||||||||||||||
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