This course provides an introduction to powerful analytical techniques used to determine the elemental and isotopic compositions of Earth materials such as rocks, minerals, microfossils, corals and water. It includes understanding types of instrumentation and other analytical techniques essential to the Earth Sciences, how to assess data quality and how to document and present results effectively. It will prepare students for the analytical aspects of their Honours research projects. The course will also develop students theoretical and practical understanding of the geochemical and/or mineralogical techniques that they will deploy in their research.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
- Describe the theoretical and practical aspects of major analytical instrumentation (including electron microprobe, FTIR, XRF, XRD, mass spectrometery - ICPMS, TIMS, SIMS) used across the Earth Sciences in fields such as geochemistry, mineralogy, biogeochemistry, marine and climate science. The emphasis is on instrumentation and laboratories available to students at RSES.
- Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of different analytical techniques for different applications.
- Appraise the advantages and disadvantages of different analytical techniques for a research program.
- Undertake data assessment and quality control.
- Explain the requirements for data documentation and reporting in a professional context.
- Design an analytical work-flow to acquire data and achieve the research objectives of their project.
- Process data from the chosen instruments and demonstrate understanding of the limitations and quality of the data. Justify the approach taken to data processing.
- Write a clear and concise justification and description of the analytical techniques employed, suitable for publication in a scientific journal.
Indicative Assessment
- Theory exams (best 2 of 3 exams) (20) [LO 1,2,3,4,5]
- Practical exercises including problems and use of datasets designed to explore and illustrate basic principles of instrumentation and production of high-quality data (20) [LO 1,2,3,4,5]
- Present a written justification and description of the analytical techniques to be employed in the research project, suitable for publication in a scientific journal (30) [LO 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8]
- Oral presentation (30 minutes) to class outlining their proposed analytical campaign and justifying the approach to be taken and instrumentation to be used in terms of the research objectives (30) [LO 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8]
The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.
Workload
A total of 30 hours of lectures and 35 hours of practicals. Students are expected to spend an additional 60 hours on work related to practicals and to prepare a report for the chosen analytical technique.Inherent Requirements
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Requisite and Incompatibility
Prescribed Texts
An appropriate reading list will be provided during the course.
Assumed Knowledge
Basic knowledge of mathematics and chemistry.Fees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
Commonwealth Support (CSP) Students
If you have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). More information about your student contribution amount for each course at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 2
- Unit value:
- 6 units
If you are a domestic graduate coursework student with a Domestic Tuition Fee (DTF) place or international student you will be required to pay course tuition fees (see below). Course tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.
Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.
| Units | EFTSL |
|---|---|
| 6.00 | 0.12500 |
Course fees
- Domestic fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2022 | $4200 |
- International fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2022 | $6000 |
Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links
ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.
Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.
First Semester
| Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3349 | 21 Feb 2022 | 28 Feb 2022 | 31 Mar 2022 | 27 May 2022 | In Person | View |
