Physical Geography and Environmental Science Field & Laboratory Module Study Guide

Module Overview, Aims, and Schedule

  • Core Module Objectives:

    • Integrate field techniques, laboratory analytical methods, and computer-based spatial modeling in physical geography and environmental science.
    • Provide hands-on training with advanced laboratory equipment across six practical sessions, establishing the methodology required for independent laboratory dissertation research or field sample analysis.
    • Connect theoretical concepts directly to previous field trips (e.g., Year 1 York field trip) and prepare students for advanced Year 2 fieldwork in Tenerife.

  • Term 1 Module Schedule:

    • Week 1: Introductory lecture covering structure, assessment, and fieldwork logistics.
    • Week 2: Background lecture on soil carbon sequestration and carbon analytical methods, providing context for soil and peat samples collected in York.
    • Week 3: Mandatory two-hour student-led Question and Answer session featuring two returning students from the previous year's field trip to address student logistics and expectations.
    • Week 4 onwards: Execution of six core laboratory practicals covering environmental trace metals, soil carbon, water quality, air quality sensors, microplastics, and remote sensing.
    • Final Week of Term 1: A one-hour logistical briefing detailing travel arrangements and ticket distribution.

  • Term 2 Module Schedule:

    • Dedicated computer practical sessions in Weeks 1, 3, and 5 to support field trip data analysis.
    • Students choose one specialized computer module out of three available options:
    • Water resources and agricultural systems.
    • Tenerife land use and remote sensing analysis.
    • Island biodiversity and ecological analysis.

Practical Laboratory Framework and Portfolio Assessment

  • Coursework Assessment Structure:

    • The overall module grade is split equally into two coursework assignments, each weighted at 50%50\% of the final mark.

  • Coursework 1: Portfolio (50%50\% Total Mark):

    • Format & Word Count: A 1,500-word1\text{,}500\text{-word} report compiled from independent practical write-ups, due in January 2027 (Week 1 of Semester 2).
    • Composition: Contains eight discrete questions/sections, with each section weighted at 12% to 13%12\%\text{ to }13\% of the portfolio mark.
    • Content Breakdown:
    1. Trace Metal Analysis: Chemical analysis of sediment cores using X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) mounted on a stable platform. Students generate publication-quality graphs displaying three elemental parameters through core depth (time) and write a 100-word100\text{-word} summary interpreting pollution dynamics. Selecting uninformative elements like zinc (ZnZn) results in mark deductions, whereas heavy metals like lead (PbPb) reveal historical anthropogenic petrol pollution over the last 100 years100\text{ years}.
    2. Ecosystem Soils & Carbon Sequestration: Quantification of soil organic carbon content using dual analytical techniques. Discrepancies between the two analytical methods are evaluated regarding lab technique vs. instrument calibration.
    3. Water Quality Assessment: Hydrochemical analysis of field water samples collected from regional sites and London.
    4. Air Quality Sensor Design: Calibration and empirical data collection using custom-built air quality sensors, testing environmental variables (e.g., particulate emissions during vehicle travel or thermal plastic exposure).
    5. Microplastic Pollution Analysis: Identification and quantification of microplastic fragments within environmental matrices.
    6. Remote Sensing & Spatial Analysis: Digital mapping and land cover classification analysis.
    7. Laboratory Notebook Maintenance: Systematic recording of laboratory procedures, metadata, calibration curves, and raw sample processing notes (instructed and evaluated by Kate).
    8. Data Presentation & Interpretation: Synthesis of overall empirical findings.

  • Coursework 2: Tenerife Fieldwork Report (50%50\% Total Mark):

    • Format & Word Count: A 1,500-word1\text{,}500\text{-word} formal research paper due around Week 7 of Semester 2.
    • Options (Select One):
    1. Water Resources: Evaluate past, present, and projected future domestic and agricultural water demands in Tenerife using multiple lines of empirical evidence.
    2. Terrace Biodiversity: Evaluate species diversity and ecological succession differences between two abandoned agricultural terraces (comparing long-abandoned vs. recently abandoned sites).
    3. Vegetation Zonation: Describe and explain the current spatial distribution of vegetation across Tenerife using field observations, secondary datasets, photographs, and published literature.

