Earth Science MESci

This module provides an introduction to the Earth and aims to teach students about the structure and composition of the Earth, the Earth’s gravitational and magnetic fields, and dynamics within the deep Earth; the physics of Earth material and the geological time scale; and plate tectonics. The course is delivered through a combination of lectures and practicals. Students are assessed through a combination of coursework and a final exam.

This field module provides a basic training in field techniques and gives students practical experience working with a wide range of rock types and tectonic structures to solve geological problems. Students gain experience in recording field data and use their own data to interpret geological processes and environments. The module is assessed by means of an individual fieldwork portfolio and a group synthesis poster completed after the field class.

This module provides a basic introduction to sedimentology and palaeontology. Students learn about the origin of sediment, sedimentary processes and structures and the ways in which sediments are converted into solid rock. The course outlines the importance of sedimentary rocks for hydrocarbons, water and as construction materials. Students learn how to describe and interpret sedimentary deposits. The palaeontology component introduces students to the major fossil groups and to the ways in which organisms can be preserved as fossils. It covers the importance of fossils for the study of evolution, environmental change and Earth history. Students learn how to describe fossils and how observations contribute to a broader understanding. Students will be assessed by means of two practical tests and a theory examination.

This module introduces key subjects within Earth Sciences: Structural Geology and Geological Mapping. In this module you will be introduced to geological structures from the micro to the mountain scale, and receive training in the geometrical techniques used to document and analyse them. You will also learn the basic principles of stress and strain which underpin a number of advanced Earth Science subjects and skills used in industry and research. Finally, the module will provide training in how to read and understand geological maps, train your 3D visualisation skills by learning how to create geological cross-sections from maps, and how to stereographically plot 3D geological data. A combination of virtual lectures, tutorials, and directed reading will help you navigate this course. You will be assessed on the development of your practical skills through an open book practical exam and an individual research paper on a topic in structural geology.

This module introduces students to the key skills necessary to succeed on a University Earth Science course. It does this via a series of lectures, workshops and tutorials, together with a geology fieldwork day and attendance at departmental seminars and talks. The lectures, towards the start of the first semester, cover academic integrity, exam skills, employability and 2D/3D visualisation. Tailored workshops cover Geographical Information Systems (GIS), Word, Excel and programming skills. Small-group (typically 4 to 8 students) tutorials are run by academic staff and cover essay writing (including assessment), careers and employability. Academic tutors undertake personal development planning (careers and module selection advice) with each tutee.

This module will introduce and develop understanding of rock-forming minerals and critical raw materials in terms of their environments of formation, occurrence, and abundance. The module will focus on exploring the uses and societal significance of a range of Earth materials, especially those critical to sustainable and renewable energy resources and various societal infrastructure. The key practical skills of mineral description, identification and interpretation will be developed and applied throughout the module to equip students with appropriate skills for many later geoscience modules and for future employment.

Climate, Atmosphere and Oceans provides an understanding of how the climate system operates. The module draws on basic scientific principles to understand how climate has evolved over the history of the planet and how the climate system is operating now. Attention is particularly paid to the structure and circulation of the atmosphere and ocean, and how they both interact. The course emphasises acquiring mechanistic insight and drawing upon order of magnitude calculations. By the end of the module students will understand how the oceans and atmosphere combine to shape Earth’s climate. Students gain quantitative skills by completing a series of coursework exercises and a final exam. Students address the Net Zero carbon goal via group work involving digital storytelling.​

This module will give students an understanding of the fundamental properties of elements and matter, either solid, liquid or gas, in the context of the environmental sciences. It will introduce the fundamentals of atomic structure, elements and molecules from simple inorganic to large organic ones and the bonding forces that hold them together. It will look at the basics of chemical reactions such as the processes of oxidation and reduction, the solubility of solids and gases in water and acid-base properties. Students will learn how to make quantitative predictions, for instance on the amount of products that will be produced based on balanced chemical reactions, and will see how basic chemistry can be used to explain many environmental properties. The module is taught through lectures, tutorial sessions and online formative quizzes with automated feedback. Assessment is through online tests and an open book final exam. This module is largely an introduction to chemistry and might therefore not be well suited for students who did A-level chemistry or equivalent.

This module is designed to provide students without a A-Level GCE level (or equivalent) background in mathematics a foundation to their degree programme. The module covers pure maths, maths mechanics and statistics developing the required knowledge and skills to be able complete degree programmes in Ocean Sciences, Earth Sciences, Geography, Environmental Science and Marine Biology. The module is taught as weekly lectures following a ten-chapter book developed for the module by world leading experts in the fields. Lectures are supplemented with workshops where concepts can be discussed and skills improved. The module is assessed though online pop-quizzes and a formal written exam.

