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Unit of study_
ENVI5708: Introduction to Environmental Chemistry
2025 unit information
The aim of the course is to introduce students to the major physical and chemical processes that control the concentration and dispersion of chemical pollutants in natural and impacted environments. The course will demonstrate how to use contaminant data effectively and how to judge the quality of chemical data. This knowledge will be used to design and to assess environmental projects, and to judge the magnitude of impact by human activity on environments and the risk posed by contaminants to ecosystem functioning. The course aims to provide present and future managers employed in environmental professions with the skills to use data with confidence and to make management decisions knowing the risks inherent in variable data quality. A field trip will be undertaken early in the semester.
Unit details and rules
Managing faculty or University school:
Science
| Study level | Postgraduate |
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| Academic unit | Life and Environmental Sciences Academic Operations |
| Credit points | 6 |
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Prerequisites:
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None |
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Corequisites:
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None |
| Prohibitions:
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None |
| Assumed knowledge:
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None |
At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:
- LO1. describe the major processes controlling the concentration and distribution of chemical pollutants in natural and managed environments
- LO2. describe techniques for evaluating and interpreting chemical data in environmental assessment and monitoring programs and for determining pre-anthropogenic, or background concentrations
- LO3. provide techniques for evaluating functioning of estuarine and terrestrial ecosystems
- LO4. identify and evaluate relevant environmental information from written and spoken presentations
- LO5. design sampling strategies to assess the risk of specific sites to human and environmental health
- LO6. carry out sampling and analyses of air, water and soil samples
- LO7. communicate assessment and monitoring results of chemical pollutants in the environment to a range of audiences.
Unit availability
This section lists the session, attendance modes and locations the unit is available in. There is a unit outline for each of the unit availabilities, which gives you information about the unit including assessment details and a schedule of weekly activities.
The outline is published 2 weeks before the first day of teaching. You can look at previous outlines for a guide to the details of a unit.
| Session | MoA ? | Location | Outline ? |
|---|---|---|---|
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Semester 1 2025
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Normal day | Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney |
Outline unavailable
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Modes of attendance (MoA)
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