Year
2019
Units
4.5
Contact
1 x 1-hour lecture per semester
1 x 2-hour tutorial weekly
2 x 3-hour laboratories per semester
4 x 2-hour computer labs per semester
1 x 1-hour on-line lecture weekly
1 x 1-hour on-line tutorial weekly

External option
4 x 6-hour on-line assignments per semester
4 x 6-hour Computer labs per semester
1 x 15-hours Project work/report per semester
Prerequisites
1 Admission into GCGH-Graduate Certificate in Science (Groundwater Hydrology)
1a Admission into GDPGH-Graduate Diploma in Science (Groundwater Hydrology)
1b Admission into MSCGH-Master of Science (Groundwater Hydrology)
1c Admission into GCEMG-Graduate Certificate in Environmental Management
1d Admission into GDPEMG-Graduate Diploma in Environmental Management
1e Admission into MEMG-Master of Environmental Management
1f Admission into GDPSCWRM-Graduate Diploma in Science (Water Resources Management)
1g Admission into GCSCWRM-Graduate Certificate in Science (Water Resources Management)
1h Admission into MSCWRM-Master of Science (Water Resources Management)
Must Satisfy: ((1 or 1a or 1b or 1c or 1d or 1e or 1f or 1g or 1h))
Enrolment not permitted
1 of EASC3751, WARM8751 has been successfully completed
Assumed knowledge
Assumed knowledge of basic chemistry.
Course context
External students will need a good quality internet connection and computer access, and may require a computer with a camera and/or microphone headset for FLO Live or SKYPE interaction with the topic coordinator.
Topic description
This topic covers those aspects of water chemistry relevant for an understanding of pollution, water quality and hydrogeochemistry, and includes the physical and chemical properties of natural waters and their classification, expressing concentrations and activity of dissolved chemical species, speciation, dissolution and precipitation, chemical interactions between water, sediments and soils, environmental tracers, nutrient cycles, and solute transport processes.
Educational aims
This topic provides an appreciation of the nature and role of water chemistry in hydrological systems and develops skills in understanding and interpreting water composition in relation to hydrological and hydrochemical processes.
Expected learning outcomes
At the completion of the topic, students are expected to be able to:

  1. Discuss weathering as a transfer of geochemical constituents between surface and groundwaters and the biosphere
  2. Outline the principles of aqueous geochemistry
  3. Outline the major types of water pollutants
  4. Explain applications and techniques of geochemical tracers in surface water and groundwater
  5. Make simple approximations of the transport and fate of aqueous solutes and contaminants
  6. Discuss the relationship between management practices and water quality
  7. Complete basic applications of chemical speciation modelling software