Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/University of Tennessee/Environmental Aqueous Geochemistry (Fall 2020)

Water is one of our most important natural resources. However, the availability of usable (i.e. drinkable) surface water or groundwater is diminishing due to pollution associated with agricultural, industrial, militarized, and municipal activities. To improve access to clean water and remediate polluted water, we must understand the natural interactions among physical, chemical, and biological processes that affect the composition of natural waters and geologic materials through time. This interdisciplinary course will combine geochemistry with hydrogeology, sedimentology, mineralogy, soil science, microbial ecology, and resource management to determine the fate and transport of inorganic and organic constituents in water. Issues associated with water quality, water budgets, and environmental regulations, as well as policy, and justice will be covered. The Flint (Michigan) Water Crisis, as well as other current events, will be featured throughout the semester. Connections to these societal problems reinforce how important it is to have working knowledge of geochemistry, especially for anyone interested in a career in the earth and environmental sciences.

General course topics will include: methods, data collection, &amp; sample processing; environmental regulations and policy related to water quality; mass balance and equilibrium modeling in the context of chemical thermodynamics and kinetics; acid-base chemistry; carbonate and silicate geochemistry; metal (re)cycling; and redox reactions. Calculations and computer modeling exercises will reinforce concepts and test hypotheses, explore assumptions, approximations, and equilibria in natural geochemical systems. Complex geochemical systems will be emphasized (e.g., non-ideal solutions, non-STP conditions), which will make the course concepts relevant from, for example, hot (think, volcanic lake) to cold (think, surface of Mars) temperature conditions.

The course will be delivered using a hybrid F2F platform with alternating in-person and online meetings. There will be synchronous/recorded lectures and weekly classroom/online modules that include worksheets, homework problems, and readings/videos/virtual field trips, as well as discussions with geochemistry professionals.

Upon completion of the course, you will be able to: • Define and apply relevant terminology in geochemistry; • Gain an appreciation for the relevance of geochemistry to understanding and providing for human needs, and to determining geochemical impacts on society and planet Earth; • Identify and evaluate physicochemical, (bio)geochemical, and hydrochemical changes in solids, liquids, and gases; • Describe the geochemical evolution of near-surface aquatic systems, including fresh and marine waters, and shallow sediments and soils when starting with the atmosphere, precipitation, minerals and rocks, and time; • Develop skills to become a better scientist and demonstrate proficiency in written and oral communication.

Week 3
This week, everyone should have a Wikipedia account.

Welcome to your Wikipedia assignment's course timeline. This page guides you through the steps you'll need to complete for your Wikipedia assignment, with links to training modules and your classmates' work spaces.

Your course has been assigned a Wikipedia Expert. You can reach them through the Get Help button at the top of this page.

Resources:


 * Editing Wikipedia, pages 1–5
 * Evaluating Wikipedia

Create an account and join this course page, using the enrollment link your instructor sent you. (Because of Wikipedia's technical restraints, you may receive a message that you cannot create an account. To resolve this, please try again off campus or the next day.)

Week 5
Chemistry

Environmental Sciences

Week 7
Reach out to your Wikipedia Expert if you have questions using the Get Help button at the top of this page.

Resource: Editing Wikipedia, pages 7–9

Everyone has begun writing their article drafts.

Week 9
Guiding framework

Week 10
Every student has finished reviewing their assigned articles, making sure that every article has been reviewed.

Week 11
You probably have some feedback from other students and possibly other Wikipedians. Consider their suggestions, decide whether it makes your work more accurate and complete, and edit your draft to make those changes.

Resources:


 * Editing Wikipedia, pages 12 and 14
 * Reach out to your Wikipedia Expert if you have any questions.

Week 12
Now's the time to revisit your text and refine your work. You may do more research and find missing information; rewrite the lead section to represent all major points; reorganize the text to communicate the information better; or add images and other media.

Week 13
Continue to expand and improve your work, and format your article to match Wikipedia's tone and standards. Remember to contact your Wikipedia Expert at any time if you need further help!

Week 14
It's the final week to develop your article.


 * Read Editing Wikipedia page 15 to review a final check-list before completing your assignment.
 * Don't forget that you can ask for help from your Wikipedia Expert at any time!

Week 15
Everyone should have finished all of the work they'll do on Wikipedia, and be ready for grading.

Write a paper going beyond your Wikipedia article to advance your own ideas, arguments, and original research about your topic.