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GSE805 Air and Water Quality

• About this Unit
• Teaching Staff
• Classes
• Unit web page
• Learning Outcomes
• Teaching and Learning Strategy
• Relationship between Assessment and Learning Outcomes
• Required and Recommended Texts/Materials
• Plagiarism
• University Policy on Grading
• Student Support Services
• Advice for Students with Disabilities/Health Conditions

About this Unit

Semester 2, 2008
Offered: E2 - Evening; Second Half-Year. (Unit is offered in alternate years)
Convenor: Dr Vladimir Strezov
Prerequisite: GSE803 OR Permission of Head of Department (Permission will be granted if the student has a science based degree)
Credit Points: 4

GSE805 focuses on the chemical and physical aspects of air and water pollution. The aims of the course are to show how a number of major chemical pollutants are released into the environment, how they react, move and impact on the environment and human health. The presentation is set in a context of the management of air and water quality. The unit includes treatment of problems in air pollution, global atmospheric change, water pollution and the water resources of Australia.

GSE 805 is a complementary unit to GSE 829, Pollution Control and Waste Management (run in alternate years/sessions). The relationship of the two units is generally as follows:

GSE805

• the movement, transformation and impact of pollutants and wastes after they are released to the environment beyond the premises boundary
• Relates to the environmental impact assessment processmainly the responsibility of the regulator

GSE829

• the prevention and reduction of pollutant discharges and the minimisation and treatment of wastes generated within the premises boundary
• Relates to the environment protection licensing processmainly the responsibility of the industry

Unit Objectives

• Appreciation of the complexity of air and water quality management and the approaches in particular of physical scientists to these environmental areas
• Understanding modelling approaches for water and air quality assessments
• Assessing physical impacts of air and water pollutants
• Comprehensively reviewing an expert air or water quality reports

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Teaching Staff

Convenor: Dr Vladimir Strezov

Lecturer: Mr John Court

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Classes

Contact hours: 3 per week

The timetable for classes can be found on the University web site at http://www.timetables.mq.edu.au/

Tutorials

Some tutorial sessions will be provided as required through the semester. These will generally be of one hour duration from 5pm to 6pm on Tuesdays preceding the lectures. The purpose of the tutorials is to assist participants who find the concepts and terminology challenging, possibly through unfamiliarity with the scientific and technical concepts/terminology involved.

Attendance is entirely optional and there is no credit or penalty for attendance or non-attendance. Tutorials are offered purely as an aid to participants and, depending on background, some participants will find their time is better spent in private study. A similar arrangement is followed in the complementary unit GSE 829.

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Unit web page

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Learning Outcomes

The course presents an overview of air and water quality management and the underlying science. On completion participants should be able to:

• understand the language and basic principles of air and water quality science;
• interpret raw data in environmentally significant terms and do simple calculations;
• appreciate the uncertainty attaching to air and water data and specialist outputs such as air and water quality models;
• define the content and scope of specific problems in the context of regional and national air and water quality issues;
• define air and water quality management problems in scientific terms;
• locate sources of air and water quality information;
• write clear and cogent reports, assessing air and water quality matters for management and public audiences.

This will enable you, for example, to brief a local government council or board of directors on the significance of some expert air or water quality report, or to call quotations and assess tenders for an air or water quality/pollution expert to undertake some specific assignment.

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Teaching and Learning Strategy

Schedule of Lectures

Week	Topics	Lecturer
1	Introduction to unit Water and its role in environment Water chemistry: acid/base reactions	Court/Strezov Court
2	Water chemistry: oxidation/reduction reactions, BOD Water resource management: rivers, lakes, dams, oceans Water microbiology: pollution ecology, microbiology	Court
3	Acidity and Salinity: rivers & soils Salinity Water quality management: conceptual & regulatory	Court
4	Oil and grease Water quality management: modelling & monitoring	Court
5	Atmospheric pollution Effects & management	Strezov
6	Air pollution and meteorology Combustion	Strezov
7	Air pollutant dispersion Air toxics	Strezov
MID SEMESTER BREAK
8	Photochemical smog Particulates I	Strezov
9	Particulates II Acid deposition and NOx Assignment 1 due	Strezov
10	Groundwater Toxic pollutants Sources of water pollution	Court
11	Catchment management & urban runoff Sustainability in water management	Court
12	Greenhouse gas emissions Debate: Environmental quality in a hydrogen economy	Strezov
13	Odour Tutorial for examination	Court Court/Strezov
14	Examination

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Relationship between Assessment and Learning Outcomes

There are three components to the assessment. All are compulsory. The marks for each assignment task and the latest due dates are:

Assessment	Marks	Due
Assignment 1: Critical literature review	30%	Tuesday 14 October 2008
Tutorial exercises: 4 water + 4 air	32%	Weekly
Examination	38%	Tuesday 25 November 2008

Assignment Submission

The presentation of the assignments should follow the School style as set out in the current Guide for Preparing Written Work. The tutorial exercises can be legibly handwritten.

