701-1673-00L Environmental Measurement Laboratory
| Semester | Autumn Semester 2019 |
| Lecturers | P. U. Lehmann Grunder, D. Or |
| Periodicity | yearly recurring course |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Comment | Number of participants limited to 26. |
Courses
| Number | Title | Hours | Lecturers | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 701-1673-00 G | Environmental Measurement Laboratory First lecture will be on September 24th 2019. | 4 hrs |
| P. U. Lehmann Grunder, D. Or |
Catalogue data
| Abstract | Measurements are the the sole judge of scientific truth and provide access to unpredictable information, enabling the characterization and monitoring of complex terrestrial systems. Based on lectures and field- and laboratory training the students learn to apply modern methods to determine forest inventory parameters and to measure subsurface properties and processes. |
| Learning objective | - explain functioning of sensors that are used for characterization of landscapes and terrestrial systems - select appropriate measurement methods and sampling design to quantify key variables and processes in the subsurface - deploy sensors in the field and maintain sensor network - interpret collected laboratory and field data and report main conclusions deduced from measurements |
| Content | 1) Measurement Science: Measurement precision and accuracy; sensing footprint, sampling design and sampling errors, uncertainty reduction, spatial and temporal variability, sampling network design and information costs 2) Electronics: Basic introduction to electronic components, voltage and current measurements, A/D converters, power requirements, power consumption calculations, batteries, storage capacity, solar panels 3) Datalogging (Lecture): Data Logging, data transfer, storage, and sensing technologies; basic data logger programming; overview of soil sensor types and sensor calibration; including programming in the laboratory 4) Geophysical methods on Subsurface Characterization: Basic principles of ERT, GPR, and EM; 5) Soil and Groundwater Direct Sampling (Lab): Soil physical sampling; profile characterization, disturbed and undisturbed soil sampling, direct-push geoprobe sampling; soil water content profiles and transects; 6) Electronics Laboratory: Setup and measurement of simple circuits, selection and use of voltage dividers, batteries and solar panels; pressure and temperature measurements; 7) Deployment of monitoring network: Field installation of TDR, temperature probes, tensiometers, data loggers and power supply 8) Geophysics lab: Demonstration and application of geophysical methods in the field; 9 & 10) Forest characterization/ inventory: Principles of LIDAR; structures and features of the tree crowns, size/volume of the leaf area tree positions and diameters at breast height 11&12) Ecohydrological and Soil Monitoring Networks- Data management for long term monitoring networks Tereno, and other critical zone observatories 13) Remote Sensing- Basic principles and forest-related examples including data extraction and analysis |
| Lecture notes | Lecture material on page |
| Literature | Lecture material will be online for registered students: http://www.step.ethz.ch/education/environmental-measurement-lab.html |
| Prerequisites / Notice | The details of the schedule will be optimized based on the number of students; some blocks of the course will be offered as well to students of Environmental Engineering |
Performance assessment
| Performance assessment information (valid until the course unit is held again) | |
Performance assessment as a semester course | |
| ECTS credits | 5 credits |
| Examiners | D. Or, P. U. Lehmann Grunder |
| Type | graded semester performance |
| Language of examination | English |
| Repetition | Repetition only possible after re-enrolling for the course unit. |
Learning materials
| No public learning materials available. | |
| Only public learning materials are listed. |
Groups
| No information on groups available. |
Restrictions
| Places | 26 at the most |
| Waiting list | until 20.09.2019 |
Offered in
| Programme | Section | Type | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Environmental Sciences Master | Methods and Tools: Lab Courses | W |  |
| Environmental Sciences Master | Methods and Tools | W | |