An introduction to natural (and some society-induced) hazards and the importance of public understanding of the issues related to them. Emphasis is on the geological processes that underlie the hazards, with discussion of relevant policy issues tied to reading recent newspaper/popular science articles. Principal topics: Earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, tsunami, hurricanes, floods, meteorite impacts, global warming. Intended primarily for non-science majors.

Introduction to dinosaur paleontology, including fundamental geological and biological concepts, with focus on how modern paleontologists ask interdisciplinary questions to examine the fossil record. Use of dinosaurs to explore: process and impact of scientific method; geologic processes, geologic time, global change, ecosystems, biography; anatomy, evolution, biodiversity, phylogenetic relationships; and media portrayal of extinct animals.

The ocean and the atmosphere control Earth's climate, which in turn influences the ocean. We explore ocean and atmospheric circulation, their chemical compositions and interactions that make up the climate system, including exchanges of heat and carbon, and how these circulations control marine ecosystems and biogeochemical cycles. The course focuses on climate change and human impacts, including effects on aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems from increased atmospheric carbon dioxide. This course is suitable for students concentrating in science or engineering or pursuing the Climate Science minor. One weekly precept complements lectures.

What makes Earth habitable? How have we unraveled the mysteries of planetary interiors? Using a physics-centered approach, we'll explore a range of captivating subjects in earth and planetary science, including the origin of solar systems, tectonic plates, mantle convection, earthquakes, and volcanoes. You will learn methods to study the inner structures and dynamics of planets, not just Earth, but also celestial neighbors like Mars, Venus, Mercury, the Moon, and even exoplanets.

The course covers concepts related to the chemistry of inorganic and organic materials found in the pristine and contaminated settings in the Earth surface environments, with an introduction to the modern field sampling techniques and advanced laboratory analytical and imaging tools. Different materials characterization methods, such as optical, infrared, and synchrotron X-ray spectroscopy and microscopy, will also be introduced. Field sampling and analysis of materials from diverse soil and coastal marine environments will be the focus during the second half of the semester.

This course serves as an introduction to the processes that govern the distribution of different rocks in the Earth. We learn to make observations from the microscopic to continental scale and relate these to theoretical and empirical thermodynamics. The goal is to understand the chemical, structural, and thermal influences on rock formation and how this in turn influences the plate tectonic evolution of our planet.

Microbes were the first life forms on Earth and are the most abundant life forms today. Their metabolisms underpin the cycling of carbon, nitrogen, and other important elements through Earth systems. This course will cover the fundamentals of microbial physiology and ecology and examine how microbial activities have shaped modern and ancient environments, with the goal of illustrating the profound influence of microbial life on our planet for over 3 billion years.

This course explores the fundamentals of climate dynamics. Through examination of the coupled interactions between the atmosphere, oceans, land, and cryosphere, students will investigate how these systems drive climate variability and change across timescales ranging from weeks to millennia. Topics include: global energy balance, atmospheric and oceanic circulation, the hydrologic cycle, climate sensitivity and feedbacks, and paleoclimate. Students will study a hierarchy of climate models, from theoretical frameworks to comprehensive general circulation models, and assess the mechanisms behind major climate feedbacks and modes of variability.

This course examines the chemical composition of the oceans and the physical, chemical, and biological processes governing this composition in the past and present. Emphasis on the cycles of major elements including nutrients, carbon, and oxygen, involved in structuring marine ecosystems and regulating Earth's climate on time scales of years to millions of years. Processes and phenomena include oceanic chemical fluxes at the ocean-atmosphere and ocean-sediment interfaces, the interactions of ocean biogeochemical cycles with the physical climate system and biodiversity, and the ongoing anthropogenic perturbations.

An introduction to weak numerical methods, in particular finite-element and spectral-element methods, used in computational geophysics. Basic surface & volume elements, representation of fields, quadrature, assembly, local versus global meshes, domain decomposition, time marching & stability, parallel implementation & message-passing, and load-balancing. In the context of parameter estimation and 'imaging', will explore data assimilation techniques and related adjoint methods. The course offers hands-on lab experience in meshing complicated surfaces & volumes as well as numerically solving partial differential equations relevant to geophysics

Course educates Geosciences and AOS students in the responsible conduct of research using case studies appropriate to these disciplines. This discussion-based course focuses on issues related to the use of scientific data, publication practices and responsible authorship, peer review, research misconduct, conflicts of interest, the role of mentors & mentees, issues encountered in collaborative research and the role of scientists in society. Successful completion is based on attendance, reading, and active participation in class discussions. Course satisfies University requirement for RCR training.

A yearlong survey, in sequence, of fundamental papers in the geosciences. Topics in 505 (Spring) include the origin and interior of the Earth, plate tectonics, geodynamics, the history of life on Earth, the composition of the Earth, its oceans and atmospheres, past climate. Topics in 506 (Fall) include present and future climate, biogeochemical processes in the ocean, geochemical cycles, orogenies, thermochronology, rock fracture and seismicity. A core course for all beginning graduate students in the geosciences.

Examines the use of stable isotope measurements to investigate important biogeochemical, environmental, and geologic processes, today and over Earth history. Introduction to terminology, basic underlying principles, measurement techniques, commonly used analytical and computational approaches for analyzing data, followed by a review of typical applications of the isotope systems of carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, and other elements. Lectures by the instructor, problem sets, numerical modeling assignments, student presentations and a final student paper based on readings from the scientific literature.

This course covers specific intervals of paleoclimate and topics may vary year by year. Topics include controls on Earth's climate, a survey of sedimentary and geochemical information used in climate reconstructions, geophysical techniques applied to paleoclimate, and geochronological constraints on paleoclimate records. Intended for students in Geosciences and the Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences programs interested in Earth's environment, past and present. Spring 2025 course topic: the Quaternary Period (2.58 million years ago - present)