James Cook University Subject Handbook - 2000

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CS2002:03

Environmental Engineering 1

Townsville

Prerequisites: MA1002

Second semester.
Introduction to Environmental Engineering
15 lectures, 5 tutorials, 10 hours field or practical work.
Hydrology
24 lectures, 10 tutorials, 14 hours field or practical work.

Available to engineering and engineering technology students.

Introduction to Environmental Engineering

An overview of the natural systems of the sun, the earth, the oceans and other water bodies and the atmosphere, the influence of human activities on these systems and the role of engineering in providing solutions. Particular topics will include: the radiation environment, solar and terrestrial radiation, radiation balance, global circulation of the atmosphere and the oceans, weather and climate; global warming and el Nino; heat, mass and momentum exchanges at the surface of the oceans and lakes; simple ocean mixing models. Engineering solutions, the role of models and scaling analysis.

Practical and field sessions: measurements of temperature and salinity profiles, calculations of stability, measurement of atmospheric data, calculation of surface fluxes.

Hydrology

Introduction to the hydrological cycle; precipitation, evaporation and transpiration; infiltration and runoff; hydrographs and the unit hydrograph; groundwater hydrology; stormwater management.

Practical and field sessions: flow measurement; use of models, software applications; observations of flow gauging sites and reservoir operations.

Learning Objectives:

  1. to introduce the elements of the natural environment and the influence of human activity on those elements;
  2. to provide an insight into the ways in which engineering solutions may be found for the problems introduced by human activity;
  3. to provide the fundamentals of overland flow and groundwater hydrology.

Assessment by examination (50%-70%); on-course assessment (30%-50%).


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