he second piece of summative assessment in Reconstructing Past Environments is a Data Analysis exercise worth 60% of the overall module mark. You will produce an individual 2000-word scientific report using a range of palaeoenvironmental data from a Dartmoor. For this assessment you will use the data to develop an age depth model, calculate percentages and concentration for pollen, charcoal and spore data.
You can use Microsoft Excel to complete the calculations and freeware R or C2 to produce stratigraphic plots. Instructions on how to download R are available on the ELE page of the module. All analyses and plots can be done in R using packages CLAM and Rioja. C2 is a stratigraphic plotting software alternative but it requires a Windows operating system. In Mac computers C2 can be installed within a virtual Windows machine, e.g. Parallels Desktop. If this is not available to you, you have the option to use University Windows computers in Hatherly B12. Using C2 is not a requirement as all stratigraphic plotting can be conducted in R, which is freely available for both Windows and Mac computers.
Lecture PowerPoint slides and resources therein and additional readings posted on ELE are relevant for this coursework. You are encouraged to review all lecture materials, including introductory lecture in week 1, as a starting point for your literature review. The assessment guideline document includes a brief reference list to further support your reading, but you are expected you to show initiative and undertake a wider literature search to identify new sources of information for your report.
