Geosciences

This course is for students who want to turn observations into models and subsequently evaluate their uniqueness and uncertainty. Three main topics, taught on the chalkboard, are elementary statistics (inference), heuristic time series (Fourier) analysis, and model parameter estimation via matrix inverse methods. Prerequisites: MAT 201 and 202. Theory lectures and classroom Matlab instruction in alternating weeks. Two 90-minute lectures/classes.

Fundamentals of seismology and seismic wave propagation. Introduction to acoustic and elastic wave propagation concepts, observational methods, and inferences that can be drawn from seismic data about the deep planetary structure of the Earth, as well as about the occurrence of oil and gas deposits in the crust. Prerequisites: PHY 104 and MAE 305 (can be taken concurrently), or permission of the instructor. Two 90-minute classes.

The study of the role of and mechanisms behind oceanic transport, storage and exchange of energy, freshwater and momentum in the climate system. Exploration of ocean circulation, mixing, thermodynamic properties and variability. Understanding the physical constraints on the ocean, including Coriolis-dominated equations of motion, the wind-driven and thermohaline circulations, and the adjustment of the ocean to perturbations. El Niño, oceans and global warming & sea ice. Three 50-minute classes. G. Vecchi and S. Legg

Fundamentals of biological oceanography, with an emphasis on the ecosystem level. The course will examine organisms in the context of their chemical and physical environment; properties of seawater and atmosphere that affect life in the ocean; primary production and marine food webs; and global cycles of carbon and other elements. Students will read the current and classic literature of oceanography. Prerequisites: college-level chemistry, biology, and physics. Two 90-minute classes.

An introduction to weak numerical methods used in computational geophysics. Finite- and spectral-elements, representation of fields, quadrature, assembly, local versus global meshes, domain decomposition, time marching and stability, parallel implementation and message-passing, and load-balancing. Parameter estimation and "imaging" using data assimilation techniques and related "adjoint" methods. Labs provide experience in meshing complicated surfaces and volumes as well as solving partial differential equations relevant to geophysics. Prerequisites: MAT 201; partial differential equations and basic programming skills. Two 90-minute lectures.

An advanced introduction to setting up and solving boundary value problems relevant to the solid Earth sciences. Topics include heat flow, fluid flow, elasticity and plate flexure, and rock rheology, with applications to mantle convection, magma transport, lithospheric deformation, structural geology, and fault mechanics. Prerequisites: MAT 201 or 202. Two 90-minute lectures.

Theory and methodology of radiogenic isotope geochemistry with a focus on geochronology as applied to topics in the geosciences, including the formation and differentiation of the Earth and solar system, thermal and temporal evolution of orogenic belts, and the rates and timing of important geochemical, biotic, and climatic events in earth history. Two 90-minute lectures.

Focuses on the inorganic and organic constituents of aqueous, solid, and gaseous phases of soils, and fundamental chemical principles and processes governing the reactions between different constituents. The role of soil chemical processes in the major and trace element cycles, and the biogeochemical transformation of different soil contaminants will be discussed in the later parts of the course. Prerequisites: GEO363/CHM331/ENV331, or any other basic chemistry course. Two 90-minute lectures.

An introduction to the science of water quality management and pollution control in natural systems; fundamentals of biological and chemical transformations in natural waters; identification of sources of pollution; water and wastewater treatment methods; fundamentals of water quality modeling. Two lectures, field trips. Open to juniors and seniors, and graduate students only. Prerequisites: Student should have some background in chemistry and an interest in water pollution problems.

Concepts of solid-state physics and inorganic chemistry relevant to the study of minerals and materials. The emphasis is on applications to the study of planetary interiors. Topics include crystal chemistry; crystal structure and phase transitions; equations of state, dynamic, and static compression; elasticity; transport properties; lattice dynamics; lattice defects; and solid-state diffusion and creep.

A survey of fundamental papers in the Geosciences. Topics 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 atmosphere, past climate. The first of two core graduate courses.

A survey of fundamental papers in the Geosciences. Topics include present and future climate, biogeochemical processes in the ocean, geochemical cycles, orogenies, thermochronology, rock fracture and seismicity. This is the second of two core graduate courses.

Selected topics related to structure, properties, and stability of minerals and melts. Topics include mantle mineralogy, applications of synchrotron radiation to the study of earth materials, physics and chemistry of minerals at high pressure and temperature, and advanced concepts in mineral physics.

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.

Relationships between low temperature geochemistry and microbiology. Applications of newly developed molecular biological techniques and isotope geochemical methods and how these approaches can be used to determine the physiological state of microorganisms. Each student is expected to make a research presentation to the seminar. Visiting scholars and faculty members from other departments may occasionally contribute guest lectures to the seminar.

This seminar provides an overview of the rapidly developing field of geobiology, which aims at investigating how life influences and is influenced by Earth processes. Students are expected to present and lead article discussions, construct, peer and panel review NSF-style graduate student fellowship research proposals in the second half of the course. Prerequisites: General chemistry, General Biology, Environmental Microbiology or by instructor permission.

This course covers the chemistry of interfacial reactions at the solid-water, air-water, liquid-water, and organism-water that are pertinent to the nature. The molecular structure and properties of the natural interfaces, water chemistry at the interfaces, and applications of thermodynamics, and recently developed in situ spectroscopic and microscopic methods to study these systems is discussed. Special emphasis is on the applications of interfacial chemistry in environmental chemistry.

The structure and composition of terrestrial atmospheres. The fundamental aspects of electromagnetic radiation, absorption and emission by atmospheric gases, optical extinction by particles, the roles of atmospheric species in the Earth's radiative energy balance, the perturbation of climate due to natural and anthropogenic causes, and satellite observations of climate systems are also studied.

Earth system and climate sensitivity relate changes in greenhouse gas concentrations and other radiative forcers to changes in temperature, both in Earth's past and in the future. The Cenozoic record provided by paleo-temperature and paleo-CO2 proxies can constrain these parameters and thus also the projected response of the planet to human-induced changes in greenhouse gas concentrations. This course will explore the concepts of climate and Earth system sensitivity, the methods and records of paleo-temperature and paleo-carbon dioxide proxies in the Cenozoic, and the statistical challenges of inferring sensitivities from these proxies.

This course will provide a graduate level introduction to Earth's climate history. Topics include controls on Earth's climate, a survey of sedimentary properties used in climate reconstructions, and a discussion of the major changes in climate reconstructions, and a discussion of the major changes in climate from the Precambian to the present. Intended for students in Geosciences and the Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences program interested in Earth's present environment and its changes through time.

Application of fracture mechanics to a wide range of geologic processes, including jointing, dike propagation, fault growth, and earthquake rupture are studied. Topics include the role of fractures in crustal deformation, solutions for cracks in elastic media, engineering fracture mechanics, numerical methods, and application to field and geodetic studies of natural examples.

The use of seismic data to determine large-scale, three-dimensional earth structure and earthquake source parameters. Moment-tensor representation of sources, free oscillations, surface-wave dispersion, and seismic tomography.

Special topics of current research interest in geodynamics and related disciplines

Geophysical applications of the principles of continuum mechanics; conservation laws and consti-tutive relations and tensor analysis; acoustic, elastic, and gravity wave propagation are studied.

Seminar examines the history of global change on Earth. Topics include the relationship between paleogeography, sea level and climate, the character and geometry of Earth's ancient magnetic field, the evolution of Earth's spin vector, the interpretation of global sea level variability, the deconvolution of periodic and stochastic forcing in sedimentary records, and the large-scale events and processes that affected global change and the evolution of life.