Failure to complete any of the set work could result in failure in the course. Proper acknowledgment of work which is not your own should be included in any written work. Plagiarism can lead to failure in a unit or exclusion from a unit. Assignments must be submitted through the assignment box with the School cover sheet signed by the student. However, weekly exercises are to be submitted directly in class (identified by student name - no cover sheet required).

Late work will be penalised against a nominated scale.

Assignment 1: Critical literature review

Marks: 30% of total

An assignment of 2,500 words in the form of a critical review on one of a range of set subjects. Thorough search and assessment of relevant scientific and professional literature will be necessary. This is an exercise in assessing and evaluating scientific materials within an environmental management perspective. Assignment details and guidance to be provided in week 3.

Submission of Assignment 1

Assignment 1 will be submitted through the university's anti-plagiarism detection software, tutnitin (see http://www.copyright.mq.edu.au/plag.html for details). Further details will be given in week 1, but in brief:

Your assessment task will be automatically compared to work of your classmates, previous students from Macquarie and other universities, with material available on the Internet, both freely available and subscription-based electronic journals.

The results of the analysis will be sent only to your lecturer, who will analyse the results in reference to the University's standard Policy on Plagiarism (http://www.student.mq.edu.au/plagiarism/)

Tutorial exercises

Eight (8) tutorial exercises will be distributed approximately weekly from the second week, based on the lectures. Participants must complete all 8. It is important that they be completed promptly following the lectures to reinforce the learning process.

Marks: 4 marks each exercise; 32 marks total. ie. 32% of the total unit mark.

Due: Weekly, with a one-week lag. ie. Exercise 1 (Week 2) due on Week 4. There will be some weeks with no exercises set.

Late exercises: Late penalties - 1 mark for each week late. No exercise will be accepted two weeks after its due date.

Tutorial exercises are to be submitted weekly in class and will be returned in class.

Examination

Marks: 38% of total

The examination will be conducted under 'open-book' conditions by the GSE at the normal weekly class time two weeks after the conclusion of lectures. Some features of the exam will be

• A mixture of essay- and computational-type questions;
• Choice;
• Coverage of most of the unit topics;
• Aids such as text books, lecture notes, calculators permitted (but not portable computers);
• Sample questions will be distributed towards the end of the unit timetable.

Attendance and class participation

A minimum 80% attendance at lectures is required to pass. Class attendance and general participation will be taken into account in deciding 'borderline' assessments.

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Required and Recommended Texts/Materials

There is no set text for this unit. The following lists some useful references.

General chemical and physical processes in the environment

A. Specialist texts (earlier editions are adequate for our purposes in GSE 805)

B. State of Environment report

NSWEPA State of the Environment Reports 1995, 1997 & 2001 NSWEPA are a key resource which summarise many of the important issues which will be treated in this course, and also contains a comprehensive bibliography in many of the areas.

C. Books of more genereal interest

An Australian book which shows how chemistry is involved in modern society is:

Students who consider their background in chemistry to be weak may wish to consult basic chemistry texts, which emphasise environmental matters. Examples of these may be found in the Library in the QD31 area. Two text books that are currently used as first year texts are:

D. Environmental journals

Information on pollution, as in other environmental fields is changing rapidly as research progresses. Statements made even in very recent books may not fully reflect present thinking and where possible should be compared with those in current journals several selections of which are listed below.

Also use of the Science Direct, Cambridge Abstracts and Proquest data bases for subscribed journals is a valuable source of references.

Journals of more general interest include:

Useful article also often appear in journals such as:

Related to the water environment

A. Books and Monographs

Connell DW 1993 Water Pollution: Causes and Effects in Australia and New Zealand 3rd ed. Uni Qld Press, Brisbane (out of print, but copy in library, only Australian text specifically on water quality!)

Laws E.A 1993 Aquatic Pollution: An Introductory Text 2nd edition John Wiley.

Pigram J. J 1986 Issues in the Management of Australia's Water Resources Longman, Melbourne.

Smith DI 1998 Water in Australia: resources and management Oxford, Melbourne.

Stensel D, Tchobanoglous G & Burton FL 2002 Wastewater Engineering: Treatment and Reuse / Metcalf & Eddy McGraw Hill, New York.

Williams W.D. (ed.) An Ecological Basis for Water Resource Management.

American Public Health Association 1995 Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater (19 ed.) APHA, AWWA, WPCF, Washington.

Australian and New Zealand Environment and Conservation Council 1992 Australian Water Quality Guidelines for Fresh and Marine Waters ANZECC, Canberra.

Australian and New Zealand Environment and Conservation Council 2000

Australian Water Quality Guidelines for Fresh and Marine Waters ANZECC, Canberra.

