The first was Luminescence Dating. This course wasn't originally running at the beginning of the year, which I was highly disappointed about because it was a module I really want to do. I'd heard about the concept of luminescence dating at undergraduate but never really learnt about it. So when the member of staff for another module was no longer able to teach their module, our course leader gave us the option to vote for which module we'd rather have run: luminescence dating or human evolution. I'm so glad the majority of people voted luminescence because I found the module really stimulating. We were taught by an external lecturer and I found her a really good teacher. She was also clearly enthusiastic about the topic which made it even easier to enjoy the module. We started by learning about the concepts and physics behind luminescence dating, which, whilst heavy at times, wasn't too difficult to get my head around. It certainly helped that if we were stuck then our lecturer was more than willing to take a step back and to explain it in a different way. We also learnt about the laboratories for luminescence dating; it was exciting going in to the dark room for the first time through a tardis-like contraption! Later in the week we measured and calculated our own luminescence age through a lot of mathematical equations. I struggled with this at first, but there was plenty of help at hand and once I'd got my head around it, I felt a huge sense of achievement when I reached the final age and felt really elated. Finally, we were tasked with writing up all the processes we went through to obtain the age and to interpret the value based on its reliability for the first part of the assignment. The second part involved a review essay on one of three topics. This coursework was handed in the Friday just gone, and means I am now over halfway through the coursework for this term!
The next module I took was Microfossils. Having used testate amoebae for my undergraduate dissertation, and really enjoying it, I was really excited for this module because I knew they would be covered. We also covered diatoms and foraminifera, which were also fascinating microfossils to study, and very pretty under the microscope! In the middle of the week, we learnt how to pick forams from sediment under a low power microscope, which I actually found to be a strangely therapeutic activity. I certainly wouldn't mind if I were to spend lab time doing it. Having said that, I still enjoyed testates the most, and had a really fun last day on the course when we got to study them. I found it much easier than I anticipated to get back in to the swing of the identifications again. I took some really nice photographs of them under the microscope, which involved an iPhone and a very steady hand!
Our coursework for this module involves a dataset of assemblage data on all three microfossils, which we are required to draw up in to an assemblage diagram and to interpret the past environment from. This will be the next deadline in two weeks time at the end of term.
My next module is Glaciers in the Climate System. Glaciers have been something I've always been interested in right from when I first learnt about them during my A Levels, and I enjoyed and did well in a glaciers undergraduate module I did, so am hoping for good things. The lecturer is extremely passionate about glaciers so I am sure she and the module will not disappoint.
