Earth Sciences (Graduate)

EAR 510  Paleolimnology  3  IR  The records of environmental change contained within lake sediments. Basic background in limnology followed by field/laboratory research projects and presentations. Upper division undergraduate science majors.

 

EAR 517  Sedimentary Processes and Systems 3  Y  Ancient sedimentary rocks and their modern analogs. Physical and chemical aspects of sedimentation and diagenesis. Lecture, laboratory, and field trips. Prereq:

 

EAR 314 or permission of instructor.

 

EAR 541  Hydrogeology  3  Y  Fundamentals of groundwater hydraulics. Aquifer flow-system analysis and evaluation. Groundwater-surface-water relationships. Groundwater chemistry. Prereq: EAR 101, MAT 296, PHY 212.

 

EAR 542/342  Geomorphology  3  SI  Landscape formation and evolution as a function of hydrogeologic, glacial, eolian, and tectonic processes acting on Earth materials. Lecture, labs, and field trips, including some weekends. Prereq: EAR 101 or 106 or permission of instructor.

 

EAR 544  Quaternary Environmental and Climate Change  3  SI  Proxy records from marine, lacustrine, glacial, and terrestrial environments for climate and environmental change during the Quaternary. Comparison with numerical models of the atmosphere and oceans. Discussion of current literature and the potential for future global change. Prereq: EAR 542 or glacial geology or permission of instructor.

 

EAR 545/345  Global Change: The Geologic Record  3  Y  Scientific evidence for anthropogenically induced environmental changes including global warming and its potential future impacts. Analysis of the near geologic record for evidence of pre-historic natural changes in the global environment and implications for future change. Prereq: EAR 101.

 

EAR 555  Environmental Geophysics  3  SI Comprehensive introduction to the geophysical methods used for exploring the shallow subsurface, and their application to problems in environmental geology. Prereq: PHY 211,212 or equivalent, MAT 295,296 or equivalent.

 

EAR 590  Independent Study  1-3  S

 

EAR 600  Selected Topics  1-3  S

 

EAR 617/417  Geochemistry  3  SI  Chemistry of Earth processes, including basic thermodynamics, solution chemistry, isotopic chemistry, and kinetics; magmatic crystallization, isotope fractionation, formation of carbonate and evaporitic sediment, ion exchange in clays, and Cosmochemistry. Prereq for EAR314; CHE 107, 117.

 

EAR619 Environmental Aqueous Geochemistry 1 O Fundamentals of aqueous geochemistry in ground water and surface water in the context of carbonate and silicate dissolution, reactions governing metal oxidation and reduction, mixing of waters and isotopic characterization.  One year of college chemistry required.

 

EAR 620/420  Contaminant Hydrogeology   1  Fundamentals of solute transport, major classes of groundwater contamination, remediation strategies, natural attenuation characterization, fingerprinting of contaminant types. One year of college chemistry, one course in physics or hydrology, one course in calculus. Additional work required of graduate students.

 

EAR621 Seismic Stratigraphy  3  SI  Interpretation of the subsurface stratigraphic record, sedimentary environments, and sea level change through the examination of seismic reflection data.

 

EAR 624  Paleoecology  3  E  Principles and applications of paleoecology, using examples from both marine and terrestrial ecosystems. Analysis of fossil communities. Ecology of mass extinctions. Functional morphology. Predator-prey relationships. Effects of climate/environmental change on ecosystems and species. Discussion oriented combination of lecture, lab, and field trips. Prereq: EAR 325 or permission of instructor.

 

EAR629 Topics in Paleobiology  3 E  Current research in paleobiology with a topical focus.  Subjects might include macroevolution, evolutionary paleoecology, extinctions and radiations, stratigraphic paleontology, etc.  Topic is decided at the first meeting of each semester.  Pre-Req. EAR325.

