UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH
School of GeoSciences
Master of Earth Science
M.EarthSci Geology (S1024)
M.EarthSci Geology and Physical
Geography (S1023)
handbook
2013 - 2014
September 2013
MEarthSci Co-ordinator
Eliza Calder Room 313, Grant Institute of Earth Science
School of GeoSciences, King’s Buildings
Phone: 0131 650 4910
(in the University)
Email:
MEarthSci Team
Tom Challands Phone: 0131 650 8543
Email:
Dick Kroon Phone: 0131 651 7089
Email:
Kate Saunders Phone: 0131 650 2544
Email:
Thomas Crowley Phone: 0131 650 5339
Email:
Term Dates
16th September-18th October Semester 1: Block 1
21st October – 29th October Semester 1: Block 2
2nd December – 6th December Revision Period
9th December – 20th December Examination Period
23rd December-10th January Christmas Vacation
13th January-14th February Semester 2: Block 3
17th February-21st February Innovative Learning Week
24th February- 4th April Semester 2: Block 4
7th April – 18th April Easter Vacation
21st April – 25th April Revision Period
28th April – 23rd May Examination Period
23rd May End exam period and of Academic year
Significant Dates
Semester 1
Week 10 Student project presentations (PDLA)
(18-22 November)
1st November Hand-in deadline for Iceland Research Report (MFT)
6th December Hand-in deadline for reflective Diary (RMTS)
18th December Hand-in deadline for Technical Review paper (RMTS)
18th December Hand-in deadline for Project Proposal (PDLA)
Semester 2
17th March Hand-in deadline for student essay (FES)
28th March Hand-in deadline for Geoscience research project (GRP)
TBA Student research project presentations (seminar+poster) (GRP)
Near end of semester 2.
Course Aims and Intended Learning Outcomes
The MEarthSci degree programme consists of an optional 5th year of study in Geology or Geology and Physical Geography. It uses a combination of independent research and taught courses to enable students to develop high level analysis and critical understanding of Earth Systems. Formal teaching in the MEarthSci year will be by a combination of lectures, practicals and tutorials, with a strong emphasis on small group learning. Courses aim to provide you with the necessary skills required to complete your independent research project, bringing you up to research level in data acquisition, analysis, report writing and presentation. You will also be introduced to key, topical areas of research in the geosciences, enabling you to place your own research within the much broader context of ongoing research being conducted across the Earth Sciences. Project work will be undertaken in a geoscience area of the student’s choice. The MEarthSci programme will allow you to hone your problem solving abilities and transferable skills for more effective entry into earth science industries, a vocational MSc, or into a PhD project.
Course composition and structure
MEarthSci consists of 5 component parts that are together worth 120 credits:
1. MEarthSci field training (GESC11004) 20 credits
2. Research Methods and Transferable Skills (GESC11005) 10 credits
3. Project Design and Literature Analysis (GESC11001) 20 credits
4. Frontiers in Earth Science (GESC11003) 10 credits
5. Geoscience Research Project (GESC11002) 40 credits
6. Option courses (various) 20 credits
The option courses are available from across the School in either semester, and include both Honours level and existing MSc courses (levels 10 and 11). One or two of these must be taken to make up the 20 credits.
GESC11004: MEarthSci field training 20 credits
Course Organiser: Kate Saunders
Field training will be undertaken in Iceland in late August, prior to the start of semester 1.
Course aims
The Field Trip theme is geology of a volcanic ‘hot spot’ and includes the following sub-themes: volcano-tectonics, magmatism, volcanism, sedimentology and geomorphology in an active volcanic province.
The underpinning aims of this field course are to deploy interactive approaches for training in:
(a) Formulating working hypothesis for a field area under investigation and set up the approach/methodology by which the hypothesis can be tested in the field within the time frame available. This will be achieved by: (a) systematic study of assigned background reading to be undertaken and completed before the start of the field course and (b) by on site assessment in the field.
