Courses & Units

Environmental Geology KEA348

Involves 3 days of excursions. Students are expected to contribute toward excursion accommodation costs

Introduction

This unit has a strong focus on sustainability, social license, and environmental management related to natural resources; addressing themes such as i) the environmental impacts of mining and associated management challenges; ii) the mineralogical controls on the mobility of metal(loid)s in mine waste and environmental systems (i.e. lakes, wetlands, soils); iii) geophysical characterisation of inorganic and organic contaminants in groundwater; and iv) explores techniques for minimizing environmental impacts throughout the mining life cycle, from early ore characterisation through to mineral processing and waste management.

Summary

Unit name Environmental Geology
Unit code KEA348
Credit points 12.5
College/School College of Sciences and Engineering
School of Natural Sciences
Discipline Earth Sciences
Coordinator Doctor Matthew Cracknell
Available as an elective? Yes
Delivered By University of Tasmania
Level Advanced

Availability

Location Study period Attendance options Available to
Hobart Semester 2 On-Campus International Domestic

Key

On-campus
Off-Campus
International students
Domestic students
Note

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Key Dates

Study Period Start date Census date WW date End date
Semester 2 22/7/2024 16/8/2024 9/9/2024 27/10/2024

* The Final WW Date is the final date from which you can withdraw from the unit without academic penalty, however you will still incur a financial liability (refer to How do I withdraw from a unit? for more information).

Unit census dates currently displaying for 2024 are indicative and subject to change. Finalised census dates for 2024 will be available from the 1st October 2023. Note census date cutoff is 11.59pm AEST (AEDT during October to March).

About Census Dates

Learning Outcomes

  • Explain the principles, processes and products of rock-water interactions in the near-surface environment.
  • Discuss and compare sustainable mining and resource development principles to formulate strategies which improve environmental, social, and governance outcomes.
  • Collect, analyse, and interpret environmental data using a variety of geological, geochemical, and geophysical techniques.
  • Assess, evaluate, and communicate risk about environmental and human health to diverse stakeholders.

Fee Information

The 2024 Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP) rates are still being finalised by the Government and we will update the domestic fee information as soon as we have more details.

Requisites

Prerequisites

KEA208 AND KEA209

Teaching

Teaching Pattern

2x1-hr lectures (13 wks), 3-hr practical weekly (13 wks), tutorials (1x1-hr; 13 wks), 3 days field work.

AssessmentProfessional Safety Standards|Safe Handling of Chemicals|Lecture quizzes (10%)|Field Excursion Report (25%)|Practicals (25%)|Final Exam (40%)
TimetableView the lecture timetable | View the full unit timetable

Textbooks

Required

No textbooks are required. Hard copies of key papers will be given out in lectures if necessary and uploaded to MyLO.

 
Recommended

These materials will be useful to your developing knowledge and understanding of the content in this unit, but you are not required to purchase them. When seeking sources of evidence to support your assignment work, you will find these a useful starting point.

    • Merkel, B.J., and Planer-Friedrich, B. (2008). Groundwater Geochemistry. A Practical Guide to Modeling of Natural and Contaminated Aquatic Systems
    •  
    • Lottermoser B.G. (2010) Mine Wastes Characterization, Treatment and Environmental Impacts (3rd ed.), Springer-Verlag.
    •  
    • Price M. (1996) Introducing Groundwater, Chapman and Hall. 
    •  
    • Milsom J.( 2003) Field Geophysics (3rd ed.), John Wiley & Sons.
    •  
    • Fetter C.W. (2014) Applied hydrogeology (4th ed.) Pearson Education Ltd.

Students wishing to go beyond this list should consult journals including Minerals Engineering, Journal of Hazardous Materials, Applied Geochemistry, Chemical Geology, Science of the Total Environment, and the Journal of Geochemical Exploration. All can be accessed via www.sciencedirect.com

LinksBooktopia textbook finder

The University reserves the right to amend or remove courses and unit availabilities, as appropriate.