 

EAR 630/430  Topics in Thermochronology and Tectonics  2  SI  Seminar will focus on research topics in thermochronology and tectonics from current literature. Additional work required of graduate students. Prereq: EAR 431/631, EAR 444/644, or permission of instructor. R3

 

EAR 631/431  Plate Tectonics  3  SI Tectonic development of the Earth; definition of plates, their boundaries, motions, and driving forces. Analysis and modeling of plate motions. Additional work required of graduate students. Prereq EAR 333, PHY 212 or equivalent.

 

EAR 632/432  Seafloor Spreading and Oceanic Lithosphere  3  An investigation of the products and processes of seafloor spreading from the perspective of geological and geophysical studies of mid-ocean ridge spreading centers, oceanic lithosphere, and ophiolite complexes. Additional work required of graduate students.

Prereq: EAR 333, 314.

 

EAR 635/435  Geophysics  3  SI  Fundamental geophysical parameters; seismology and Earth structure; gravity and magnetic fields with application of potential theory; terrestrial rotation and shape; heat flow, thermal state, and evolution of the Earth. Additional work required of graduate students. Prereq: MAT 296, PHY 212;

EAR 314.

 

EAR640 Watershed Hydrology  3 Y  This course focuses on physical hydrology at the catchment scale, including water budgets, precipitation, evaporation, surface runoff, ground water flow and connections to biochemistry.  Focus is on understanding hydrologic concepts and acquiring and analyzing hydrologic data.

 

EAR 644/444  Thermochronology  3  E Methods used in Earth Sciences to determine temperature-time histories of crustal terranes including 40Ar/39Ar, fission track, and U-Th/He techniques. Diffusion theory and applications of thermochronology to tectonics and landscape evolution, P-T-t paths of crustal terranes. Additional work required of graduate students. Prereq: EAR 418 and 431/631, or permission of instructor.

 

EAR655 Geochemical Patterns in the History of Earth & Life 3  0  Insights gained from the geochemistry of fossils and sedimentary sequences about the history of the Earth’s surface.  Emphasis on relationships between the biological world and the physical environment as revealed through stable and radiogenic isotopes and elemental chemistry.  Pre-Req. EAR 325, EAR377.

 

EAR660 Advanced Hydrologic Field Methods  3 0  Course will provide hands-on experience using current instrumentation and measurement techniques in hydrology.  Emphasis is on fundamental theory governing application, demonstrations of application from the literature and in depth field experiments.  Pre-req EAR440 or equivalent.

 

EAR665 Ground Water Modeling  3  E  This course will cover fundamentals of groundwater and solute movement in the subsurface and how these processes are simulated by numerical finite-difference models.  Topics include conceptual model development, boundary conditions, calibration and sensitivity analysis.  Pre-req EAR440 or equivalent.

 

EAR 670  Experience Credit  1-6  S  Participation in a discipline- or subject-related experience. Students must be evaluated by written or oral reports or an examination. Limited to those in good academic standing. Prereq: permission, in advance, of assigned instructor, department chair, or dean.

 

EAR 678/478  Isotope Geology  3  SI Isotope geochemistry is used in all branches of Earth sciences. This course covers the following topics: Radioactive decay, Rb-Sr, Sm-Nd, and Lu-Hf isotope geochemistry; U-Pb geochronology, 14C dating; O, H, and C isotope geochemistry. Additional work required of graduate students. Prereq: EAR 617/417.

 

EAR 860  Advanced Seminars in Geology 1-3  SI  Current literature and problems in specialized fields of geology.

 

EAR683 Departmental Colloquium 1 S

 

EAR687 Chemical Sedimentology  1-3 S Elements and isotopic chemistry of sedimentary rocks and insights for paleoenvironments and diagenesis; includes discussions of carbonate equilibria, distribution coefficients, biogeochemical cycles, rock-water interactions, chemostratigraphy, and tectonics, climatic, and biologic controls on rock chemistry.  Pre-req: 517 & 617.

 

EAR 997  Master’s Thesis in progress  1-6  S

 

EAR 999  Doctoral Dissertation  1-15  S