Course syllabus - Earth and Atmospheric Sciences - University of ...

Course SyllabusEarth and Atmospheric Sciences 583Advanced Contaminant HydrogeologyFall 2011InstructorDr. Carl A. Mendoza, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences3-063 CCIS, University of Albertaoffice hours: immediately after class; often Wednesday 1130-1220; or, by appointmentTeaching AssistantsChelsea Horton and Craig Thompsonoffice hours : Monday 1130-1320 in 3-051 CCIS; or, by appointmentLectures: Tuesday and Thursday, 0930-1050 (ESB 1-33)Tutorials: Tuesday, 1400-1650 (Tory 2-87)Course ObjectivesI expect that by the end of this course students will be able to:• Describe and explain the physical mechanisms that lead to the transport and attenuation ofsolutes and the flow of oily liquids through porous and fractured media• Determine the significance of various contamination sources leading to groundwatercontamination• Analyse the potential impact of different contamination scenarios• Develop and evaluate some possible remediation alternatives and understand their limitations• Perform a detailed analysis of a particular contamination problemPrerequisitesIntroduction to Hydrogeology (EAS 323) or an equivalent (e.g., CIV E 681) is required. Aworking knowledge of physical hydrogeology, physics, chemistry, mathematics and physicalEarth science will be assumed. Familiarity with spreadsheets and graphing is required.Reference MaterialCopies of the course notes are available in the bookstore (~$20). There is no required text;however, a good reference text is available for purchase at Chapters.ca (~$110) for those studentswho feel that it is desirable to have a text at hand. An introductory hydrogeology textbook wouldbe useful for reviewing physical hydrogeological concepts. Such texts may also provideinformation on the basic principles of contaminant hydrogeology; however, they commonly donot provide all of the detail that this course will cover. An electronic copy of an old EAS 323website is available on eClass. Previous exams are also available on eClass.

Recommended text: Bedient, P.B., H.S. Rifai, and C.J. Newell, 1999. Ground WaterContamination, 2 nd Edition, Prentice Hall Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, 604p.Course OutlineThe expected order in which topics will be discussed is:1. Introduction (review of physical hydrogeology; conceptual models)2. Site Investigations, Sampling and Monitoring3. Physical Mass Transport in Saturated Porous Media4. Reactive Mass Transport in Saturated Porous Media5. Multiphase Flow in Saturated Porous Media6. Flow and Transport in Unsaturated and Fractured Media7. Remediation and Control TechniquesProblem AssignmentsThere will be eight problem assignments; assignment 8 will be worth twice as much as the others.If an assignment is not finished, all completed work should be submitted when it is due, normallyin the lab session (i.e., 1400 on Tuesday). Additional work (one set only) will be accepted late,subject to a 30% penalty, until 1700 the following day. Assignments will not be accepted formarks after this time. The TAs are not expected to assist with overdue assignments.Late (or early) assignments should be submitted to the appropriate slot in the hallway near Tory3-36. Assignments should not be submitted to either the instructor or a TA outside of the tutorialsession. Exceptions to the late policy will only be made for extenuating circumstances ifarrangements are made with the instructor, beforehand.Tutorial sessions are designed to illustrate physical principles and calculations, to assist studentsin completing problem assignments and to review previous assignments or lecture material. Thefirst tutorial sessions will be during the week of September 19. There will be no tutorial the weekof October 24.Assignment ExpectationsAs students start a graduate degree program, I expect that they should hand in neat and coherentwork that befits an advanced degree. A title page with your name, assignment number and title isrequired. Assignments should be submitted on paper of a reasonable quality, with writing ononly one side of the page. If pencil is used, ensure that it is dark enough to be legible. Questionnumbers must be clearly labelled and in the proper order (including figures and tables, ifappropriate). Assignment sheets should be stapled together (i.e., they should not be submitted induo-tangs, folders, binders, etc). Clearly indicate (e.g., by underlining, circling or highlighting)answers to numerical questions. Label graphs and tables appropriately. Up to 10% of the markfor each assignment may be deducted for poor style or organization, or consistent neglect ofrudimentary principles (e.g., gross significant figure errors).Cooperative discussion of assignments is encouraged; however, each submitted assignment mustbe an original creation. Plagiarism and/or copying of (old or new) assignments will not betolerated and will lead to disciplinary action.