(b) Conducting field logging and mapping of classical volcanic successions featuring range of extrusive, intrusive and sedimentary rocks / deposits as well as rift tectonics.
(c) Analysing present day geomorphology and paleo-landscape of extinct and active volcanic terrains as well as the geomorphology induced by the ‘Ice Age’; present and past interglacial and glacial periods.
Method of Assessment:
Field Note Book (50%): due at the end of the field course (due Monday 16th September 4 pm, TO office, Grant)
Research Report (50%): due in 10 week, semester 1 ( Friday 1st November 4 pm, TO office, Grant).
Field Note Book
This book should contain complete and legible notes that form a record of your scientific activities during the field course. Effective use of field notes is an essential part of the training on this course and field observations must be recorded accurately and clearly, remember to include times, and place names. The notes should cover your research as well as other activities undertaken during the course. If samples are collected, a record of all sample bag numbers, as well as details of the sample locations should be made. Notes on the equipment used should also be made, and there should be records of the initial analysis of data sets, and the development of ideas during evening work at the field centre. Although most of you will wish to make photographic records, it is expected that where ever possible use will be made of annotated field sketches, diagrams and maps. Photographs do not replace field sketches, they are complementary.
Research Report
The research report should be an individual write-up of the research carried out during the field course and should follow the format of a peer-reviewed Geoscience paper. The objectives are (i) to give you practice at writing reports, an essential skill for careers both in research and industry, and (ii) to ensure that you have come to grips with the science and theory that underpin our geological understanding. The main text of the report should be 5000 words (including abstract but not references). Each figure, graph and table should be given a number and a caption, so that it can be referenced appropriately in the text. Sources of information should be cited in the text in accordance with standard practice in scientific journals.
GESC11005: Research Methods and Transferable Skills 10 credits
Course Organiser: Tom Challands
This course will enable students to learn general transferable skills and professional skills appropriate to their MEarthSci year, as well as help students manage the transition from working at an undergraduate to a postgraduate level. Emphasis will be placed on small group teaching with strong staff-student interaction. Key analytical techniques used in geoscience research will be introduced through a series of short modules, both in terms of presenting the theoretical background to analytical techniques as well as actual ‘hands-on’ training using equipment. Advantages and limitations of different techniques will also be compared and discussed. Students will be able to draw on the skills acquired during the course to plan and execute their independent research topic, but will also have the opportunity to become familiar with techniques more widely used in geoscience research. Core research skills will also be presented through a series of workshops, including how to determine the statistical validity of analytical and experimental data, comparing data and results with published literature, dealing with large data sets, presenting and describing data in both graphical and text-based methods, presenting data through verbal and poster presentations (at the level of a large scientific conference), and preparing scientific reports.
Course aims:
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
1. Understand the theoretical background to the analytical techniques they will use in their dissertation, as well as other commonly used techniques applicable to geosciences.
2. Undertake these analyses on their own with appropriate supervision by technical staff.
3. Understand the level of statistical validity of the data they collect (as well as the data of others), and to be able to discuss these.
4. Present and describe these data using graphical and text-based methods.
5. Write a scientific report based on these data, using appropriate styles and with appropriate recourse to published literature.
6. Make a verbal and poster presentation on their work suitable for a scientific conference.
Method of Assessment:
Reflective Diary (30%): Due in end of week 12
Technical report (70%): Due in end of semester 1 (middle of week 13)
Reflective Diary
The reflective diary will be written as the course progresses, and will contain a complete and accurate record of the training received during the course. The diary will act, in part, as a more rigorous method of note taking, vital when learning to use complicated, state-of-the-art analytical and experimental equipment through both theory-based tutorials and individual ‘driving-tests’. It will also provide a medium for students to assess the advantages and disadvantages of various experimental methodologies, and to begin to decide which combinations of techniques may be of use for their own independent research.
