Soils 415/515 - Environmental Biophysics
Spring 2008
Instructor: Douglas R. Cobos
Off-campus office: Decagon
Devices,
(Since I do not work on campus, the
best place to reach me in my office at Decagon Devices (see directions at the
bottom of the 414/514 webpage). However,
if necessary, I can arrange to meet you on campus.)
email address: doug@decagon.com
(email is a great
way to contact me!)
TA: Jennifer Strause
Jennifer@decagon.com
Website: classes.css.wsu.edu/soils414/
Course objectives:
Students will learn techniques and principles
used to:
· Measure variables of the physical microenvironment, and
· Analyze energy and mass exchange between organisms and their environment based on such measurements.
Emphasis will also be given to explaining the principles of operation of the instruments, how to work with the data collected, and sources of error in the measurements.
Course Format: One 50-minute lab lecture period: F, 9:10-10:00am
in Johnson 204, and one 50-minute laboratory section
on Friday after the lab lecture in PBS-1. Times and classroom in PBS-1 are TBD.
Text: There is no formal text for the lab portion of Environmental Biophysics. The lab manual chapters will be posted to the class website for download and printing at least the week before the lab exercises are conducted.
Laboratory Schedule (subject to change)
Jan 11
Spreadsheets for data analysis
Jan 18
Measurement of air temperature
Jan 25
Measurement of vapor pressure and
humidity
Feb 1 Measurement of water potential
Feb 8 Measurement of wind
Feb 15 Convective heat transport potential
Feb 22
Convective mass transport and
diffusive conductance
Feb 29
Measurement of soil thermal
properties
Mar 7 Mid-Term Exam
Mar 14 SPRING BREAK
Mar 21
Measurement of solar radiation
Mar 28 Measurement of thermal and net radiation
Apr 4 Energy budget of a leaf
Apr 11
Spectroradiometery
Apr 18
Plant canopy analysis
Apr 25 Take-home
final lab exam handed out / tour of Decagon
Apr 28 – May 2 Take- home lab final due
(at lecture final exam)
Course Requirements for Soils 415: The course grade will be based on the following: the 12 weekly informal laboratory reports (120 points total), the mid term and final lab exams (45 points each), and the major lab assignment (30 points). The weekly informal laboratory reports will consist of a brief reporting of the collected data and answers to the questions found in the lab manual at the end of each laboratory assignment and/or questions asked during the lab section. Laboratory reports are to be turned in at the start of lab lecture the following Friday. The mid term and final lab exams will test knowledge of the function and appropriate applications of the instrumentation that we have used in lab. The full lab report on the energy budget of a leaf will follow the standard scientific reporting format with an introduction, materials and methods, results and discussion, and conclusion. This exercise will be graded on your ability to create a concise, well thought out report of scientific experimentation and the resulting data.
Course Requirements for
Soils 515: In addition to the
requirements for Soils 415, students will complete an individual research
project requiring environmental data collection and analysis. Typically this
project will be the data collection part of the Soils 514 project, and will
involve selection and calibration of appropriate sensors, data logger
programming, field or laboratory data collection, and data analysis. Students
will meet with the instructor in groups and individually to select a project,
learn to use data loggers and sensors, and evaluate data. When preparing the
project proposal as outlined in the project requirements,
students are highly encouraged to consult with myself and Colin when selecting
instrumentation for the project. The
project report typically will be the Materials and Methods portion of the Soils
514 report and oral presentation. The independent project will constitute 20%
of the course grade, with the rest based on the requirements outlined for Soils
415.
Questions/Comments?
Dept. of Crop
and Soil Sciences
Washington State University
Pullman,
Copyright
© Washington State University Disclaimer
Modified 1/02/08 D. Cobos