Grand Geoenvironmental Challenges - 2025 entry

Grand Geoenvironmental Challenges: will provide you with a physical, chemical and geological understanding of the grand geoenvironmental challenges humankind currently faces, including: climate change, natural hazard, sustainable development, critical need of food/water/mineral, and pollution. A series of introductory lectures will provide you with a mechanistic overview of the occurrence and history of such challenges, along with regard to how they can be overcome/mitigated in the future. You will then produce a verbal presentation and a scientific review paper on a topic of your choice. This module is accessible to any student with a broad Earth sciences background, including those from the Camborne School of Mines and the Centre for Geography and Environmental Science.

The first aim of this module is to develop a holistic and critical understanding of the key geoenvironmental challenges which currently face Humankind. The module brings together subject areas which have been taught in the first and second year of Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences degree programmes, and provides a context for their application: to solve globally relevant challenges within the geosciences. The second aim of this module is to significantly enhance your communication skills, both written and oral, which will be some of the most valued skills after you complete your degree and enter the professional world.

On successful completion of this module, you should be able to:

Module Specific Skills and Knowledge:

1. Describe and evaluate the key systems and processes whereby humankind is currently adversely affecting the health and functioning of the environment.

2. Describe and evaluate the key systems and processes whereby geohazards can affect the health and functioning of the environment.

Discipline Specific Skills and Knowledge:

3. Collect, synthesize, and critically evaluate scientific observations in an interdisciplinary framework and across local to global scales.

4. Gain an appreciation of how systems and cycles within the geosciences affect each other;

Personal and Key Transferable / Employment Skills and Knowledge:

5. Apply self- and time-management skills;

6. Present results verbally with clarity;

7. Critically analyse and interpret academic literature

8. Write technical reports using the proper format, background literature, and referencing.

Introductory lectures:

1. A series of introductory lectures will provide you with a mechanistic overview of the occurrence and history of key global geoenvironmental challenges, along with the state-of-the-art with regard to how they can be overcome/mitigated;

Verbal presentation:

2. Students will each give a verbal presentation on a topic of their choice;

Scientific literature review:

3. Students will each produce a literature review on a topic of their choice. 

Online resources:

UN sustainable development goals: https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/

Contemporary cross-disciplinary academic journal publications (e.g. https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article/70/1/8/5610806)

Reading list for this module: