GEOL 165-01 30304 |
History/Evolution of Earth |
Days: M W F
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Time: 02:20 pm-03:20 pm
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Room: OLRI 100
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Instructor: Samuel Matson
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Details
This course provides an overview of the Earth for the past 4.6 billion years. Students explore the concept of geologic time as they delve into the vast past of our evolving planet. Major emphasis is placed on tracking the evolution of life, from the simplest single-celled organisms of the ancient Earth to today's diverse floras and faunas. Another major focus is the linkage among abiotic and biotic systems, the lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere did not and do not evolve independently. The laboratory component of this course is designed to familiarize students with the rocks and fossils that archive the history of Earth. The class includes a fossil-collecting field trip. Required for geology majors. Three hours lecture and two hours lab per week.
General Education Requirements:
Distribution Requirements:
Natural science and mathematics
Course Materials
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GEOL 165-L1 30305 |
History/Evolution of Earth Lab |
Days: T
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Time: 08:00 am-11:10 am
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Room: OLRI 187
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Instructor: Jeff Thole
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Details
This course provides an overview of the Earth for the past 4.6 billion years. Students explore the concept of geologic time as they delve into the vast past of our evolving planet. Major emphasis is placed on tracking the evolution of life, from the simplest single-celled organisms of the ancient Earth to today's diverse floras and faunas. Another major focus is the linkage among abiotic and biotic systems, the lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere did not and do not evolve independently. The laboratory component of this course is designed to familiarize students with the rocks and fossils that archive the history of Earth. The class includes a fossil-collecting field trip. Required for geology majors. Three hours lecture and two hours lab per week.
General Education Requirements:
Distribution Requirements:
Natural science and mathematics
Course Materials
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GEOL 165-L2 30306 |
History/Evolution of Earth Lab |
Days: T
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Time: 01:20 pm-04:30 pm
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Room: OLRI 187
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Instructor: Jeff Thole
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Details
This course provides an overview of the Earth for the past 4.6 billion years. Students explore the concept of geologic time as they delve into the vast past of our evolving planet. Major emphasis is placed on tracking the evolution of life, from the simplest single-celled organisms of the ancient Earth to today's diverse floras and faunas. Another major focus is the linkage among abiotic and biotic systems, the lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere did not and do not evolve independently. The laboratory component of this course is designed to familiarize students with the rocks and fossils that archive the history of Earth. The class includes a fossil-collecting field trip. Required for geology majors. Three hours lecture and two hours lab per week.
General Education Requirements:
Distribution Requirements:
Natural science and mathematics
Course Materials
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GEOL 194-01 30307 |
Volcanoes |
Days: M W F
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Time: 09:40 am-10:40 am
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Room: OLRI 187
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Instructor: Emily First
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Details
Volcanic eruptions are the awe-inspiring expression of a planet’s internal dynamics. They supply the source materials for scientific studies of rocky planets, inspire works of art and literature, feature prominently in sacred traditions, and provide some of the most fertile ground on Earth. They are also destructive and agonizingly uncertain in duration, wreaking havoc on local to global scales via clouds of ash, lava flows, and secondary hazards (e.g., mudflows, famine). This course will cover volcanoes broadly: where and why they occur; what drives eruptions; monitoring; impacts; hazard mitigation; “reading the rocks”; volcanoes in art and culture; and perspectives from local populations. Three hours lecture per week, including in-class demos and labs.
General Education Requirements:
Quantitative Thinking Q3
Distribution Requirements:
Natural science and mathematics
Course Materials
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GEOL 250-01 30308 |
Mineralogy |
Days: M W F
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Time: 01:10 pm-02:10 pm
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Room: OLRI 179
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Instructor: Emily First
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Details
What is the solid Earth made of? How did those materials (rocks, minerals) come to be? What use are they to society? Are they found on other planets? In this course, we explore questions like these by studying how mineral chemistry and structure relate to physical properties, how basic thermodynamics and kinetics control rock formation processes, and more. Labs include mineral ID, symmetry, optical and electron microscopy, and computation. Three hours lecture and three hours lab per week. Field trips. Prerequisite: GEOL 160 or 165.
General Education Requirements:
Distribution Requirements:
Natural science and mathematics
Course Materials
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GEOL 250-L1 30309 |
Mineralogy Lab |
Days: R
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Time: 01:20 pm-04:30 pm
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Room: OLRI 179
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Instructor: Emily First
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Details
What is the solid Earth made of? How did those materials (rocks, minerals) come to be? What use are they to society? Are they found on other planets? In this course, we explore questions like these by studying how mineral chemistry and structure relate to physical properties, how basic thermodynamics and kinetics control rock formation processes, and more. Labs include mineral ID, symmetry, optical and electron microscopy, and computation. Three hours lecture and three hours lab per week. Field trips. Prerequisite: GEOL 160 or 165.
General Education Requirements:
Distribution Requirements:
Natural science and mathematics
Course Materials
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GEOL 255-01 30310 |
Structural Geology |
Days: M W F
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Time: 10:50 am-11:50 am
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Room: OLRI 179
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Instructor: Alan Chapman
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Details
This course focuses on recognizing and interpreting the significance of geologic structures in the Earth's outermost layers. Discussions focus on the formation of major rock fabrics (e.g., fractures, joints, faults, shear zones, folds, foliation/cleavage, and lineations) from microscopic (thin section) to regional (mountain belt) scales. Problem sets use graphical techniques to solve structural problems. This course also provides an introduction to map interpretation and mapping techniques. Three hours lecture and three hours lab per week. Local and regional field trips. Prerequisite(s): GEOL 160 and GEOL 165; GEOL 250 recommended but not required.
General Education Requirements:
Distribution Requirements:
Natural science and mathematics
Course Materials
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GEOL 255-L1 30311 |
Structural Geology Lab |
Days: T
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Time: 01:20 pm-04:30 pm
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Room: OLRI 179
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Instructor: Alan Chapman
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Details
This course focuses on recognizing and interpreting the significance of geologic structures in the Earth's outermost layers. Discussions focus on the formation of major rock fabrics (e.g., fractures, joints, faults, shear zones, folds, foliation/cleavage, and lineations) from microscopic (thin section) to regional (mountain belt) scales. Problem sets use graphical techniques to solve structural problems. This course also provides an introduction to map interpretation and mapping techniques. Three hours lecture and three hours lab per week. Local and regional field trips. Prerequisite(s): GEOL 160 and GEOL 165; GEOL 250 recommended but not required.
General Education Requirements:
Distribution Requirements:
Natural science and mathematics
Course Materials
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GEOL 303-01 30312 |
Surface/Groundwater Hydrology |
Days: M W F
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Time: 09:40 am-10:40 am
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Room: OLRI 175
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Instructor: Kelly MacGregor
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Details
Hydrology is the study of physical, chemical, and biological processes that occur as water interacts with the earth. In this course we will focus on the near-surface cycling of water and the physical processes that drive this motion. We will discuss the dynamics of water as it flows across the surface of the landscape, moves through channels, and passes into the shallow subsurface. Open channel flow, hydrographs, floods, and arid region water scarcity will be the focus of the first portion of the course. The bulk of the course will look at the flow of water through permeable, saturated media, heterogeneity of flow, and several equations used to describe flow dynamics in aquifers. Flow through fractured and karst systems will be discussed. Importantly, we will spend time on the methods used by scientists and engineers (and consultants!) to understand the details and timescales of groundwater flow: wells, slug tests, pump tests, and geochemistry. Contaminant transport via groundwater flow will be examined in case studies. The use of quantitative tools such as calculations, numerical modeling, and estimation will be used to better understand the dynamics of water transport on our planet. Prerequisite(s): Any 100-level geology lab course.
General Education Requirements:
Quantitative Thinking Q1
Distribution Requirements:
Natural science and mathematics
Course Materials
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GEOL 303-L1 30313 |
Surf/Groundwater Hydrology Lab |
Days: T
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Time: 08:00 am-11:10 am
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Room: OLRI 175
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Instructor: Kelly MacGregor
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Details
Hydrology is the study of physical, chemical, and biological processes that occur as water interacts with the earth. In this course we will focus on the near-surface cycling of water and the physical processes that drive this motion. We will discuss the dynamics of water as it flows across the surface of the landscape, moves through channels, and passes into the shallow subsurface. Open channel flow, hydrographs, floods, and arid region water scarcity will be the focus of the first portion of the course. The bulk of the course will look at the flow of water through permeable, saturated media, heterogeneity of flow, and several equations used to describe flow dynamics in aquifers. Flow through fractured and karst systems will be discussed. Importantly, we will spend time on the methods used by scientists and engineers (and consultants!) to understand the details and timescales of groundwater flow: wells, slug tests, pump tests, and geochemistry. Contaminant transport via groundwater flow will be examined in case studies. The use of quantitative tools such as calculations, numerical modeling, and estimation will be used to better understand the dynamics of water transport on our planet. Prerequisite(s): Any 100-level geology lab course.
General Education Requirements:
Distribution Requirements:
Natural science and mathematics
Course Materials
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GEOL 360-01 30249 |
Paleoclimate |
Days: M W F
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Time: 01:10 pm-02:10 pm
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Room: OLRI 243
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Instructor: Louisa Bradtmiller
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*First day attendance required; cross-listed with ENVI 360-01; not available to ACTC students*
Details
Earth's climate has evolved with the planet itself as changing boundary conditions in the ocean, atmosphere, cryosphere and lithosphere have caused ice ages, periods of extreme warmth and mass extinctions. Information about these events is contained in the geologic record in the form of fossils and rock sequences, but also in lake and ocean sediments, ice sheets, cave deposits and tree rings. This course will provide an overview of variations in climate throughout Earth history while simultaneously examining the proxies and archives used to reconstruct those changes. We will also construct our own record of paleoclimate using cores from a local lake and a variety of laboratory techniques. Prerequisite(s): ENVI 240, ENVI 150 or GEOL 160 .
General Education Requirements:
Quantitative Thinking Q2
Distribution Requirements:
Natural science and mathematics
Course Materials
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GEOL 360-L1 30251 |
Paleoclimate Lab |
Days: R
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Time: 08:00 am-11:10 am
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Room: OLRI 253
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Instructor: Louisa Bradtmiller
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*First day attendance required; cross-listed with ENVI 360-L1; not available to ACTC students*
Details
Earth's climate has evolved with the planet itself as changing boundary conditions in the ocean, atmosphere, cryosphere and lithosphere have caused ice ages, periods of extreme warmth and mass extinctions. Information about these events is contained in the geologic record in the form of fossils and rock sequences, but also in lake and ocean sediments, ice sheets, cave deposits and tree rings. This course will provide an overview of variations in climate throughout Earth history while simultaneously examining the proxies and archives used to reconstruct those changes. We will also construct our own record of paleoclimate using cores from a local lake and a variety of laboratory techniques. Prerequisite(s): ENVI 240, ENVI 150 or GEOL 160 .
General Education Requirements:
Distribution Requirements:
Natural science and mathematics
Course Materials
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GEOL 394-01 30701 |
Geology of Ancient Environments |
Days: M W F
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Time: 12:00 pm-01:00 pm
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Room: OLRI 175
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Instructor: Samuel Matson
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Details
Understanding how the Earth system has changed throughout its history is imperative to defining current and future states of that system. In this course, students will explore how geoscientists reconstruct aspects of the Earth’s past environments over various scales of time and space. They will investigate various proxies used for environmental reconstruction, including sedimentology and stratigraphy, paleontology, stable isotopes, paleobotany and palynology, dendroclimatology, and glacial and lacustrine records. Importantly, this course will emphasize ways in which independent paleoenvironmental records are used together to reconstruct a more complete picture of the Earth system throughout its past. This course will focus on primary scientific literature in a seminar-style discussion of case studies in paleoenvironmental reconstruction.
General Education Requirements:
Distribution Requirements:
Natural science and mathematics
Course Materials
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GEOL 394-L1 30702 |
Geology of Ancient Environments Lab |
Days: R
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Time: 08:00 am-11:10 am
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Room: OLRI 175
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Instructor: Samuel Matson
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Details
Varies by semester. Consult the department or class schedule for current listing.
General Education Requirements:
Distribution Requirements:
Natural science and mathematics
Course Materials
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