Námskeiðslýsing

In this course, students will be introduced the main chemistry behind contamination in the coastal zone. Chemical interactions on the interface of sea, land and air will be explained as well as transport of pollutants. The state of the coastal zones in the world will be discussed, as well as regional, national and international monitoring practices and programs. An introduction to designing monitoring program will be presented. Further, an insight into our own life style and the effects we have on the environment will be discussed. At the end of the course, students should have a broad overview over the main environmental hazards towards coastal zones, both natural and man made. They should be able to recognize major pollutants and have a understanding of their source, transport and effects on the ecosystem. Students should be familiar with main methods for detecting environmental hazards and means of monitoring them.

Special focus will be put on:

• Effects of persistant organic pollutants (POPs) and heavy metals on living organisms, with special emphasis on sea-birds
• Environmental chemistry, where students gain insights into chemical analyses and ecotoxicology
• Hands-on demonstration of the effects of contamination on living organisms

Hæfniviðmið

• Students will gain an understanding of the chemical composition of coastal waters and the various natural processes and human activities which have an influence there.
• Students will gain basic knowledge to design monitoring programmes and asses the results obtained.
• Students will become familiar with the variety of coastal issues which are important in different parts of the world and international efforts and conventions relating to coastal water quality management.

Námsmat

The course will include two experiments, each valuing 25%. One experiment will be on individual basis and will investigate the pollution load we have on the environment. The second experiment will be a lab (group of two persons) to give hands-on demonstration of the effects of contaminants. A final paper will value 50%.

Kennari

Dr. Hrönn Jörundsdóttir graduated with a PhD in environmental chemistry from Stockholm University in 2009. Her reseach areas include: Distribution of tradtitional and emerging organic pollutants in the North- Atlantic, Dioxins and PCBs in Greenland Shark, and organochlorine compounds and their metabolites in Icelandic bird species. In one of her latest publications in Iceland, she attempted to answer the question: Is Iceland the world's cleanest country?
Hrönn now is a project manager at the Department of Food Safety and Environment at Matís (Icelandic Food and Biotech R&D), Reykjavík.


Dr. Helga Gunnlaugsdóttir

Education:
1993-1997 Ph.D. in Engineering, major Food Technology, Lund University, Sweden
1989-1992 M.Sc. in Food Science and Technology, Technical University of Nova Scotia, Canada
1984-1987 B.Sc. in Food Science, University of Iceland.
1979-1983 High school: Menntaskolinn Laugarvatni

 

Work:
2007 - now Head of Department & group leader,Matis, Reykjavik, Iceland

2003-2006 Head of Department, R&D Division, Environmental Research and Food Quality, Icelandic Fisheries Laboratory, Reykjavik, Iceland

2000-2003 Food Scientist and project manager at the Center of Food technology,
Technological Institute of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland

1999-2000 Group manager for Method Development, Analytical Department, Pharmaceutical/Analytical R&D,Ferring AB, Malmö, Sweden

1997-1998 Specialist in Liquid Chromatography in a group for Method Development, Analytical Department, Pharmaceutical/Analytical R&D, Ferring AB, Malmö, Sweden

1993-1997 Research position at the Department of Food Technology, Lund University, Sweden

1989-1992 Research assistant at the Technical University of Nova Scotia, Canada

1987-1989 Food Scientist at LYSI h.f, Reykjavik, Iceland,Main responsibility: quality control of products

Gestafyrirlesari

Ítarefni