Field Course Logistics, Costs, and Operations

  • Travel Logistics:
    • Flight departing via British Airways from London Gatwick Airport (South Terminal, directly accessible via rail).
    • Arrival time at destination is 04:4504\text{:}45, with local sunset occurring at 18:0018\text{:}00. The return flight departs at 06\text{:}35$.\n * Passport and visa compliance is the sole responsibility of the student; support documentation (hotel confirmations, formal letters) is provided by the administrative office.\n\n* **Financial Coverage & Cancellation Policy**:\n * Departmental coverage includes all internal bus transport, boat charters, medical and travel insurance, and full-board accommodation.\n * Full board includes breakfast, a field packed lunch (e.g., cured Spanish salami, canned tuna), and dinner.\n * The binding withdrawal deadline is October 15. Withdrawals after this date incur non-recoverable financial penalties unless accompanied by an approved Mitigating Circumstances Form (MCF) and medical documentation.\n\n* **Accommodation & Field Conditions**:\n * Triple-occupancy rooms without air conditioning.\n * Ambient nighttime temperatures can exceed 30\,^\circ\text{C}. Opening windows introduces mosquitoes; insect repellent containing DEET is mandatory.\n * Coastal waters adjacent to the accommodation feature heavy wave break and undertows.\n * Commercial nightlife zones (e.g., Playa de las Américas / Verónica) are geographically distinct from the accommodation area.\n\n\n# Geological and Tectonic Framework of Tenerife\n\n* **Canary Islands Hotspot Dynamics**:\n * The Canary Archipelago is formed by an intraplate mantle plume hotspot beneath the African plate.\n * Unlike the Hawaiian hotspot track, the ocean crust beneath the Canary Islands is exceptionally thick, measuring approximately four times the thickness of standard oceanic crust (12\,kmnominalthickness,yieldingnominal thickness, yielding\sim 48\,km total thickness).\n * This extreme crustal thickness slows magma ascent, promotes deep crustal magma chamber ponding, and allows extensive fractional crystallization.\n\n* **Age Progression Across the Archipelago**:\n * Island ages increase systematically from west to east toward the African continent:\n * **Lanzarote**: 22\text{ to }23\times 10^6\,\text{years old}\n * **Gran Canaria**: 14.5\text{ to }15\times 10^6\,\text{years old}\n * **Tenerife**: 12\times 10^6\,\text{years old}\n * **La Gomera**: 11\times 10^6\,\text{years old}\n * **La Palma and El Hierro**: 1\text{ to }1.2\times 10^6\,\text{years old}\n\n* **Mount Teide Stratovolcano Complex**:\n * Mount Teide reaches an absolute elevation of 3\text{,}715\,m above sea level, making it the third tallest volcanic structure on Earth when measured from its submarine oceanic floor base.\n * The high-altitude interior caldera and surrounding topography lie at elevations exceeding 800\,m above sea level.\n\n\n# Climatology, Orographic Effects, and Vegetation Zonation\n\n* **Climatic Controls**:\n * Island temperatures range from 8\,^\circ\text{C}athigh−altitudevolcanicsummitsuptoat high-altitude volcanic summits up to20\,^\circ\text{C} along coastal margins.\n * Climate is governed by the global Hadley Circulation cell, where dry, sub-tropical air subsides around 30\,^\circ\text{N} latitude.\n * Prevailing North-East Trade Winds carry ocean moisture toward the northern flanks of the island.\n\n* **Orographic Precipitation & Rain Shadow**:\n * Moist maritime air driven by trade winds strikes the steep northern slopes of Tenerife, forcing rapid orographic uplift and condensation.\n * This creates extreme microclimatic contrasts: high rainfall and cloud-forest conditions on the northern exposures, compared to an arid rain shadow on the southern flanks receiving as little as 90\,mm of annual rainfall.\n\n* **Altitudinal Vegetation Zones**:\n 1. **Xerophytic Scrub / Infra-Canarian Zone (Coastal to Low Altitude)**:\n * Characterized by extreme aridity (90\,mm\,yr^{-1} rainfall).