B. Some water related journals

C. Professional and specialist associations

D. Government and institutions

The following institutions can be sources of much information. Most have extensive libraries, which can be accessed during working hours if an appointment is made. One option is to borrow on inter-library loan, either through the University Library, or, probably better, through your work library if possible.

Related to the air environment

A. Books

There is no prescribed textbook. Books which may be useful in addition to those listed above include:

B. Some air related journals

C. Professional associations

D. Government and institutions

In addition, Australian information can be obtained from the annual reports of the various Government and statutory bodies:

Some useful Internet addresses

National

Environment Protection and Heritage Council (formerly the National Environment Protection Council)
http://www.ephc.gov.au/

Commonwealth

Dept of the Environment – Ministerial Councils
http://www.environment.gov.au/corporate/min_councils.html

Environment Australia http://www.erin.gov.au/

Natural Heritage Trust http://www.nht.gov.au/

CSIRO http://www.csiro.au/

Academy of Technological Sciences http://www.atse.org.au/

State

DEC (EPA) (NSW) http://www.dec.nsw.gov.au/

Dept Infrastrucure Planning & Natural Resources (NSW) http://www.dipnr.nsw.gov.au/

EPA (Vic) http://www.epa.vic.gov.au/

Dept of Environment and Heritage (Qld) http://www.env.qld.gov.au/

Dept of Environment (Tas) http://www.delm.tas.gov.au/

EPA (SA) http://www.epa.sa.gov.au/

Environment Department (WA) http://www.environ.wa.gov.au/

International

OECD - Environment http://www.oecdwash.org

World Bank http://www.worldbank.org/

US Environment Protection Agency http://www.epa.gov/

Earth Network for Sustainable Development http://www.ecouncil.ac.cr/

Published Information Sources

Australian Legislation http://www.austlii.edu.au/

ABC Radio National http://www.abc.net.au/

DA Books http://bookshop.blackwell.co.uk/

Blackwells Online Bookshop (Oxford) http://bookshop.blackwell.co.uk/

Barnes and Noble Bookshop (New York) http://www.barnesandnoble.com/

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Plagiarism

The University defines plagiarism in its rules: "Plagiarism involves using the work of another person and presenting it as one's own." Plagiarism is a serious breach of the University's rules and carries significant penalties. You must read the University's practices and procedures on plagiarism. These can be found in the Handbook of Postgraduate Studies or on the web at: http://www.student.mq.edu.au/plagiarism/

The policies and procedures explain what plagiarism is, how to avoid it, the procedures that will be taken in cases of suspected plagiarism, and the penalties if you are found guilty. Penalties may include a deduction of marks, failure in the unit, and/or referral to the University Discipline Committee.

The GSE recommends that students familiarise themselves with the information contained on the Georgetown University Honor Council website which discusses plagiarism in an easy to understand and comprehensive manner.

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University Policy on Grading

Academic Senate has a set of guidelines on the distribution of grades across the range from fail to high distinction. Your final result will include one of these grades plus a standardised numerical grade (SNG).

On occasion your raw mark for a unit (i.e., the total of your marks for each assessment item) may not be the same as the SNG which you receive. Under the Senate guidelines, results may be scaled to ensure that there is a degree of comparability across the university, so that units with the same past performances of their students should achieve similar results.

It is important that you realise that the policy does not require that a minimum number of students are to be failed in any unit. In fact it does something like the opposite, in requiring examiners to explain their actions if more than 20% of students fail in a unit.

The process of scaling does not change the order of marks among students. A student who receives a higher raw mark than another will also receive a higher final scaled mark.

For an explanation of the policy see:
http://senate.mq.edu.au/rules/Guidelines2003.doc or
http://senate.mq.edu.au/rules/detailedguidelines.doc

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Student Support Services

Macquarie University provides a range of Academic Student Support Services. Details of these services can be accessed at http://www.student.mq.edu.au.

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Advice for Students with Disabilities/Health Conditions

The Equity Support Unit (ESU) provides support and assistance to students with a disability/health condition in aiming to ensure that they do not experience disadvantage in reaching their academic potential. Service provision is determined on a case-by-case basis following an assessment of a student's needs and the provision of supporting documentation. Service provision is also dependent on the availability of resources.

To register with ESU, download an Advice of Disability/Health Condition form from http://www.reg.mq.edu.au/academic-index.html. This form must be completed annually, irrespective of whether a disability/health condition is temporary, long-term or permanent. Students wishing to request support services from the ESU should make an appointment to see a Disability Advisor immediately after enrolling at Macquarie University.

Phone: (02) 9850 6494/7497
Fax: (02) 9850 6063
TTY: (02) 9850 6493
Email: equity@mq.edu.au
In person: Level 2, Lincoln Building (C8A), Macquarie University
Website: http://www.sss.mq.edu.au/equity

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