Either semester. Three credits. Not open for credit to students who have passed GEOL 102.

Designed for the nonscience major. Applied geologic principles and processes. Environmental hazards, mineral resources and water problems affecting land use.

Either semester. Four credits. Three class periods and one 3-hour laboratory period.

Description and analysis of the physical, chemical and biological processes that continually modify the shape of the earth's surface and the structure and composition of its interior. Methods of interpreting earth history from evidence now preserved in rocks. Field trips are held during several of the regular laboratory periods.

Both semesters. Three credits. Three class periods. Not open to students enrolled in or having passed GEOL 105 or SCI 103. For students who later complete GEOL 107, this course will be converted from a Content Area 3 Non-laboratory course to a Content Area 3 Laboratory course. 

 History of planet Earth, emphasizing how rock, air, water, and life interact at different scales to produce the earth's crust, landforms, life systems, natural resources, catastrophes, and climatic regimes. Provides a scientific context for human-induced global change. CA 3.

Both semesters. Four credits. Three class periods and one three-hour laboratory period. Not open to students enrolled in or having passed GEOL 103 or SCI 103.

History of planet Earth, emphasizing how rock, air, water, and life interact at different scales to produce the earth's crust, landforms, life systems, natural resources, catastrophes, and climatic regimes. Provides a scientific context for human-induced global change. Includes laboratory component (see GEOL 107). CA 3-LAB.

Both semesters. One credit. Not open to students enrolled in or having passed GEOL 105.

Laboratory complement to GEOL 103. Provides an opportunity to work with specimens (minerals, fossils, rocks), terrain images, maps, physical models, and simulation experiments. Includes two local field trips. CA 3-LAB.

Both semesters. One credit. Corequisite: GEOL 103, 105, 107 or instructor consent. May be repeated for credit with instructor consent.

Faculty-taught, weekly discussions to enhance GEOL 103 and 105. Emphasis and approach will vary, but all sections will track the lecture syllabus.

Either semester. Three credits. Thorson

A reconstruction of the Mesozoic world of the dinosaurs as interpreted from geological and paleontological evidence. Course includes fundamental concepts of stratigraphy, historical geology, paleoclimatology, and paleontology. CA 3.

Both semesters. One credit. Corequisite: GEOL 103, 105, 107 or instructor consent. May be repeated for credit with instructor consent.

Two or more faculty-led weekend field trips to nearby sites of interest, designed to enhance GEOL 103 and 105.

(Also offered as EEB 205.) Second semester, alternate years. Three credits. Open to honors students. Open to non-honors students only with consent of instructor. Recommended preparation: 8 credits of college level science. Simon, Thorson

Readings and discussions of current issues in environmental science, emphasizing linkages between earth, oceans, atmosphere, and biosphere. Topics include: climate change; watershed changes; alternative energy; population growth; endangered biodiversity; genetically-engineered organisms; deforestation/restoration; risk assessment; tradeoffs; problem-solving; alternative futures.

Second semester. Six credits. Four weeks intensive study following final examination period. Prerequisite: GEOL 102. Gray, Philpotts

Field methods for geological and environmental geoscience studies, including electronic surveying techniques, aerial photograph interpretation, geological mapping, description and measurement of sedimentary sections, techniques of underground mapping, and geophysical surveying.

Second semester. Variable credits. Prerequisite: GEOL 250, 251, 252, and 253, one of which may be taken concurrently.

Spring field trip during spring break, and supporting research. First 7 weeks: background readings from primary literature and secondary literature. Seven weeks following trip: supervised laboratory research using field samples. One or more short research papers and presentation to the department.

Second semester, alternate years. Four credits. Three class periods and one 3-hour laboratory. Prerequisite: GEOL 253. Recommended preparation: MATH 114 or 116. Philpotts

Introduction to rocks and the physical and chemical principles governing their formation. Fluid mechanics of magmas, heat transfer, thermodynamics, phase equilibria, isotope geochemistry, and the relation of magmatism to plate tectonics. Optical microscopy, x-ray fluorescence, and electron microprobe analysis. Preparing a paper suitable for publication in a scientific journal.

Second semester, alternate years. Three credits. Two class periods and one 3-hour laboratory. Prerequisite: GEOL 253; Recommended preparation: MATH 114 or 116. Joesten

Interpretation of mineralogical, chemical and textural features of metamorphic rocks in terms of the physical conditions and dynamic processes operating in the Earth's crust. Thermodynamic description of phase equilibria in fluid-rock systems. Kinetics, mass- and energy-transport in metamorphic processes. Petrographic, and X-ray analytical techniques.

