Paper, Order, or Assignment Requirements

Fieldwork and laboratory report (term one activities; 1750 words maximum) – 60% [led and assessed
During the term one activities week (w/c 9 November 2015) you will complete field sampling of an environmental site and subsequently will prepare samples in the laboratory for the determination of metal concentrations in water, sediments and plant tissue samples from ponds and reservoirs, in order to assess the level of environmental risk related to environmental pollution. You will be trained and guided in this field sampling and laboratory work by academic staff, the intention being that you can then independently (albeit still under supervision) complete a similar assessed field and laboratory exercise during the term two activities week and subsequent weeks in the laboratory. Field and laboratory work will be undertaken as a class activity, with synthesis, analysis (results will be collated and analysed using MS-Excel and SPSS), interpretation and discussion of the entire dataset subsequently completed individually. Your report should draw on other aspects of the Environmental Risk Management unit content, e.g. via inclusion of statistical analyses.

The report should consider and include the following:
•  Report layout and presentation.
•  Introduction.
•  Summary of field and laboratory methods.
•  Data synthesis, analysis, interpretation and discussion, including  evidence of integration with published reports and scientific journal articles.
•  Use of supporting figures and tables.
•  Conclusions.