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Each day in the news and scientific journals, more stories seem to share new perspectives on the challenges facing our planet today.
In the face of human-caused climate change, the rising cost of energy and industrial scale pollution, the thought of finding solutions can often feel overwhelming. Luckily we are not starting from scratch.
At the University of Manchester, biologists, chemists, physicists, geologists, mathematicians, and computer scientists in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences are working together to study the ways in which our planet works, its deep past and the solutions needed to ensure humanity’s future.
As a diverse group of students, academics and researchers, with ties around the world, the department is looking for graduates in geology, natural sciences or environmental sciences to join them to train on their range of master’s degrees. Here are three ways Manchester is attempting to meet the environmental challenges of the 21st century:
Understanding and tackling industrial-scale pollution
Although vital to our way of life, industrial processes have a massive impact on the world we live in.
At Manchester, academics are dedicated to studying the ways in which industrial scale activity such as resource extraction, agriculture and water use affects our biosphere. Both through advanced modelling and work in the field, they are adept at outlining the complex connections between natural processes and pollution.
Courses cover the effect of urbanisation on water resources, how exposure to sewage impacts our groundwater and our soil, and the ways climate change will impact agriculture.
As teachers on the longest and most established Pollution and Environmental Control MSc in the UK, these academics are also skilled at equipping students with the quantitative and qualitative skills required to address these same questions.
Unlock net-zero energy supplies of the next decade
It is expected that two-thirds of the global energy will be covered by renewable sources by 2050.
The next-generation of geoscientists are working to prepare for the long-term, sustainable supply and storage of low-carbon energy.
On the Geoscience for Sustainable Energy MSc, Manchester’s academics aim to provide students with the technical knowledge and skills required to work in interdisciplinary careers that ensure the sustainable supply of energy and technology deployed to reduce atmospheric carbon by supplying energy from the subsurface, storing energy in the subsurface, long-term atmospheric carbon storage, and storing waste from energy streams.
This education and training is delivered through teaching, laboratory, and industry-standard computational tools, through blended learning, tutorials, seminars, field trips, and group work.
Meeting today’s energy needs
While the need for new forms of energy is vital, the energy needs of today still need to be met, allowing us to have a smooth transfer into a renewable, net-zero economy.
Students on the Petroleum Geoscience MSc study at the interface of geoscience, engineering and geophysics, developing all the skills they need to develop the sustainable hydrocarbon resources that underpin our successful transition to a new economic model.
Academics examine the processes that govern the way sedimentary basins fill, and how these complex three-dimensional systems can be usefully applied to improve models of petroleum systems in the subsurface.
Key skills are required to evaluate subsurface geology and use industry-standard software with real industry data sets. The knowledge and techniques taught at Manchester are also directly applicable to developing subsurface technologies in geothermal energy, carbon capture and storage, and network gas storage.
Interested? To find out more about these courses, visit the University’s website.
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