​This module aims to provide all students with a common foundation in mathematics, necessary for studying the physical sciences and maths courses in later semesters. All topics will begin "from the ground up" by revising ideas which may be familiar from A-level before building on these concepts. In particular, the basic principles of differentiation and integration will be practised, before extending to functions of more than one variable. Basic matrix manipulation will be covered as well as vector algebra and an understanding of eigenvectors and eigenvalues.

The module uses a lecture and laboratory-based problem-solving approach to explore some of the fundamental physical and chemical processes underlying physical geography. It is designed to provide a foundation for environmental and physical geography modules in the second and third year. This module comprises multiple whole-day practical sessions, each designed to give students first-hand experience of a topic important in understanding our changing environment. Students get formal feedback in each assessed week (one poster per group). However, perhaps most valuable is the feedback obtained informally via discussions during the sessions.

This module provides an introduction to the principles and application of all the main geophysical methods used for exploration purposes. These methods include seismic refraction, seismic reflection, electrical methods, ground penetrating radar, gravity and magnetics. Case studies will be used to highlight the application of these methods at a range of scales from shallow to deep to small to large, highlighting their uses within archaeology, engineering and geology. The module concludes with a synthesis of methods and how to approach site investigation. The module is delivered through lectures and problem sessions and is based on continuous assessment from set homework assignments or problem sheets and a final exam.

Building on previous study of mineralogy, igneous and structural geology, this module provides students with a foundation in the subject of metamorphism. From how and why atoms move around to form new minerals, through the textures of metamorphic rocks in hand specimen and how to interpret them, to the large-scale plate tectonic phenomena that drive everything. Delivery involves a combination of interactive lectures and practical sessions. Practicals involve thin section work, hand specimen examination, calculations and the study of geological maps. Metamorphic geology plays a pivotal role in unravelling the story of the Caledonides of Britain and Ireland, as it does in unravelling the history of the entire Earth. Students are assessed during term in using practical skills (thin section drawing, calculations, use of various graphical and pictorial techniques) and through a final theory exam in knowledge and understanding of the subject.

This module introduces and develops a range of skills that are central to the research process and for employment after graduation. The module provides students with the research skills they will need to complete Year 3 dissertation projects. The syllabus is delivered via tutorial sessions and a lecture/workshop series. The tutorials provide a learning environment to support students in discussing key issues and in developing important professional skills. The lecture/workshop series covers IT-related skills needed for writing and illustrating reports, graphically representing geospatial data, consistently citing and referencing data sources, as well as aspects of project planning and risk assessment. Assessment is coursework-based and comprises an oral presentation, a report/literature review, a poster displaying geological/geophysical geospatial data, and a project plan (Gantt chart).

Sedimentary successions are the only archive from which we can accurately decode the Earth’s past. Using physical, chemical and biological information we can reconstruct past climates, tectonics and depositional environments. This module teaches the fundamental principles of interpreting sedimentary stratigraphy and develops students’ abilities to recognise sedimentary textures and use them to interpret ancient depositional environments.

This module builds on the prerequisite module Introduction to Structural Geology and Geological Maps. While the module introduces additional structures, emphasis is placed on the spatial, kinematic and temporal relationships between geological structures. Strain and stress analysis are developed to a level such that they may be used, as appropriate, to explain the origins of selected geological structures. The module considers the geometries of a series of geological structures and stratigraphies displayed on geological maps and how they should be described and analysed with an emphasis on the interpretation of a geological map as an integrated whole. A combination of lectures, laboratory work and directed reading are used to deliver the module. Lectures will be supported by laboratory-based practicals. It will be assessed using a theory examination and a practical examination.

This module comprises a series of lectures, seminars and practical classes to facilitate students constructing their own learning in the fields of volcanology and geohazards. Lectures and guided reading present the scientific, societal, economic and political aspects of volcanic hazards within the wider geohazard context. These themes are then explored further through illustrative case studies, guest seminars and practical exercises.

This module is a combination of on-campus workshops followed by a residential field class in which students learn various techniques required to characterise the 3D geological and geomorphological evolution of an area. Training entails mapping of geological and geomorphological features at different scales, training in methods for acquiring a variety of field data, and guidance for synthesising and interpreting field datasets. Training is designed to develop abilities to visualise geology and geomorphology in 3D, and to analyse and synthesise discrete observations to build a full four-dimensional model of the geological history of an area from their own measured data. Such fieldskills and data-handling and data synthesis skills are highly regarded and often sought for by geoscience employers. This module also provides the students with skills required for final year independent field-based research projects. Exercises will encourage increasingly independent work as students’ skills develop. Group work develops students’ ability to work effectively in a team.

