Geology Graduate Courses

Classification and genesis of metallic ore deposits illustrated by study of classic areas. Three lectures and one two-hour laboratory. Prerequisites: GEOL 3090 and GEOL 3020.

Study of volcanic phenomena; understanding eruptions and their products; impact on humans. Prerequisite: GEOL 3020 or consent of instructor.

Systematic study of surface processes and landforms; applications to environmental and historical geology. Three lectures and one two-hour laboratory. Prerequisite: GEOL 1040 or consent of instructor.

Principles of paleontology; major groups of fossil animals. Three lectures and one two-hour laboratory. Field trips outside of class time required. Prerequisite: GEOL 1050 or consent of instructor.

Geochemistry of natural waters including fluid/rock reactions, solution chemistry, solubility, and oxidation-reduction reactions. Three lectures and one three-hour laboratory. Prerequisites: GEOL 3030, MATH 1310 or MATH 1340, or consent of instructor.

Geological aspects of flowing water at the earth's surface, emphasizing open channel hydraulics, flood analysis, sediment transport, and water quality. Three lectures and one recitation section. Prerequisite: GEOL 3160.

Hydraulics of groundwater flow, hydrologic properties of geologic materials, evaluation of groundwater resources, and contamination. Three lectures and one recitation section. Prerequisite: GEOL 3160.

Principles and applications of radiogenic and stable isotope systems to geologic and environmental problems. Topics include isotope formation and stability, radioactive decay, geochronology, and common isotope tracer systems. Three one-hour lectures. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.

Principles and applications of radiogenic and stable isotope systems to geologic and environmental problems. Topics include isotope formation and stability, radioactive decay, geochronology, and common isotope tracer systems. Three one-hour lectures. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.

Characterization of geologic materials for engineering purposes; engineering properties of soils; slope stability; evaluation of natural hazards; foundation design. Two lectures and one two-hour laboratory.

Applied modeling of the hydrogeologic cycle. The course focuses on three areas of the hydrogeologic modeling: surface water modeling, aquifer property testing, and ground water modeling. The course integrates lectures, discussions, and project-based lab exercises. Software used includes: Arcview, Hec-RAS, Mod-Flow, and Starpoint softwares Aquifer Pump Test Programs.

Application of geophysical techniques to the exploration of the shallow subsurface with an emphasis on environmental problems. Seismic reflection and refraction, resistivity, magnetics, and gravity. Three lectures and one two-hour laboratory. Prerequisites: GEOL 3090, PHYS 2010 or PHYS 2110, or consent of instructor.

Study of principles and concepts involved in reconstructing ancient sedimentary depositional environments by way of lithologic, structural, and biologic aspects of sedimentary rocks and use of facies models. Two lectures and one two-hour laboratory/demonstration/lecture. Prerequisite: GEOL 3160.

Quantitative approaches to paleontological problems, including phylogenetic reconstruction, morphometrics, paleoecology, biostratigraphy, and random models. Discussion of theory and mathematical concepts, hands-on practice, and analysis of case studies. Prerequisites: GEOL 4150/GEOL 5150 or consent of instructor.

Paleobiological aspects of paleontology: paleoecology, paleobiogeography, evolution, phylogeny, and biochronology. Selected case histories. Prerequisites: GEOL 4150 or consent of instructor.

Glacial processes and influence on landscape. Three one-hour lectures. Three one-day field trips required. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.

Study of sedimentary basins in their tectonic and paleogeographic setting, with emphasis on collection and analysis of field data, geophysical logs, basin mapping techniques, seismic stratigraphy, and thermal maturity studies. Prerequisite: GEOL 3160.

Advanced seminars in specialized fields of geology covering particular subjects in detail by survey of literature and discussion. No lab. May be repeated if topics differ. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.

Utilization of field techniques to construct geologic maps, structure sections, and stratigraphic sections of specific regions. Prerequisite: consent of instructor. Extra fee.

Collection, manipulation, integration and automated display of spatial data from social and natural sciences. Two hours lecture, two hours of lab.

Principles and procedures used to obtain information about natural and cultural features through imagery derived from photographic, multispectral, thematic mapper and side-looking airborne radar sensor systems. Two hours lecture, two hours of lab.

Use of multispectral remote sensing data for environmental and other applications. Examples of localized environmental studies and engineering geology. Results of global monitoring of Earth's atmosphere, oceans, cryosphere, geological hazards, and manmade hazards by remote sensing satellites, as well as future needs. Two lectures and one two-hour lab, including Internet applications. Prerequisites: SEES 4500 or SEES 5500, or consent of instructor.

The course employs spatial modeling techniques for describing, manipulating and analyzing various types of spatio-temporal data. The techniques featured in the course include raster and vector based geoprocessing and scripting approaches, which are intended for automating tasks and customizing tools and workflow.

The aim of this course is to understand the requirements and the rationale of data processing methods with geographic information systems (GIS). The methods and techniques include exploratory data analysis (EDA) and exploratory spatial data analysis (ESDA), hypothesis testing, spatial analysis of feature distributions and patterns, relationship descriptors, and real-world applications.