2025 (Current Year) Faculty Courses School of Environment and Society Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Graduate major in Civil Engineering
Aquatic Environmental Science
- Academic unit or major
- Graduate major in Civil Engineering
- Instructor(s)
- Chihiro Yoshimura
- Class Format
- Lecture (Face-to-face)
- Media-enhanced courses
- -
- Day of week/Period
(Classrooms) - 5-6 Mon / 5-6 Thu
- Class
- -
- Course Code
- CVE.G401
- Number of credits
- 200
- Course offered
- 2025
- Offered quarter
- 2Q
- Syllabus updated
- Mar 19, 2025
- Language
- English
Syllabus
Course overview and goals
This course provides the fundamental knowledge and techniques to understand, assess, and manage aquatic ecosystems. It covers aquatic chemistry, biogeochemistry, and aquatic ecology while the applied aspects emphasize ecosystem managements taking rivers and lakes as examples.
Aquatic ecosystems have close relation to human activities, including flood control, water use, water environment, fishery, and so forth. Therefore, it is critically important to understand how aquatic ecosystems are complex, dynamic, and vulnerable from the physical, chemical and biological perspectives in order to properly assess and conserve aquatic ecosystems in relation to human activities. This lecture aims to provide such fundamental knowledge as well as techniques for practical applications so that students can obtain the overview of ecosystem management.
Course description and aims
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
1. Explain basics of biogeochemical process and water quality formation process in water environment.
2. Describe key components of the aquatic ecosystem and major ecological processes.
3. Present the concepts and techniques that are useful for environmental management, based on the hydraulic characteristics of each body of water including rivers , lakes, and coastal areas.
Keywords
Water Chemistry, Microbiology, Trophic Relations, Aquatic Ecosystem, Water Environmental Management
Competencies
- Specialist skills
- Intercultural skills
- Communication skills
- Critical thinking skills
- Practical and/or problem-solving skills
Class flow
Basically, each topic will be explained in one lecture as we proceed. Each class will consist of an 80-minute lecture including Q&A, followed by 20 minutes for exercises. In addition, several report assignments will be given.
Course schedule/Objectives
| Course schedule | Objectives | |
|---|---|---|
| Class 1 | Guidance and ecohydrology | Understand watershed hydrology (its ecological role in particular) and work on its exercise. |
| Class 2 | Sediment and habitat dynamics | Understand sediment and habitat dynamics and work on its exercise. |
| Class 3 | pH and redox potential | Understand pH and redox potential and work on its exercise. |
| Class 4 | Dissolution and kinetics | Understand dissolution and kinetics and work on its exercise. |
| Class 5 | Particle and adsorption | Understand particle and adsorption and work on its exercise. |
| Class 6 | Photochemistry and primary production | Understand photochemistry and primary production and work on its exercise. |
| Class 7 | Mid-term exercise | Summarize the first part and work on its exercise. |
| Class 8 | Nutrient cycle | Understand nutrient cycle in water environments and work on its exercise. |
| Class 9 | Microbes and carbon dynamics | Understand ｍicrobes and carbon dynamics and work on its exercise. |
| Class 10 | Species and biodiversity | Understand species and biodiversity and work on its exercise. |
| Class 11 | Fate and transport of pollutants | Understand fate and transport of pollutants and work on its exercise. |
| Class 12 | Simulation model of aquatic ecosystems | Understand the basic structure of simulation models of aquatic ecosystems and engage in exercises. |
| Class 13 | Water environment management 1 | Understand the basics and practices of water environment management, and then work on exercises |
| Class 14 | Water environment management 2 | Understand the basics and practices of water environment management, and then work on exercises |
Study advice (preparation and review)
To enhance effective learning, students are encouraged to spend about 40 minutes before and after each class to prepare themselves and follow up the course contents by referring to textbooks and other course materials.
Textbook(s)
Not specified (relevant materials will be distributed.)
Reference books, course materials, etc.
Aquatic Environmental Chemistry (Oxford, 1998)
Principles and Applications of Aquatic Chemistry (Wiley, 1993)
Stream Ecology: Structure and function of running waters (Springer, 2007)
Evaluation methods and criteria
Discussion 20%, Exercise 40%, Report 40%
More than 8 times of attendance are required for the credit.
Related courses
- CVE.G403 ： Water Chemistry for Environmental Engineering
- CVE.B401 ： Water Resource Systems
- GEG.E412 ： Hydrology and Water Resources Conservation
- CVE.G402 ： Environmental Statistics
- CVE.G310 ： Water Environmental Engineering
Prerequisites
No prerequisites