This module introduces students to fundamentals of Earth and environmental data science. Students will become familiar with methods used to collate and computationally analyse a variety of Earth Science data. After introducing programming basics, students will then start to write code to analyse and simulate Earth processes that model their datasets. By the end of the module, students are expected to have a broad overview of the ways in which data science is applied in the study of the Earth and environment.

Geological fieldwork can be conveniently divided into three parts: reconnaissance, geological mapping, and more detailed geological analysis – all of which are necessary in building up a picture of the geological history of a given area. This field class, which takes place in June immediately after the end of the second year, deals with the third, detailed phase of geological fieldwork, and forms the final part of training for your independent field project and subsequent dissertation write-up. Using comfortable self-catering accommodation in Bundoran, County Donegal as a base, we examine sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic rocks in Donegal and Sligo. Bringing together knowledge and techniques from all the theory modules taken in Years One and Two, you will undertake projects that correspond to the main phases of the geological history of the north of Ireland: regional and contact metamorphism and deformation of Dalradian rocks; Carboniferous basin formation and fill; Palaeogene igneous intrusions. Students are assessed on the basis of their individual field notebooks, as well as for their contribution to two group projects. In addition to gaining a thorough understanding of the geology of this part of northwest Ireland, you will also develop invaluable skills in problem solving and independent working.

Under the supervision of an academic member of staff, students will plan and undertake an independent (field or lab-based) research project in an area of their choosing. Students will use the subject specific and research skills that they have developed over the first 2 years of their degree, as well as developing data collection and analytical skills. Data collection is completed in the summer before Year 3 and write-up includes a talk, a dissertation and a poster.

More than 800 million people around the world live at risk of being negatively affected by volcanic activity, yet the number of people living near active volcanoes is increasing every year. On the island of Tenerife we explore how the physical and chemical processes of volcanism and geohazards are shaped by geodynamics and geology. You will develop field skills to reconstruct a geological history based on your own observations. We study the deposits from volcanic plumbing systems to lava flow, catastrophic caldera-forming eruptions, volcanic plumes, explosive magma-water interactions and the evidence of volcanic island collapse. This module helps students understand how the economic benefits and beauty of a volcanic landscape are juxtaposed against the threat of evacuation and loss of life, property and infrastructure.

This module looks at long term evolutionary patterns and the links between the evolution of life, climate and environmental change. Building on the basics of palaeontology, it covers topics and ideas that are used day-to-day by professional palaeontologists. The course deals with evolutionary theory and its place in palaeontology, as the student learns how to read and construct evolutionary hypotheses, and describe and understand patterns in the fossil record. In addition, the module will explore key events in the history of life on Earth, using exceptionally preserved faunas to illustrate the evolution of the flora and fauna. The module is delivered through lectures and practical sessions. The practicals are designed to run alongside and support the lecture material, giving the student the opportunity to understand the module content more deeply. Students are required to undertake a group project that brings together much of the course material into a coherent whole.

This module aims to provide understanding of the major types of mineral deposit through a critical assessment of conceptual models of deposit forming processes. There is an emphasis on geochemistry and quantitative methods. Content is delivered through on-line lectures with the aim of understanding: how mineral resources are formed; synthesising their distribution in space and time and evaluating this distribution in relation to overall Earth evolution; considering sustainability and the role of economics and politics. Practical understanding of mineral exploration is achieved through team-based role-playing activities in which students are divided into exploration companies. Each company has a two-stage budget and has to decide how to spend it on sampling, mapping, geochemical analysis, trenching and drilling. Each team presents an interim verbal report on the first stage followed by a second-stage final executive report summarising findings and providing an evaluation of gold resource. Assessment is split between the team exploration project (50%) and a final coursework essay (50%) from a choice of three topics. The team project uses peer assessment to produce individual marks for team members. This module has encouraged many students to follow mineral exploration careers.

This module uses practical tasks analysing authentic and currently relevant professional datasets to consolidate, develop and apply fundamental geosicence skills that are key in the practice of applied environmental geoscience The module also focuses on important transferable skills such as data analysis, data visualisation, and professional report preparation, all focused on maximising employability in the environmental geoscience sector.

Our pathway to a carbon neutral world relies upon our ability to develop new technologies and improve established technologies. Earth Scientists will play a major role in this energy revolution from sourcing raw materials for solar cells and batteries to sequestering carbon dioxide in rock units deep beneath the Earth’s surface. This module provides a background to the GeoEnergy sector, with particular focus on fluid flow through geological structures and rock units. The broad aim of the module is to provide students with the appropriate level of knowledge and skillset to be able to evaluate and manage hydrocarbon reservoirs, including carbon dioxide sequestration, and geothermal systems.