\n * Dominant succulent flora consists of *Euphorbia* species (e.g., *Euphorbia canariensis*). *Euphorbia* species produce toxic, caustic white latex sap rather than potable water when cut.\n 2. **Thermo-Canarian Dry Forest (Intermediate Low Altitude)**:\n * Historically dominated by the endemic Canary Islands Dragon Tree (*Dracaena draco*).\n * Extensively cleared and fragmented due to historical agricultural expansion; largely restricted to cultivated gardens and isolated cliff faces.\n 3. **Laurel Forest / Monteverde (Cloud Belt, Mid-Altitude North Flanks)**:\n * Sub-tropical, humid evergreen cloud forest adapted to continuous fog condensation and high orographic precipitation.\n 4. **Canary Island Pine Forest / Pinus canariensis (High Altitude Sub-alpine)**:\n * Located above the cloud layer. *Pinus canariensis* exhibits specialized fire adaptation: unlike standard conifers that rely on seed dispersal via heat-opened cones, it features thick insulating bark and epicormic sprouting, regenerating directly from burned trunks and branches within few years post-fire.\n 5. **Supra-Canarian Alpine Scrub (High Volcanic Summit / Caldera)**:\n * Sub-alpine scrub adapted to extreme temperature fluctuations, high ultraviolet exposure, and nutrient-poor volcanic soils.\n\n\n# Land Use Dynamics, Agriculture, and Water Management\n\n* **Historical and Contemporary Socio-Economics**:\n * Tenerife maintains a permanent resident population of just under 1\text{,}000\text{,}000 locals.\n * Annual tourism influxes reach approximately 5.5\times 10^6\text{ to }6\times 10^6visitors(recordedatnearlyvisitors (recorded at nearly6\times 10^6 in 2019).\n * Economic transition from traditional terraced agriculture to coastal service and tourism industries has caused widespread land abandonment in rural upland regions.\n\n* **Agricultural Terrace Abandonment Statistics**:\n * Historical aerial photography and spatial mapping in southern Tenerife reveal major land cover shifts:\n * **1960**: Abandoned fields occupied approximately 33\% (one-third) of total agricultural land.\n * **1992**: Abandoned fields expanded to cover approximately 50\% (one-half) of total agricultural land.\n * **Land Cover Changes (1980s–1990s Data)**:\n * Irrigated crop area increased by 5\%.\n * Urbanized area increased by 10\%.\n * Abandoned agricultural land increased by 10\%.\n * Natural vegetation experienced severe structural loss and fragmentation.\n\n* **Hydrology and Water Extraction Infrastructure**:\n * Steep topography prevents surface reservoir retention, requiring extensive subterranean water extraction:\n * **Galerías**: Horizontal water tunnels bored deep into the volcanic aquifers (represented as network lines on hydrogeological maps).\n * **Pozos**: Vertical water wells sunk into coastal and low-altitude aquifers (represented as point locations).\n * Water usage trends between 1989 and 2000 show marked drops in agricultural supply alongside massive surges in municipal, industrial, and resort-tourism water consumption.\n * A 1995 regional survey identified 57 natural island springs suffering from severe contamination, prompting the implementation of modern desalination and water treatment infrastructure.\n\n\n# Volcanology, Magma Chemistry, and Eruption Styles\n\n* **Magma Classification Spectrum**:\n * **Basaltic**: Low silica (SiO_2) content, low viscosity, low dissolved gas content. Characterized by effusive, non-explosive eruptions (Hawaiian and Strombolian styles) producing dark basaltic rock.\n * **Rhyolitic**: High silica (SiO_2) content, high viscosity, high dissolved gas content. Formed by melting continental crust; produces highly explosive eruptions.\n * **Andesitic**: Intermediate silica composition formed by subduction zone mixing of oceanic basalt and continental rhyolite.\n * **Phonolitic (Tenerife Specific)**:\n * Sits chemically between basalt and andesite.\n * Highly explosive due to long storage times in deep, highly differentiated magma chambers beneath the extra-thick Canary ocean crust.