GEOL1120 – Environmental Geoscience Course Description and Objectives: Exploration of various effects on Earth’s long-term physical-chemical systems caused by human consumption and pollution of its vital resources and emphasize environmental and geological issues critical to earth’s sustainability. Population growth and technology cause rapid changes to our planet at much faster rates than the geologic time it needs to recover. We will explore various effects on Earth’s long-term physical-chemical systems caused by human consumption and pollution of its vital resources and emphasize environmental and geological issues critical to earth’s sustainability. The course is structured to satisfy the environmental curiosity and awareness of science and non-science majors. Class lectures and discussions will familiarize the students with the earth’s rapidly changing environment due to human use and abuse. We will examine environmental practices on the sustainable use of our planet’s resources. Class discussions will include the latest environmental news. At the end of this course, the student is expected to understand (a) how matter cycles through the Earth’s systems over time, (b) the importance of the environmental processes in the global environment, (c) the impact of humans on the natural environment, and (d) possible solutions for a sustainable Earth. Syllabus (1120) GEOL1120E – Environmental Geoscience (Online) Course Description and Objectives: This course meets online which consists of weekly modules consisting of readings, short videos, assignments, and quizzes. Exploration of various effects on Earth’s long-term physical-chemical systems caused by human consumption and pollution of its vital resources and emphasize environmental and geological issues critical to earth’s sustainability. Population growth and technology cause rapid changes to our planet at much faster rates than the geologic time it needs to recover. We will explore various effects on Earth’s long-term physical-chemical systems caused by human consumption and pollution of its vital resources and emphasize environmental and geological issues critical to earth’s sustainability. The course is structured to satisfy the environmental curiosity and awareness of science and non-science majors. Class lectures and discussions will familiarize the students with the earth’s rapidly changing environment due to human use and abuse. We will examine environmental practices on the sustainable use of our planet’s resources. Class discussions will include the latest environmental news. At the end of this course, the student is expected to understand (a) how matter cycles through the Earth’s systems over time, (b) the importance of the environmental processes in the global environment, (c) the impact of humans on the natural environment, and (d) possible solutions for a sustainable Earth. GEOL3020 – Surficial & Near Surficial Processes Course Description and Objectives: Students of this course are introduced to the geomorphological, geochemical, and geohydrological processes that configure and modify the Earth’s surface. Students build on their basic conceptual understanding of Earth’s environmental processes through integrated models of earth surface dynamics. Evaluation of the student’s knowledge of surficial and near-surface processes aims at their particular knowledge of specific elements of the earth system – landforms, climate, hydrology, weathering – and their synthetic understanding of these within integrative cycles – biochemical; earth-air-ocean linkage; and climate. An emphasis on what the earth surface processes tell the students of the environmental future. Assessment methods include written exams, practical laboratory and homework exercises, and term paper/project assignments. Student will understand the basic geologic processes which shape the surface of the Earth. The student will be able to quantitatively and qualitatively evaluate landforms and their origins. The student will understand the importance of changing surface conditions on landforms and processes, such as weathering, erosion, soil development. The student will better understand the interaction of humans with surficial processes and materials, including geologic hazards, soil fertility and erosion, environmental pollution and climate change. Syllabus (3020) GEOL4220/6220 – Hydrogeology Course Description and Objectives: The groundwater component of the hydrologic cycle is examined. Topics include the basic principles of flow through porous media, natural water chemistry, and contaminant transport. Anthropogenic influences on the groundwater resources are discussed, including the influence of wells (water supply) and contamination by soluble and non-aqueous phase liquids. Groundwater and vadose zone remediation techniques are reviewed. Basic principles and anthropogenic influences are illustrated with field examples. Syllabus (4220/6220) GEOL4530/6530 – Principles and Environmental Applications GIS Course Description and Objectives: The course provides rigorous hands-on-exercises on the applications of remote sensing and GIS techniques in geological and environmental sciences. The hands-on exercises are primarily based on previous and ongoing research projects in varying physical and climatic environments (most of which was published in peer-reviewed journals). While solving the exercises, students will master image processing and spatial analysis techniques (e.g., radiometric and geometric enhancement, image classifications, spatial interpolation, georeferencing, etc.). The course will cover the fundamentals of remote sensing and GIS with an emphasis on hydrologic applications. The student will understand the fundamentals of remote sensing and numerical/spatial analysis techniques commonly used in the analysis of geological/environmental data sets. As well as, master the applications of these techniques within an image processing (ENVI) and GIS framework to resolve geologic and environmental problems of interest. Syllabus (4530/6530) GEOL8710 – Watershed Modeling Course Description and Objectives: This course will describe the science, technology, and policy aspects of watershed-scale modeling. There will be multiple assignments that will require the use of the Soil Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model and a project chosen by the student (including a term paper). The assignments will be designed to develop familiarity with the SWAT model. A midterm will cover science and policy readings. Students will make oral presentations near the end of the course on their projects. Syllabus (8710) GEOL8720 – Fundamentals and Applications of Remote Sensing in Geology and Hydrogeology Course Description and Objectives: The course provides rigorous hands-on-exercises on the applications of remote sensing techniques in geological and environmental sciences. The hands-on exercises are primarily based on previous and ongoing research projects in varying physical and climatic environments (most of which was published in peer-reviewed journals). While solving the exercises, students will master image processing and spatial analysis techniques (e.g., radiometric and geometric enhancement, image classifications, spatial interpolation, georeferencing, etc.). The course will cover the fundamentals of remote sensing with an emphasis on geology and hydrology. Syllabus (8720)
