ESCI 460 (formerly ESCI 497F) - Contaminant Movement in the Environment
Course Description:
Physical, chemical, and biological processes that govern movement of contaminants in the environment and ultimate fate of these contaminants. Aspects of these processes that will be investigated include concentration, persistence, reactivity and partitioning among environmental media (air, water, soil, sediment and biota). These processes will be used as a basis of simple mathematical expressions used to determine contaminant behavior in the environment. Environmental risks to biological receptors will also be investigated.
Prerequisites:
Huxley ESCI prereqs completed;
ESCI 361A; CHEM 251 or equivalent recommended; or instr perm.
What is this class really?
This course is designed as an advanced Fate and Transport course. Quantitative problem solving skills are developed and refined. By the end of the class, you should be able to calculate the concentration of a chemical in the many different environmental phases. For example, if you know how much of a contaminant is spilled into a lake, you will learn (with basic models) how to calculate how much of that contaminant leaves the lake via volatilization, flow out, sedimentation. The environmental compartments emphasized are lakes, rivers/streams, and groundwater. You should be comfortable with Math- we use calculators extensively in this class.
Last Updated December 10, 2007