Oceans, Atmosphere and the Environment

Catalog description

The introductory Earth and Environmental Science courses at WOU explore the processes that formed our dynamic planet and continue to shape Earth’s systems and surface environments. This course focuses on human impacts to the Earth system, including chemical and physical aspects of water, water pollution, oceanography, the atmosphere, air pollution, meteorology and global climate change, with an emphasis on the diverse environments of Oregon and the Pacific Northwest. Active learning strategies threaded through the lecture portion of the course and inquiry-based labs emphasize scientific reasoning and application of appropriate techniques to define and solve problems. Three hours of lecture and one two hour laboratory per week.