Second semester. Three credits. Two class periods and one 3-hour laboratory period. Prerequisite: GEOL 252. Crespi

Mechanics of rock deformation. Material behavior of rocks and their geometry during orogenesis, with applications of finite strain analysis, and advanced geometric techniques.  One or more weekend field trips may be required.

First semester, alternating years. Four credits. Two class periods and two 2-hour laboratory periods. Prerequisite: GEOL 250.

The systematics, anatomy, evolutionary patterns and ecology of the major groups of invertebrate fossils.

First semester. Three credits. Two 1-hour class periods and one 3-hour laboratory (occasionally used for field trips). Prerequisite: GEOL 251. Thorson

Interpretation of landscape genesis with an emphasis on causal processes and paleoenvironmental implications.

First semester. Three credits. One 2-hour class period and one 3-hour laboratory (for lab exercises and field trips). Recommended preparation: GEOL 251. Thorson

Reconstruction of former glaciers and the interactive processes leading to the character and distribution of unconsolidated surface materials in glaciated regions. Techniques for interpreting subsurface unconsolidated materials.

First semester. Three credits. Two class periods and one 3-hour laboratory period. Prerequisite: GEOL 253. Gray

Principles of optical crystallography. Optical properties of crystals in both transmitted and reflected light. Relationship between crystallographic and optical directions. Application of polarized light microscopy to petrofabric analysis.

First semester. Three credits. One 3-hour lecture period during which geophysical field demonstrations may be performed. Prerequisite: GEOL 101 or GEOL 102 or consent of instructor. Liu

 Introductory survey of surface and borehole geophysical methods and their application to hydrogeologic, environmental monitoring, and geotechnical engineering studies. Laboratory involve geophysical field measurement, data reduction and geologic interpretation.

Second semester. Three credits. Recommended preparation: GEOL 101 or 102. Liu

Application of geological principles to engineering and environmental problems. Topics include site investigation, geologic hazards, slope processes, earthquakes, subsidence, and the engineering properties of geologic materials. Course intended for both geology and engineering majors.

First semester. Four credits. Three class periods and one 2-hour laboratory for which occasional field trips will be substituted. Prerequisite: MATH 114 or 116 and GEOL 102, or consent of instructor. Robbins

Basic hydrologic principles with emphasis on hydrologic and geologic relationships, use of quantitative techniques.

Second semester. Four credits. Three hours lecture and three hours laboratory. Prerequisite: GEOL 234 and CHEM 127-128. Gray, Robbins

Chemical processes controlling the composition of unpolluted and polluted natural waters. Field and laboratory analytical techniques. Equilibria, reaction and transport models of the chemical interactions groundwater and the media through which it travels. Applications of geochemical processes and principles understanding to the mitigation of environmental problems.

First semester. Three credits. Two class periods and one 3-hour laboratory period. Prerequisite: GEOL 251. 

Composition, deposition and diagenesis of marine and non-marine sediments; stratigraphic methods; dynamics of sediment incorporation into the stratigraphic record. An examination of recent sedimentary sequences as a key to understanding ancient sedimentary environments.  One or more weekend fieldtrips may be required.

Second semester. Three credits. Two class periods and one 3-hour laboratory period. Prerequisite: GEOL 102. Required of all Geology majors.

Reconstruction of earth history from geological data. Processes and events responsible for the stratigraphic record, and techniques used to decipher it. An integrated survey of earth history.  One or more weekend field trips may be required.

Both semesters. Three credits. Two class periods and one 3-hour laboratory period. Prerequisite: GEOL 102. Required of all Geology majors.

Processes responsible for the formation of the unconsolidated materials, landforms, and soils which constitute the Earth's surface. Introduction to surface-water and groundwater hydrology, geological hazards and the effects of climatic change.  One or more weekend field trips may be required.

First semester. Three credits. Two class periods and one 3-hour laboratory period. Prerequisite: GEOL 102. Required of all Geology majors.

Structure and composition of the earth, including a survey of plate tectonics and crustal evolution. Gravitational, thermal and tectonic processes associated with the earth's surface and interior.  One or more weekend field trips may be required.

First semester. Four credits. Two class periods and two 3-hour laboratory periods. Prerequisite: GEOL 102. Recommended preparation: CHEM 127-128. Required of all Geology majors.