\n\n* **Volcanic Explosivity and Eruption Columns**:\n * **Hawaiian Eruptions**: Eruption column heights \le 2\,km; localized lava flow and spatter deposition.\n * **Strombolian Eruptions**: Low-level continuous gas bursting and minor ash columns.\n * **Sub-Plinian and Plinian Eruptions**:\n * Massive eruption columns extending tens of kilometers into the stratosphere.\n * Column destabilization triggers catastrophic pyroclastic density currents (PDCs) / pyroclastic flows composed of superheated gas, ash, and lapilli.\n * Lithified pyroclastic deposits form extensive ignimbrite sheets across the island surface.\n\n\n# Sector Collapses, Turbidity Currents, and Megatsunamis\n\n* **Massive Volcanic Landslides (Sector Collapses)**:\n * Tenerife's structural evolution is dominated by catastrophic flank collapses where entire sides of the volcano slide into the ocean basin.\n * The last major landslide event, the **Icod Landslide**, occurred approximately 118\text{,}000\text{ years ago}((118\,ka),strippingawayover), stripping away over10\% of the island's subaerial landmass.\n * Collapses are driven by magma intrusion pressure, hydrothermal weakening, and structural instability as the edifice grows beyond critical slope thresholds.\n\n* **Submarine Turbidity Currents**:\n * When subaerial landslides strike the ocean surface, massive volumes of sediment enter the marine environment, generating high-density turbidity currents.\n * The Icod collapse generated turbidity currents that traveled over 1\text{,}000\,kmacrosstheAtlanticoceanfloor,extendingfarnorthintotheAbyssalPlains(documentedacrossacross the Atlantic ocean floor, extending far north into the Abyssal Plains (documented across320\,km mapping scales).\n\n* **Megatsunami Dynamics and Reflection**:\n * Flank collapses displace hundreds of cubic kilometers of seawater instantaneously, generating megatsunamis.\n * Tsunami wave displacement models demonstrate complex wave interaction: primary waves strike adjacent islands (e.g., La Palma) and reflect back onto Tenerife's coastline.\n * Evidence of these events is preserved in high-elevation tsunami marine megablock deposits located along the Tenerife coast.\n\n* **Caldera Structural Evolution**:\n * Explosive Plinian eruptions and massive sector collapses empty underlying magma chambers, causing structural edifice collapse to form vast calderas (e.g., Las Cañadas caldera rim at 1\text{,}200\,m\text{ to }1\text{,}500\,m relative height).\n * Mount Teide (3\text{,}715\,m)representsamodernvolcanicstructurethathasgrowninsidetheLasCan~adascalderaoverthepast) represents a modern volcanic structure that has grown inside the Las Cañadas caldera over the past100\text{,}000\text{ years}$$.
    • Tenerife remains an active volcanic system, with its most recent historical subaerial eruption occurring at the Chinyero vent in 1909.

Field Methodology and Questions & Discussion

  • Rotational Field Group Mechanics:

    • Students operate in two primary field sections (Group 1 and Group 2).
    • Operational itineraries alternate daily to prevent site overcrowding:
    • Day 1: Group 1 executes the Agricultural Land Use mapping trek; Group 2 conducts Hydrological Sampling.
    • Day 2: Groups swap field assignments.
    • Day 3: Combined Marine Ecology Day (chartered vessel cetacean monitoring for whales/dolphins alternating with coastal beach geomorphology).
    • Day 4: Group 1 executes Volcanic Geology & Vegetation Zonation; Group 2 conducts Terrace Biodiversity transects.

  • Questions & Discussion:

    • Question: Is attendance mandatory for all scheduled term sessions, including student-led Q&A panels occurring on personal events (e.g., birthdays)?
    • Answer: Formal attendance is mandatory across all scheduled module sessions, as attendance records are evaluated as part of student progression monitoring. While missing a single hour due to documented illness does not compromise module standing, non-attendance without an approved Mitigating Circumstances Form (MCF) risks penalty.