Faculty of Arts & Sciences

Students will learn how the Earth works and how critical events in Earth history shaped their surroundings. We will explore what the Earth is made of, why there are continents and oceans, and how plate tectonics provides a unifying model to explain geological observations. Topics covered include the discovery of deep time, the relationship between geology and topography, the geology of our surroundings, plate tectonics, magnetism, chemical differentiation at subduction zones and mid-ocean ridges, mountain building, basin formation, isostasy, heat flow, convection, and feedbacks with the fluid Earth. Ultimately we will use physical processes to explain the patterns of nature. Our treatment will be quantitative with applications to other phenomena, and based on sound physics. Field trips provide opportunities to learn how to read rocks, to see data in the field, and to interpret observations in terms of their possible history and forces acting in and on the Earth.

A comprehensive introduction to how the principles of mineralogy, phase equilibria, and the compositions of terrestrial and extraterrestrial materials are used to understand the evolution of the Earth and its resources. The course will discuss how we know that the Earth's crust has more than sufficient resources for its human population.

Within our solar system, Earth is distinguished as the planet with life. Life was born of planetary processes, has been sustained for some four billion years by planetary processes, and through time has emerged as a set of planetary processes that is important in its own right. In this course we will investigate the ways that Earth and life interact, focusing in particular on the biogeochemical cycles of major elements. This will provide a framework for interpreting the history of life reconstructed from fossils and phylogeny.

Supervised reading and research on topics not covered by regular courses of instruction.

An overview of modern computational tools with applications to the Earth Sciences. Introduction to the MATLAB programming and visualization environment. Topics include: statistical and time series analysis, visualization of two- and three-dimensional data sets, tools for solving linear/differential equations, parameter estimation methods. Labs emphasize applications of the methods and tools to a wide range of data in Earth Sciences.

An overview of the Earth's energy and material resources. Following introductions to hydrocarbons, nuclear fuels, and other economically important ores, the course emphasizes methods used to exploit these resources and the environmental impacts of these operations. Topics include: coal and acid rain; petroleum, photochemical smog, and oil spills; nuclear power and radioactive hazards; alternative energies; metals and mining. Labs emphasize methods for discovering and exploiting resources, as well as environmental remediation approaches.

Basic observations and theoretical understanding of ocean phenomena from local surface beach waves to the effects of the oceans on global climate. Observations and dynamics of ocean waves, currents, turbulence, temperature and salinity distributions; basic fluid dynamics equations; the ocean's role in climate: wind-driven circulation and the Gulf Stream, thermohaline circulation and the potential instability of Europe's climate, El Nino, the oceans and global warming.

Physical and chemical processes determining the composition of the atmosphere and its implications for climate, ecosystems, and human welfare. Construction of atmospheric composition models. Atmospheric transport. Nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon cycles. Climate forcing by greenhouse gases and aerosols. Stratospheric ozone. Oxidizing power of the atmosphere. Surface air pollution: aerosols and ozone. Deposition to ecosystems: acid rain, nitrogen, mercury.

A solution to the problems set by the intersection of global energy demand and climate feedbacks requires the teaching of physics and chemistry in that context. Core topics include thermodynamics, free energy, entropy, acid-base and oxidation-reduction reactions, electrochemistry, electromagnetic induction, circuit theory, AC and DC circuits, the nature of photons and of electromagnetic radiation, photochemistry, materials, catalysis, kinetics, molecular bonding, and biological processes for energy conversion and storage.

The origin of the element and isotope distribution in the Earth and the Solar System. Closed system radioactive decay, isotope fractionation, mass balance and mixing. Application of Rb-Sr, Sm-Nd, U-Th-Pb, Lu-Hf, Re-Os and K-Ar isotope systems for geochronology and as tracers for geological processes. Noble gas geochemistry. Extinct nuclides. Cosmogenic nuclides. U-Th-series nuclides. Planetary isotopic evolution. Stable isotope geochemistry. Application of H, C, N, O, and S isotopes as tracers of geochemical and biogeochemical processes.

Course will present our current knowledge of the ocean ridge system where two thirds of Earth's crust is continually being created. We will examine the progressive understanding of ocean ridges from a historical perspective, emphasizing the process of scientific discovery. Topics include melt generation in the mantle, magmatic processes in the crust, formation of ocean ridge topography, faulting and tectonics, hydrothermal systems, manifestations in the overlying water column, and the unique ecosystems associated with vents. Approaches must be inherently interdisciplinary, including geochemistry, geophysics, geology, hydrothermal systems, and biology. The place of the ocean ridge system within the overall Earth system will be emphasized.

Study of water as a critical resource and as a factor in Earth surface and near-surface processes. Focus on development of relevant mechanics and physics. Hydrologic cycle, surface and groundwater, evapotranspiration, soil physics. Flow in porous media, Darcy law, contaminant transport, remediation strategies. Poroelasticity, subsidence, well hydraulics. Seepage forces, landslides, dam failures, sediment liquefaction. Glacial processes. Stream flows, turbulence concepts. Gravity waves, flood control; tsunamis; erosion and sediment transport.