Technical Report
Students will write a more detailed technical report on an analytical or experimental technique of their choice which they will rely on for their own research (independent research project). This should consist of an accurate explanation of the scientific background and principles upon which the technique depends, a detailed description of the technique, and a critical evaluation of the technique in terms of scientific applicability in Earth Science research and any limitations in its use.
Course schedule
10-12 Monday (Semester 1)
Although the course will run over 11 weeks, the intensity of teaching may vary from one week to the next to accommodate the availability of technical staff who will contribute to the course.
GESC11001: Project Design and Literature Analysis 20 credits
Course Organiser: Tom Challands
Thomas Crowley
This course will allow students to reflect on a subject area of their choice, become familiar with the important and current literature on the subject, and design a research project on the topic of their choice. This course will run alongside ‘Research Methods and Transferable Skills’ to provide a complementary introduction to research skills required to plan and execute novel scientific research. Students will be introduced to on-line scientific databases used for researching scientific literature and the skills required to identify potential areas for research. Students will use these skills in tandem with training in the use of various analytical and experiment techniques to formulate their independent research project. Students will present their research project proposals to each other (and other members of the School) at a one-day workshop, as well as write a detailed project proposal, in the form of a mini-transfer report.
Course aims:
1. Students will be able to design a research project with testable hypotheses and achievable goals.
2. Students will be able to interrogate and critically assess existing scientific literature for work still to be done.
3. Students will be able to set their research in the broader context of work in their field of interest.
4. Students will have a detailed, thorough and up-to-date understanding of one particular area of research in the geosciences, as well as an appreciation of the range of research conducted in modern geoscience.
Method of Assessment:
Project proposal (80%): Due in end of semester 1 (middle of week 13)
Student presentation (20%): Week 10
The project proposal will describe the background to the student’s independent research project, work to be conducted as part of the project, and how this work will be performed (scientific methodology). Both the presentation and project proposal will act as a mini-transfer report. Students will be given guidance in how to plan their individual research projects, and will present their research plans (including research background and available scientific literature) to each other at a planned event. This will provide students with an opportunity to critically assess each other’s research topics, as well as gain some appreciation for the broad depth of scientific research conducted in the Earth Sciences.
Course schedule
10-12 Tuesday (Semester 1). Intensity of teaching will vary throughout the semester and sessions will be arranged as the course progresses.
GESC11003: Frontiers in Earth Science 10 credits
Course Organiser: Dick Kroon
This course will introduce students to current debates in the geosciences, presented through the medium of topical papers from high-impact, peer reviewed journals and by visiting speakers. Students will draw on, and reinforce, skills acquired during the Project Design and Literature Analysis course (U04460) to research wider areas of Earth Science debate. This will allow students to place their own research into the much broader context of major research areas in the geosciences.
Course aims:
1. Students will understand the nature of the scientific debate as it applies within the observational sciences.
2. Students will be able to read and understand scientific papers accurately
3. Students will be able to search for information from references and appropriate search engines.
4. Students will be able to summarise research arguments and present such summaries verbally or in a written form.
Method of Assessment:
Student essay (100%): end of week 10
Assessment will be by a student essay summarising current debates in a specific Earth Science selected by the student. Students will also be expected to attend appropriate seminars in semester 2 (from EPS, global change, CECS, HGRG, EEO, Hutton Club, CSEC).
Course schedule
2-4pm Tuesday (Semester 2)
Schedule may vary depending on availability of invited speakers
GESC11002: Geoscience Research Project 40 credits
Course Organiser: Eliza Calder
Students will undertake an independent research project on an area of their choice in the field of Geoscience. They will draw on skills acquired in courses on Research Methods and Transferable Skills and Project Design and Literature Analysis to ensure that the project is well designed and achievable.
Course aims:
1. The student will be able to undertake research in a Geoscience topic, producing work of an original and high quality.
2. The student will understand scientific methodology, the use of statistics, the analytical tools employed, concepts of accuracy and precision.
3. The student will be able to write a scientific report on their research which is accurate, appropriately illustrated, argued and referenced.