A. Develop skills in basic field techniques used to understand Earth Systems

B. To do this we have used relatively local aspects of the Earth system or a model of it (Bio 2)

1. Although you have had to learn quite a bit of local detail, the techniques you have used are of general applicability and can be used in any region of the Earth or experimental system

A. Descriptive skills

1. Mapping

2. Transects

3. Sampling Methods

4. Identification, Taxonomy, and Systematics

5. Quantitative chemical and biological measurements

B. Interpretive skills - can't do the above without these

1. Understanding of problems of scale - time, space, complexity

2. Scenario construction

3. Field Hypothesis building and testing and their relation to hypotheses

4. Model building - language, mathematically, and physical

C. System understanding

1. Breaking down a system into components

2. Finding the links, flows and feedbacks

3. Modeling the system and experimenting with it

III. What have we looked at

A. Global Carbon Cycle

B. Geological record of Earth System Change

C. Terrestrial semi-arid to temperate systems

D. Aquatic freshwater systems

E. Marine sub-tropical systems

F. Bio 2 experimental systems

IV. Personnel skills

A. Working with others

B. Self-motivated and unstructured exploration

C. Working under difficult physical situations

D. Computer Skills

E. Presentation skills

V. We trust hese skills will be useful whether you go into science or not and wish you all the best.

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