An introduction to the deformation of Earth materials, including the processes of mountain building and plate tectonics, faulting and earthquakes, folding, and ductile deformation. Structures are examined using geologic maps, balanced cross sections, seismic reflection data, satellite imagery, microscopic analysis, analog experiments, and numerical methods. Labs emphasize the applications of structural geology in the energy and environmental industries, and for assessing earthquake hazards.

Techniques in interpreting paleo-environmental information from sedimentary rocks, covering grain-flow, carbonates, glacial deposits, terrestrial, marginal marine, and deep-sea environments, and culminating with cyclo-stratigraphy and basin dynamics.

Introduction to biological and organic chemistry of the Earth's environment. Primary focus on formation, processing, and preservation of organic carbon, with emphasis on paleoenvironmental applications and on processes occurring at the molecular level. This class is intended to be taken in series with EPS 186.

Atmospheric physics and chemistry: stratospheric and tropospheric transport, photochemistry, and aerosols; stratospheric ozone loss, tropospheric pollution; biogeochemical cycles.

Introduction to the mechanics of fluids and solids, organized around earth and environmental phenomena. Conservation laws, stress, deformation and flow. Inviscid fluids and ocean gravity waves; Coriolis dominated large scale flows. Viscosity and groundwater seepage; convective cells; boundary layers. Turbulent stream flows; flood surges; sediment transport. Elasticity and seismic waves. Pore fluid interactions with deformation and failure of earth materials, as in poro-mechanics of consolidation, cracking, faulting, and landslides. Ice sheets and glacial flow mechanics.

Fundamental concepts used in seismology as a tool in studying the Earth's deep interior. Topics include stress/strain/elasticity theory, the seismic wave equation, ray theory, surface waves and normal modes, source theory, and inverse methods.

The course emphasizes the principles of geochemistry and cosmochemistry and their application to important problems in Earth and Planetary Sciences. Problems to be addressed include planet formation and differentiation and the evolution of planetary mantles and crusts. Topics include: the Earth's composition; laboratory studies of rocks and minerals including laboratory exercises in high precision mass spectrometry; isotope and trace element geochemistry; application of chemical thermodynamics to problems in earth and planetary sciences.

Overview of the basic features of the climate system (global energy balance, atmospheric general circulation, ocean circulation, and climate variability) and the underlying physical processes.

Climate and climate variability phenomena and dynamical mechanisms over multiple time scales, using dynamical system tools and a hierarchical modeling approach. Energy balance and greenhouse, El Nino, thermohaline circulation, abrupt climate change, millennial variability (DO and Heinrich events), glacial-interglacial cycles, warm past climates including the Pliocene (2-5 Myrs) and Eocene (50 Myrs). Needed background in stochastic and nonlinear dynamics will be covered.

An introduction to the ideas and approaches to dynamics of generalized stability theory. Topics include autonomous and non-autonomous operator stability, stochastic turbulence models and linear inverse models. Students will learn the concepts behind non-normal thinking and how to apply these ideas in geophysical fluid dynamics and climate problems.

Absorption, emission, and scattering of planetary atmospheres, emphasizing Earth. Atmospheric spectroscopic properties for various measurement geometries. Quantitative spectroscopy and atmospheric structure are reviewed. Radiative transfer modeling and simulation and interpretation of atmospheric spectra from microwave through ultraviolet.

A review of various computer programs available for computation of geochemical equilibria at low and high temperatures and low and high pressures. The thermodynamic basis for the programs and a critical discussion of the available thermodynamic data bases for such computations. Applications to modeling of planetary surfaces, interiors and formation, in particular including modeling of elements with multiple oxidation states.

The laws of thermodynamics. Equilibrium and spontaneous transformations in systems of variable chemical composition. Components, phase rule and petrogenetic grids. Calculation of phase diagrams. Applications to cosmochemistry, igneous and metamorphic petrology, and environmental geochemistry.

Research seminar on current problems in planetary sciences.

The physical processes responsible for sea level changes over time scales extending from hours to hundreds of millions of years. Long-term sea-level trends: geological observations, physical mechanisms and eustasy, dynamic topography. Sea-level change on an ice age Earth (glacial isostatic adjustment, GIA): observations, viscoelastic loading, mantle viscosity, the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), interglacial sea-level change, ongoing GIA. Ocean tides: equilibrium and non-equilibrium effects, tidal dissipation. Modern global sea level change: tide gauge and geodetic observations, ice melting and thermal expansion, closing the sea-level budget, sea-level fingerprinting.

Topics in the dynamics of processes and properties in the Earth's interior, including: thermal convection and flow in the mantle, rheology of the mantle, plate motions, plate deformation, physical properties of rocks and minerals.

Research seminar on current problems of tectonics, faulting, and earthquake occurrence at the Pacific-North America plate boundary in California. Emphasis on the identification of extant problems that may be resolved with contemporary geologic, geophysical, and geodetic data analysis and process based modeling.

Seminar course investigating recent advances in structural geology and exploration geophysics with applications in earthquake science and the petroleum industry. Specific topics vary from year to year.

A survey and discussion of groundbreaking papers from across the Earth sciences.

This is a reading class aimed at touring the literature on light stable isotope systematics. Topics covered will range from classic applications in geology (diagenetic and high temperature exchange), through to more novel isotope systems (clumping, 17O, etc.) and applications in biological systems (for instance, those effects associated with RuBiSCo). Topics covered will also flex with the interest of the enrolled students.