Earth and Environmental Processes

Catalog description

How does plate tectonics create mountains, earthquakes and volcanoes? What processes drive climate change? How do humans exacerbate flooding and other hazards? What processes govern water and energy resources? This course provides an introduction to the processes that shape the Earth’s surface, govern the structure of its interior, cause natural hazards, contribute to climate change and affect the human environment. Topics include interior processes (plate tectonics, mountain building, volcanism, earthquakes, flow of solid rocks), environmental processes (climate change, atmospheric and oceanic circulation, flow of rivers, glaciers, groundwater, water and energy resources), and the connections between them. Lectures are complemented by four labs, informal small-group study sessions, and a field trip. Collaborative learning is encouraged.