Courses

GEOL 101 The Earth Revealed (Introductory Geology)

GEOL 101 integrates physical and historical geology. Physical geology examines Earth materials (rocks and minerals) and the processes that modify them, including deep and surface Earth processes. Historical geology examines the co-evolution of Earth and life through time. Lectures discuss basic concepts in physics, chemistry, and biology important for understanding Earth as a system comprised of numerous interacting parts (Earth System Science). Students can expect to learn “how the Earth works” while simultaneously developing basic skills for interpreting and reconstructing geologic history in the field. The course culminates with a required weekend field trip to Baraboo, WI. Required laboratory sections (2 hr per week) consist of exercises designed to prepare students for the field trip.

Field trip photos:

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Spring 2009 field trip dates: TBA

GEOL 310 Introductory Aqueous Geochemistry

GEOL 310 emphasizes basic principles of aqueous geochemistry applied to geologic and environmental problems. Topics include thermodynamics and equilibrium modeling, reaction kinetics, acids and bases, pH and alkalinity, carbonate equilibria, mineral solubility and weathering, sorption processes and surface reactions, redox chemistry, etc.

GEOL 327 Radiogenic Isotope Geochemistry

GEOL 327 explores the application of radiogenic isotopes to problems in geochemistry, groundwater hydrology, oceanography, ecology, and environmental science. The scope includes radioactive decay, nucleosynthesis, cosmochemistry, geochronology, and isotope mixing theory.

GEOL 440 Geomicrobiology: Principles and Applications

GEOL 440 examines the interface between microbiology and the geochemical cycling of elements and their isotopes. Topics focus on basic principles in microbiology and aqueous geochemistry, rates and mechanisms of abiotic and biotic mineral weathering and precipitation reactions, the cycling and fractionation of transition metal isotopes (Fe, Mo, Cr, Cu, Zn, etc.) by microbiologic processes, the relationship between microbe-mineral interactions and the evolution of planetary atmospheres, and the application of geomicrobiology to problems in Environmental Engineering.