River systems are under ever increasing pressure through the growing demands of water abstraction and hydroelectric power generation, and suffer recurrent disturbance through diffuse and point source pollutants, drought, flooding and channel modification.
The environmental management of rivers is required to mitigate the effects of these pressures. This requires a holistic understanding of how river systems are structured and function, and of how these systems have been altered by anthropogenic activities. To this end, the course will examine the interactions between climate, hydrology, geomorphology, ecology, biogeochemical cycling, water and habitat quality and biodiversity.
An important aspect of the training will be an understanding of how these interactions act at different spatial and temporal scales to influence the structure and function of ecosystems in running waters. This scientific and technical corpus will allow you to understand and quantify the consequences of natural and anthropogenic disturbance on river systems.
Using a combination of lectures, fieldwork, tutorials, laboratory classes, group projects and an individual research-based thesis, you will be provided with the necessary training and skills for a career in the successful environmental management of rivers, including techniques on assessing their status and approaches to rehabilitate and restore the condition of these globally threatened environments.
You will also gain training in legislation that drives the environmental management of rivers worldwide. In particular the EU Water Framework Directive provided an exceptionally strong driver in that all European member states were required draw up river basin management plans to achieve 'good ecological status' by 2015. This is certain to create many career opportunities in the future.
This degree will provide direct postgraduate training for students interested in this career direction, as well as providing advanced-level training suitable for further PhD studies in water science.
We are fortunate at Birmingham in having a wide variety of staff within the Water Sciences Research Group with interests in rivers, particularly in the arena of hydroecology, and it is this expertise that will inform the teaching of the modules in River Environments and their Management.
This course will examine the interactions between climate, hydrology, geomorphology, ecology, biogeochemical cycling, water and habitat quality and biodiversity.
Using a combination of lectures, fieldwork, tutorials, laboratory classes, group projects and an individual research-based thesis, you will be provided with the necessary training and skills for a career in the successful environmental management of rivers.
About the School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences
The School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences has a renowned history for international excellence in research and teaching.
Our postgraduate programmes are shaped by research that addresses global grand challenges across the fields of geography, planning, earth sciences, environmental science, occupational health and safety, and environmental and public health. With policy- and practice-focused teaching, all our programmes have high employability outcomes.
We offer excellent facilities for postgraduate study including extensive map and archive facilities, earth imaging laboratory, stable-isotope laboratory (SILLA), environmental library, fully digital drawing office, and state-of-the-art laboratories for environmental chemistry, sedimentology, ecology, groundwater and palaeobiology. Our diverse range of programmes will provide you with a thorough understanding of the discipline, high-quality training and skills development, and access to our expert staff and extensive facilities.
Our graduates go on to forge careers in areas that matter – from environmental consultancies and the hydrocarbon industries, to urban planning, policy roles in NGOs and government regulatory services – and make a real contribution to global challenges. Many graduates also go on to study for PhDs.
Funding and Scholarships
There are many ways to finance your postgraduate study at the
University of Birmingham. To see what funding and scholarships are available, please visit:
http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/postgraduate/funding Open Days
Explore postgraduate study at Birmingham at our on-campus open days.
Register to attend at:
http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/postgraduate/visit Virtual Open Days
If you can’t make it to one of our on-campus open days, our virtual open days run regularly throughout the year. For more information, please visit:
http://www.pg.bham.ac.uk
Visit the
River Environments and their Management MSc
page on the University of Birmingham website for more details!
Loading...
