GEOL3417: Habitable Environments (Astrobiology)

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• This research-led module will train students in scientific research methods, critical thinking, communication and evaluation.
• Students will be introduced to the necessary conditions for the origin and evolution of simple and complex life, and how it might be detected in the universe.
• Students will reflect on the effective use of the scientific method to design and test challenging hypotheses, and evaluate the role of risk and uncertainty in designing research experiments

• This interdisciplinary module will introduce the key concepts of astrobiology: might life exist elsewhere in the universe, and if so, what might it look like and how might we find it?
• The module will use our understanding of how life has evolved and persisted on Earth (origins, extinctions, and adaptations to extreme environments) to explore what it means for a planet (or planetary body) to be habitable, and how life can adapt to environmental perturbations.
• Through this lens students will explore the types of data that are available that might be used to detect, or to evaluate the likelihood of, biotic processes beyond planet Earth and the philosophical considerations that might impinge on our exploration and discovery of life elsewhere in the universe.

Subject-specific Knowledge:

• Through research-led learning students will develop a depth of knowledge and research skills encompassing astrobiology, palaeontology and sedimentology.
• What environmental conditions are necessary for life, as we know it, or as we dont, to originate, survive and flourish?
• How might signs of past or present life be detected from a distance?
• How does the history of life on Earth inform the likely existence, form, complexity and durability of life elsewhere in the universe?

Subject-specific Skills:

• The module particularly emphasizes skills that are relevant to independent research and written communication, and critical evaluation of controversial research topics.

Key Skills:

• Discovery, synthesis and understanding of information.
• Communication of novel findings to peers and end-users.
• Structure and clarity in written communication.
• Independent critical analysis.
• Preparation of competitive funding proposals.
• Adaptable, flexible, innovative and creative approaches to work and problem solving.
• Ability to set goals, work to deadlines and accept personal responsibility.

• Teaching will comprise a blend of lectures, practical exercises, and group discussion of the primary literature.
• Assessments will comprise an individual written proposal and a group oral presentation related to a specified topic in astrobiology.

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