This module provides the basic principles of engineering geology and hydrogeology. The applications of these principles are illustrated using selected examples and emphasis is placed on the interaction between them and their control on the mechanical stability of natural systems. By necessity predictions must be quantitative but, in order to develop understanding, a strongly graphical approach has been adopted in this module. The applications of engineering geology and hydrogeology will be highlighted using a field-based case study: the Mam Tor landslip. Engineering geology and hydrogeology are two important sources of employment and this module provides an opportunity to experience the scope and nature of these subjects. A combination of lectures, directed reading, laboratory work and fieldwork are used to deliver the module. Twelve lectures will be supported by six laboratory based practicals. It will be assessed using a report of the field investigation and an examination.

This module intends to give a holistic insight of a number of marine and terrestrial microfossils that are conventionally used for reconstructing past environmental conditions for the Quaternary period, including recent past. Microfossils are biological indicators that can help to either qualitatively and/or quantitatively estimate environmental conditions such as atmospheric temperature and precipitation (pollen), sea-surface conditions (foraminifera, diatoms, radiolarians, dinoflagellate cysts), salinity (ostracods, diatom), pH (diatoms), sea-ice cover (diatoms, dinoflagellate cysts), etc. These conditions are of paramount importance for modelling past climate conditions and the data derived from microfossil assemblages enable to better calibrate models, which in turn, are essential to forecast future climate. In addition, microfossil assemblages help to understand the natural evolution of our environment as well as measuring the amplitude of human activities over time.​

This module is a synthesis of geodynamic processes and their geological consequences across a range of scales from atoms to minerals to mountain belts to the whole mantle. You will learn about how rocks can deform even while solid, and how those deformation mechanisms are controlled by temperature and how they lead to our dynamic Earth. You will study mountain belts that are understood through study of the mineralogy of metamorphic rocks which fingerprint changing pressures and temperatures, and through unravelling the timings of events using radiogenic isotopes. You will be taught through lectures and practicals and assessed on both theoretical and practical aspects.

This module will teach students to write and use simple numerical forward models of environmental systems, including geomorphic, geophysical, oceanographic and ecological models. Successful students will develop important transferrable coding and numeracy skills through a series of lectures, seminars and practical work. The module will be assessed through practical work only, with formative feedback throughout to help develop the necessary skills.

This module covers geoscience topics that have current societal importance. It will promote independent thinking, critical insight and a sound understanding of a variety of current geoscience topics that affect local, national and international governance. The module will allow development of independent research review and communication skills and encourage effective communication with a variety of different stakeholders (governing bodies, public, companies). The module is delivered as a series of lectures, seminars and workshops. Lectures will introduce some high-level current issues in earth sciences, followed by progressively more student-led seminars and workshops, where they present their work and debate issues with other students in the class. Feedback from these seminars/debates informs them on how to write their consultancy reports, and deliver the group presentation.

This module is designed to train our students, largely by personal practice, in: scientific, journal-style writing; the initial development of a research problem and the definition, presentation and defence of a research proposal; the use of a small number of lab-analytical and data-analytical techniques of broad relevance to Advanced Geology and Geology-Physical-Geography projects.

This module looks at long-term evolutionary patterns and the links between the evolution of life, climate and environmental change. Building on the basics of palaeontology, this module covers topics and ideas that are used day-to-day by professional palaeontologists. The course deals with evolutionary theory and its place in palaeontology, as the student learns how to read and construct evolutionary hypotheses, and describe and understand patterns in the fossil record. In addition, the module will explore key events in the history of life on Earth, using exceptionally preserved faunas to illustrate the evolution of the flora and fauna. The module is delivered through lectures, practical sessions and seminars. The practicals are a key component of the module and are designed to run alongside and support the lecture material, giving the student the opportunity to understand the module content more deeply. Students are required to undertake a group project that brings together much of the course material into a coherent whole.

This module aims to provide understanding of the major types of mineral deposit through a critical assessment of conceptual models of deposit forming processes. There is an emphasis on geochemistry and quantitative methods. Content is delivered through on-line lectures with the aim of understanding: how mineral resources are formed; synthesising their distribution in space and time and evaluating this distribution in relation to overall Earth evolution; considering sustainability and the role of economics and politics. Practical understanding of mineral exploration is achieved through team-based role-playing activities in which students are divided into exploration companies. Each company has a two-stage budget and has to decide how to spend it on sampling, mapping, geochemical analysis, trenching and drilling. Each team presents an interim verbal report on the first stage followed by a second-stage final executive report summarising findings and providing an evaluation of gold resource. Assessment is split between the team exploration project and a final coursework essay from a choice of three topics.