PaperThe primary difference between EAS 425 and 583 is that a term paper is required for EAS 583.The term paper may be a detailed literature review, execution and documentation of an originallaboratory or field experiment, a field site assessment or interpretation, etc. Deadlines:(1) Topics must be approved by the instructor by the end of September.(2) A detailed outline and list of primary resources must be submitted by the end of October.(3) Completed papers must be submitted by the last day of classes (early December).GradingEvaluation will be expressed in raw marks throughout the course. Grades will be assigned onlyto the final distribution of total marks for the course. Such assignments will be made at thediscretion of the instructor and will be based on a combination of absolute achievement andrelative performance in this class and relative to previous classes.The following weighting will be used for assigning grades from raw scores:• assignments 35%• midterm exam (80 min) 15%• final exam (3 hr) 30%• term paper 20%All assignments must be completed to obtain full credit for the course; however, underextenuating circumstances, and prior arrangement, the instructor may excuse the completion ofone assignment. Auditors, if permitted, must satisfactorily complete all assignments.Examinations will be cumulative. Students who are excused (e.g., due to illness) from themidterm exam will have the entire weight for the midterm added to the weight for the final.Other students who do not write the midterm exam will be assigned a mark of zero.The midterm exam will be held in class on Tuesday, October 25. Subject to modification orcorrection by the Registrar’s Office, the three-hour final examination will be held at 0900Wednesday, December 14. Deferred final exams, if approved by the Faculty of Science, will beheld at 0900 Thursday, February 23, 2012. These dates cannot be changed.eClasseClass will be used to enhance communication between the instructor, TAs and students. eClasswill primarily be used for posting marks, conferencing (including corrections and clarificationsto assignments), and course e-mail. Assignments will also be available.“Policy about course outlines can be found in Section 23.4(2) of the University Calendar.”“The University of Alberta is committed to the highest standards of academic integrity and honesty. Students areexpected to be familiar with these standards regarding academic honesty and to uphold the policies of the University inthis respect. Students are particularly urged to familiarize themselves with the provisions of the Code of StudentBehaviour (online at www.ualberta.ca/secretariat/appeals.htm) and avoid any behaviour which could potentially resultin suspicions of cheating, plagiarism, misrepresentation of facts and/or participation in an offence. Academicdishonesty is a serious offence and can result in suspension or expulsion from the University.”Last revision: 7 September 2011

Earth and Atmospheric Sciences 583Advanced Contaminant HydrogeologyTerm Paper GuidelinesA term paper is required for EAS 583. The primary requirement is that the term paperaddresses some issue relevant to transport in porous or fractured media. The term papermay be a detailed literature review, execution and documentation of an originallaboratory or field experiment, a field site assessment or interpretation, etc.Note the following deadlines:(1) Topics must be approved by the instructor by the end of September.(2) A detailed outline and list of primary resources must be submitted by the end ofOctober.(3) Completed papers must be submitted by the last day of classes (early December).Reports must be word processed, using a 12 pt Times New Roman font, with 1.5 linespacing and 1” margins. (This text is 12 pt Times New Roman.) They should be printedone side and stapled in the upper left corner. Please do not use folders, duo-tangs orbindings of any kind.All references to the literature or the internet should be fully cited, in any consistentformat that you choose. Similarly, all figures from the literature or the internet mist befully referenced. For a literature review a couple dozen references might be appropriate.I expect that many papers will be about 25 to 45 pages, including figures, tables andreferences; however, there is no firm requirement. Papers should be of sufficient lengthto adequately explore your chosen topic. Very brief reports might indicate either asuperficial treatment or a topic that is too narrow; very long reports might indicate a topicthat is too broad.Papers should have an Abstract, Introduction, Body (e.g., Methods and Results, orSummary of Literature), Discussion, Conclusions and References. Figures and tablesshould be sequentially referenced in the text. They may be embedded in the text orplaced at the end of the document.Last revision: 7 September 2011

EAS 583 - Term Paper EvaluationVery PoorPoorFairSatisfactoryGoodExcellent0 1 2 3 4 5Technical ContentDepth and Focus 3Incorporation of Course Material 1Applicability to transport of contaminants 1Relevance of figures and diagrams 1EnglishOrganization 1Sentence structure and grammar 1ReferencesCitations and references to literature 1Figures and diagrams 1Total 10WeightMark50