Department of Natural Sciences
85 % Department of Agricultural Sciences 15 % | |||||||||||||||||
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 (prepared by groups of 2 - 4 students) and 4 hours written exam. Weight: Project report: 33% Written exam: 67% Both the project report and the written examen are evaluated by the internal censor. 13-point scale, internal examiner Dates of Exam: 02 November 2006 | ||||||||||||||||
Requirement For Attending Exam | Submission of project report | ||||||||||||||||
Organisation of Teaching | The course comprise lectures, theoretical exercises, computer exercises (equilibrium modelling), project work and one excursion | ||||||||||||||||
Block Placement | Block 1 Week Structure: C | ||||||||||||||||
Teaching Language | English | ||||||||||||||||
Optional Prerequisites | 250021 Soil, Water, and Plants 230009 Environmental Chemistry of Biological Systems "Jord, vand og planter" or equivalent "Miljøkemi i Biologiske Systemer" or equivalent.Arealanvendelse, stofbalancer og miljøpåvirkning, Miljømikrobiologi.General knowledge on basic chemistry, physics, mathematics and microbiology. An intro to physical chemistry is an advantage | ||||||||||||||||
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 respond 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 | |||||||||||||||||
Brief review of soil structure, chemical composition and properties of soil minerals and humic matter. Interactions between abiotic and soil biochemical processes. Soil forming factors and natural soil forming processes comprising acidification, mineral weathering, humification/mineralization, clay migration, podzolization, redox processes and leaching. Sampling, fractionation and analysis of soil solutes. Review of pollutants in soil environments with emphasis on biogeochemical properties, monitoring data and mass balances for different pollutants including 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 and speciation, acid-base reactions, solubility, and hydrolysis in soil solution. Sorption equilibria and kinetics with respect to main groups of soil pollutants. Sorption, ageing, speciation and bioavailability. Mineral stability, dissolution (weathering) and redox processes at the solid-solution interface; redox zonations and sequences. Abiotic degradation reactions at soil particle surfaces. 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 colloidal transport in macropores. Cleaning and remediation of soils with emphasis on bioremediation technologies and new environmental 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 carried out by groups of 2-4 students and it is carried out during 2 weeks at end of the course. The project report is presented orally. | |||||||||||||||||
Course Litterature | |||||||||||||||||
Hansen, H.C.B. (ed)(2006) Environmental Soil Chemistry including exercises. Handout notes. Software for speciation analysis. Supplementary reading | |||||||||||||||||
Course Coordinator | |||||||||||||||||
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 Peter Engelund Holm, peho@life.ku.dk, Department of Natural Sciences/Soil and Environmental Chemistry, Phone: 35332414 Carsten Suhr Jacobsen, csj@geus.dk, Department of Basic Sciences and Environment/Soil and Environmental Chemistry, Phone: 38142313 | |||||||||||||||||
Attendance Fee | |||||||||||||||||
100 DKK for participation in the excursion. | |||||||||||||||||
Study Board | |||||||||||||||||
Study Committee NSN | |||||||||||||||||
Course Scope | |||||||||||||||||
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