Principles of symmetry and crystal chemistry and the identification of minerals by hand sample, petrographic and x-ray methods. Description of the mineralogy and texture of igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks and the application of contemporary petrogenetic models to the interpretation of the geologic environments they record.  One or more weekend field trips may be required.

First semester. One credit. Two weekend field trips and two 2-hour class meetings. Prerequisite or corequisite: GEOL 252

Mapping techniques and map interpretation using concepts developed in GEOL 252. Emphasis on mapping moderately deformed rocks in which sedimentary and tectonic features can be differentiated.

(Formerly offered as GEOL 261.) Second semester. Three credits. Prerequisite: GEOL 250 and 252, which may be taken concurrently. Not open for credit to students who have passed GEOL 261. 

Understanding the structure and composition of the Earth's lithospheric plates using geological and geophysical techniques and analyses of magnetic anomalies, ocean floor sediments and the geologic history of the continents. Emphasis on the interaction of geologic and plate processes, especially along plate boundaries.

Either semester. One to three credits. May not be repeated. Internship contract must be formulated before internship work begins. Students with summer internship must preregister for GEOL 293 for the fall semester. Prerequisite or corequisite:  GEOL 250, 251, 252, and 253. Must be taken concurrently with GEOL 294; no credit will be given for one course without the other. Credits earned in GEOL 293 cannot be included in the 24 or 36 credits of 200-level Geology and Geophysics courses needed to meet the requirements of the B.A. or B.S. degree, respectively. Students taking this course will be assigned a grade of S (satisfactory) or U (unsatisfactory).

An internship program under the direction of Geology and Geophysics faculty. Students will be placed with government agencies or businesses where academic training will be applied in a program of activities to be planned and agreed upon in advance by the job site supervisor, the faculty coordinator, and the intern. One credit may be earned for each 42 hours of pre-approved activities up to a maximum of three credits.

Either semester. One credit. May not be repeated. Students with summer internship must preregister for GEOL 294 for the fall semester. Prerequisite or corequisite: GEOL 250, 251, 252, and 253. Must be taken concurrently with GEOL 293; no credit will be given for one course without the other.

Preparation of written report and oral presentation to Department summarizing internship experience and evaluating the applicability of academic experience to job situations and the impact of the internship experience on academic and career plans.

Either semester. Three credits. With a change in topic, may be repeated for credit. Prerequisites and recommended preparation vary.

Either semester. Three credits. Hours by arrangement. Open only with consent of instructor.

Independent research for the advanced undergraduate student interested in investigating a special problem involving field and/or laboratory observations in geology and geophysics. The student is required to give an oral presentation in a departmental seminar at the end of the semester.

Either semester. Three credits. Hours by arrangement. Prerequisite: GEOL 296; Open only with consent of instructor.

Writing of a formal thesis based on independent research conducted by the student.

Either semester. Credits and hours by arrangement. May be repeated for credit. Open only with consent of instructor.

Investigation of special topics related to, but not ordinarily covered in the undergraduate offerings; emphasis on laboratory projects.

Either or both semesters. Credits and hours by arrangement. May be repeated for credit. Open only with consent of instructor.

First semester. Three credits. Prerequisite: PHYS 123 or 132 or 142, or 152, which may be taken concurrently;  MATH 113 or 115 or 120, which may be taken concurrently, not open to students who have passed GEOL 264Q. Cormier

The composition, structure, and dynamics of the Earth's core, mantle, and crust inferred from observations of seismology, geomagnetism, and heat flow.

Second semester. Three credits. Prerequisite:  PHYS 123 or 132 or 142, or 152, which may be taken concurrently; MATH 114 or 116 or 121, which may be  taken concurrently, not open to students who have passed GEOL 266Q. Cormier

Evolution of the solar system, celestial mechanics, tidal friction, internal composition of planets, black-body radiation, planetary atmospheres.

First semester. Three credits. Two class periods and one 3-hour laboratory period. Prerequisite: PHYS 123 or 132 or 142 or 152, which may be taken concurrently; MATH 113 or 115 or 120, which may be taken concurrently;  not open to students who have passed GEOL 267Q. Liu

Principles of seismic methods for imaging the interior of the earth, with applications to resource exploration and environmental problems.

Second semester. Three credits. Two class periods and one 3-hour laboratory period. Prerequisite: PHYS 123 or 132 or 142or 152, which may be taken concurrently; MATH 114 or 116 or 121, which may be taken concurrently;  not open to students who have passed GEOL 268Q. Liu

Principles of imaging the Earth's interior using observations of electric, magnetic and gravity fields, with applications to environmental problems.