Our pathway to a carbon neutral world relies upon our ability to develop new technologies and improve established technologies. Earth scientists will play a major role in this Energy revolution from sourcing raw materials for solar cells and batteries to sequestering carbon dioxide in rock units deep beneath the Earth’s surface. This module provides a background to the GeoEnergy sector, with particular focus on fluid flow through geological structures and rock units. The broad aim of the module is to provide students with the appropriate level of knowledge and skillset to be able to evaluate and manage hydrocarbon reservoirs, including carbon dioxide sequestration, and geothermal systems.

This module provides the principles of engineering geology and hydrogeology. The applications of these principles are illustrated using selected examples and emphasis is placed on the interaction between them and their control on the mechanical stability of natural systems. By necessity predictions must be quantitative but, in order to develop understanding, a strongly graphical approach has been adopted in this module. The evaluation of errors in natural datasets and their impacts on quantitative predictions will be considered. The applications of engineering geology and hydrogeology will be highlighted using a field-based case study: the Mam Tor landslip. Engineering geology and hydrogeology are two important sources of employment, and this module provides an opportunity to experience the scope and nature of these subjects. A combination of lectures, directed reading, laboratory work and fieldwork are used to deliver the module. Twelve lectures will be supported by six laboratory-based practicals. It will be assessed using an individual report of the field investigation and an examination.

This module intends to give a holistic insight of a number of marine and terrestrial microfossils that are conventionally used for reconstructing past environmental conditions for the Quaternary period, including recent past. Microfossils are biological indicators that can help to either qualitatively and/or quantitatively estimate environmental conditions such as atmospheric temperature and precipitation (pollen), sea-surface conditions (foraminifera, diatoms, radiolaria, dinoflagellate cysts), salinity (ostracods, diatom), pH (diatoms), sea-ice cover (diatoms, dinoflagellate cysts), etc. These conditions are of paramount importance for modelling past climate conditions and the data derived from microfossil assemblages enable to better calibrate models, which in turn, are essential to forecast future climate. In addition, microfossil assemblages help to understand the natural evolution of our environment as well as measuring the amplitude of human activities over time.​​

This module is a synthesis of geodynamic processes and their geological consequences across a range of scales from atoms to minerals to mountain belts to the whole mantle. You will learn about how rocks can deform even while solid, and how those deformation mechanisms are controlled by temperature and how they lead to our dynamic Earth. You will study mountain belts that are understood through study of the mineralogy of metamorphic rocks which fingerprint changing pressures and temperatures, and through unravelling the timings of events using radiogenic isotopes. You will be taught through lectures and practicals and assessed on both theoretical and practical aspects. In assessment there is an expectation that you can describe the strengths and weaknesses of various models, and synthesise diverse information on all scales from atoms to the Earth’s mantle.

This unique module bridges the gap between geodynamics & crustal evolution (geology) and Earth surface processes (physical geography) and provides a crucial perspective on how to combine these disciplines in the field. The field course itself will take place in southeast Spain but the concepts applied and skills used are transferable to other situations and localities. The module is delivered in the form of weekely seminars. During the field course several days will be spent providing students with the appropriate geological and geomorphological background to the area. This will be followed by assessed, student-led research projects and explanation. Finally the student will generate a comprehensive suite of palaeogeographic maps and an accompanying five-page report that summarises the geodynamic and geomorphological evolution of southeast Spain.                

More than 800 million people around the world live at risk of being negatively affected by volcanic activity, yet the number of people living near active volcanoes is increasing every year. On the island of Tenerife we explore how the physical and chemical processes of volcanism and geohazards are shaped by geodynamics and geology. You will develop field skills to reconstruct a geological history based on your own observations. We study the deposits from volcanic plumbing systems to lava flow, catastrophic caldera-forming eruptions, volcanic plumes, explosive magma-water interactions and the evidence of volcanic island collapse. This module helps students understand how the economic benefits and beauty of a volcanic landscape are juxtaposed against the threat of evacuation and loss of life, property and infrastructure.

This module will teach students to write and use simple numerical forward models of environmental systems, including geomorphic, geophysical, oceanographic and ecological models. Successful students will develop important transferrable coding and numeracy skills through a series of lectures, seminars and practical work. The module will be assessed through practical work only, with formative feedback throughout to help develop the necessary skills.