12.102 Environmental Earth Science

Fall 2005

The water cycle describes the sources, sinks, and flow of our most important natural resource. (Image courtesy of USGS.)

Course Highlights

This course features assignments (often related to the listed readings) and lecture summaries.

Course Description

The geologic record demonstrates that our environment has changed over a variety of time scales from seconds to billions of years. This course explores the many ways in which geologic processes control and modify the Earth's environment and serves as an introduction to Environmental Earth Science Field Course (12.120), which addresses field applications of these principles in the American Southwest.

Syllabus

Course Description

The geologic record demonstrates that our environment has changed over a variety of time scales from seconds to billions of years. This course explores the many ways in which geologic and anthropologic processes control and modify the Earth's environment. Topics include: chemical and physical interactions between the solid Earth, its oceans and atmosphere; the effect of catastrophic events such as volcanic eruptions and earthquakes on the environment; geologic hazards; and our role in modifying the environment through earth resource development. This course serves as an introduction to Environmental Earth Science Field Course (12.120), which addresses field applications of these principles in the American Southwest.

Main Text

Merritts, D., A. de Wet, and K. Menking. Environmental Geology: an Earth System Science Approach. New York, NY: W.H. Freeman and Company, 1998. ISBN: 0716728346.

Supplemental Texts

Keller, E. A. Environmental Geology. 8th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1999. ISBN: 0130224669.

Montgomery, C. W. Environmental Geology. 6th ed. Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill, 2003. ISBN: 0073661953.

Pipken, B. W., and D. D. Trent. Geology and the Environment. 4th ed. Belmont, CA: West/Wadsworth, 2005. ISBN: 0534490514.

Thompson, G. R., and J. Turk. Environmental Geoscience. 3rd ed. Ft Worth, TX: Harcourt Brace and Company, 2003. ISBN: 0030988667.

Grades

Grading criteria.
ACTIVITIES	PERCENTAGES
Problem Sets	30%
Exams	30%
Project	30%
Attendance and Participation	10%

Calendar

Course schedule.
WEEK #	TOPICS	KEY DATES
1	Introduction Population Growth, Hurricane Katrina
2	Geologic Time, Isotopic Tracers Introduction to Rocks and Minerals
3	Rock and Mineral ID Mineral Resources and Hazards Hands on Mineral Lab Energy Resources: Fossil Fuels, Alternative Energy Water as a Resource	Problem set 1 due
4	Water Cycles Physics and Chemistry of Water Groundwater Aquifers Controls on Fluid Flow	Problem set 2 due
5	Pedogenesis and Soils Waste Management	Rocks and minerals lab due
6	Geology and Resources Mineral Resources and Extraction Geologic Hazards and Catastrophes Plate Tectonics	Rocks and minerals lab supplement due
7	Exam 1 Plate Tectonics and Geologic Hazards
8	Seismology and Earthquake Hazards Volcanism	Problem set 3 due
9	Volcanic Hazards Surface Processes, Landslides, Debris Flows	Problem set 4 due
10	Floods Physics and Chemistry of Oceans Hurricanes and Tides Shoreline Erosion
11	Atmospheric Circulation Ocean-atmosphere Coupling Climate Change Past Records of Climate	Problem set 5 due
12	Air Pollution Ozone Pollution and Depletion Sulfogenic Aerosols Greenhouse Gases	Problem set 6 (extra credit) due
13	Carbon Cycle and the Greenhouse Effect Geology of Nuclear Reactor Siting and Waste Disposal
14	Project Summary	Final project due

Readings

Readings for the class were assigned for the sessions below.

Course readings.
WEEK #	TOPICS	READINGS
2	Geologic Time, Isotopic Tracers Introduction to Rocks and Minerals	Merritts, D., A. de Wet, and K. Menking. Environmental Geology: an Earth System Science Approach. New York, NY: W.H. Freeman and Company, 1998, chapters 2, 3. ISBN: 0716728346. Liu, Jianguo, Gretchen C. Daily, Paul R. Ehrlich, and Gary W. Luck. "Effects of household dynamics on resource consumption and biodiversity." Nature 421 (January 30, 2003). Bartlett, Albert A. "The World's Worst Population Problem." Wild Earth 7, no. 3 (Fall 1997): 88-90. Population and the Environment (PDF) Eberstadt, Nicholas. "Population Sense and Nonsense." AEI Online, Sunday, September 1, 2002.
3	Rock and Mineral ID Mineral Resources and Hazards Hands on Mineral Lab Energy Resources: Fossil Fuels, Alternative Energy Water as a Resource	"Nuclear industry exec picked to head Yucca Mountain project," Las Vegas Sun, September 09, 2005, Associated Press. "DOE proposes spending cuts for Yucca Mountain scientists," Las Vegas Sun, September 14, 2005, Associated Press. Brumfiel, Geoff. "Senate nod prompts fresh analysis of nuclear waste dump." Nature 418 (July 18, 2002). ———. "Kerry pledges to axe Yucca Mountain nuclear-waste dump." Nature 430 (August 19, 2004). ———. "Fake papers hamper plans for nuclear store at Yucca Mountain." Nature 434 (March 24, 2005). Macilwain, Colin. "Out of sight, out of mind?" Nature 412 (August 30, 2001). Kerr, Richard A. "Nuclear Waste Disposal: Science and Policy Clash at Yucca Mountain." Science 288, no. 5466 (April 28, 2000): 602. Ewing, Rodney C., and Allison Macfarlane. "Yucca Mountain." Science 296 (April 26, 2002).
5	Pedogenesis and Soils Waste Management	Merritts, D., A. de Wet, and K. Menking. Environmental Geology: an Earth System Science Approach. New York, NY: W.H. Freeman and Company, 1998, chapters 4, 5. ISBN: 0716728346.
6	Geology and Resources Mineral Resources and Extraction Geologic Hazards and Catastrophes Plate Tectonics	de Wit, Maarten J. "Valuing copper mined from ore deposits." Ecological Economics 55 (2005): 437-443. Dallmeyer, R. D. Physical Geology: Laboratory Text and Manual. 6th (Book and CD) ed. Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall Hunt Pub. Co., September 1999, exercise 18. ISBN: 0787259586.
8	Seismology and Earthquake Hazards Volcanism	Merritts, D., A. de Wet, and K. Menking. Environmental Geology: an Earth System Science Approach. New York, NY: W.H. Freeman and Company, 1998, chapter 7. ISBN: 0716728346.
13	Carbon Cycle and the Greenhouse Effect Geology of Nuclear Reactor Siting and Waste Disposal	To review for the test: Merritts, D., A. de Wet, and K. Menking. Environmental Geology: an Earth System Science Approach. New York, NY: W.H. Freeman and Company, 1998, chapters 6, 8, 9, and 12. ISBN: 0716728346.