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EARTH 300 Petrology and Mineralogy (1): Formation and evolution of igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks. Rock textures, compositions, tectonic settings, and other properties. Characteristic mineral assemblages, properties, processes and reactions. Prerequisites: Permission of instructor.
EARTH 301 Physics and Thermochemistry of the Earth's Interior (1): Finite strain theory, solid solution thermodynamics, phase transitions, subduction zone processes, seismic velocity structures, mineral equations of state. Prerequisites: Permission of instructor.
EARTH 310 Introductory (Aqueous) Geochemistry (1): Basic principles of aqueous geochemistry applied to natural waters (rivers, groundwaters, oceans, and lakes): Acids and bases, pH and alkalinity, carbonate equilibria, mineral solubility and weathering, sorption processes and surface reactions, reaction kinetics, redox chemistry, and isotope exchange.
EARTH 311 Sedimentary Geochemistry (1): Formation and diagenesis of carbonates, geochemistry of organic matter, petroleum formation, evaporite precipitation, paleoenvironmental reconstruction, isotope, organic, and trace and major element geochemistry. Prerequisites: EARTH 330 and permission of instructor.
EARTH 312 Stable Isotope Geochemistry (1): Principles governing the fractionation and distribution of stable isotopes (C,H,N,O,S) in the biosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere and geosphere. Topics in isotopic biogeochemistry, environmental problems and global climate change. Prerequisites: EARTH 311, EARTH 315, or permission of instructor.
EARTH 313 Radiogenic Isotope Geochemistry (1): Fundamental principles of nucleosynthesis; radioactive decay; fractionations between elements; use of radiogenic isotopic systems as geochronologic and process tracer tools, as applied to large-scale Earth processes (formation of Solar system, core-mantle differentiation, crustal growth, etc.).
EARTH 314 Organic Geochemistry (1): Organic carbon is essential for life, and also plays a key role in modulating the earth’s climate system on both long (geologic) and short (global warming) time scales. This course explores the origin, modification and preservation of organic matter in the sedimentary record and how it relates to global carbon cycle and climate in the geologic past and the implications for future greenhouse warming.
EARTH 315 Geochemistry of Global Environments (1): Biogeochemical processes in the upper crust, sediments, hydrosphere, and atmosphere. Geochemical cycles of elements and fluxes of materials. Weathering, physical and chemical sedimentation, and diagenesis. Chemical evolution of the outer shells of the earth.
EARTH 316 The Earth's Changing Climate (1): Elements of the physics of climate and climate modeling; paleoclimatic data and analysis; the climate of the Earth from the Cretaceous period to the present.
EARTH 320 Global Tectonics (1): Kinematics of plate tectonics. Geometry, determination, and description of plate motions. Paleomagnetism, marine magnetism, and hotspots. History of ocean basins and mountain building processes. Prerequisites: Permission of instructor.
EARTH 321 Reflection Seismology (1): Processing and interpretation of reflection data: wave propagation, reflection coefficients, attenuation, deconvolution, seismic sources, migration, and seismic imaging. Applications to hydrocarbon prospecting, structural geology, tectonics, stratigraphy, and continental reflection profiling.
EARTH 323 Seismology and Earth Structure (1): Elastic theory, earthquakes, seismic waves, wave propagation, seismometers and seismograms, ray paths, travel times, internal structure of the Earth, field seismology.
EARTH 324 Earthquakes and Tectonics (1): Elastic theory, seismic waves, seismometers and seismograms, ray paths, travel times, and Earth's internal structure. Earthquakes: location, characteristics, mechanism, and relation to plate motions.
EARTH 325 Tectonophysics (1): Rotational dynamics of the Earth, moment of inertia tensor, and whole lithosphere rotation. Motion and deformation of the lithospheric plates: forces on plates, stress and strain, elastic and viscoelastic deformation of the lithosphere, flexure, kinematics of plate boundary zone deformation, heat flow, and thermal properties of the lithosphere.
EARTH 326 Data Analysis for Earth and Planetary Sciences (1): Types and characteristics of earth science data, development and applications of model types, observational and systematic sources of uncertainties and their characterization, spatial and temporal predictions. Prerequisites: EARTH 201 and 202 or equivalent.
EARTH 327 Geophysical Data Processing (1): Analysis of seismic and other geophysical data. Sampling, windowing, discrete and fast Fourier transforms, z-transforms, deconvolution, filtering, and inverse methods.
EARTH 328 Tectonics and Structural Geology (1): Strain, fracture, slip, stress, and rheologic regimes; rock structures: folds, faults, and foliations; seismic parameters in tectonic studies; orogenic belts and their tectonic evolution.
EARTH 330 Sedimentary Geology (1): Sedimentary rocks; stratigraphy; local, regional and global correlation. Ancient depositional systems; facies analysis in context of tectonic, eustatic, and climatic controls on deposition. Prerequisites: Permission of instructor.
EARTH 331 Field Problems in Sedimentary Geology (1): Field methods in stratigraphy and sedimentology; interpretation of depositional systems and development of facies models. Two-and-a-half-week field trip to Colorado and Utah in early or mid-September, prior to first day of Fall Quarter classes. Prerequisites: EARTH 330.
EARTH 340 Paleobiology (1): Major fossil groups. Origin and evolution of life, speciation and mass extinction, evolution of communities and ecosystems. Application of paleobiologic methods to paleoenvironmental reconstruction. Prerequisites: Permission of instructor.
EARTH 350 Physics of the Earth (1): Solid earth geophysics: Earth's gravity field, Earth's magnetic field, interior of the Earth, heat flow, elementary wave propagation, and plate tectonics.
EARTH 420 Geodynamics of Active Plate Margins (1): Structure, motions, and active processes of modern trenches, island arcs, accretionary wedges, and consuming continental margins; analysis of selected ancient orogenic belts in a modern plate tectonic context; nature of collision, abduction, subduction, sliding, and microplate evolution; plate history of North America.
EARTH 421 Advanced Structural Geology and Tectonics (1): Tectonic transport in deformed rocks, origins of foliations and lineations, fold kinematics and style evolution, strain in folds, deformation facies, brittle-ductile transitions and parameters, strain-faulting compatibilities, extensional fault propagation, transcurrent fault behavior, and earthquake mechanisms.
EARTH 436 Sedimentology (1): Modern and ancient depositional environments of clastic and carbonate sediments. Sedimentary structures, geometry, provenance, diagenesis, and bioturbation applied to facies analysis. Oceanographic and tectonic controls on sedimentary rock facies. Advanced Topics courses below may be repeated for credit with a change of topic.
EARTH 438 Advanced Topics in Geophysics (1): Topics include tectonophysics and the bodily structure of the Earth, dislocation theory in Earth motions, glaciology, geochronology, and emerging and new areas of geophysics.
EARTH 440 Advanced Topics in Geochemistry (1): Topics include organic and environmental geochemistry, global cycling of elements, stable isotope geochemistry, mineral surface reactions.
EARTH 450 Advanced Topics in the Geological Sciences (1): Topics at the frontiers of research taught by visiting or department faculty.
EARTH 451 Advanced Topics in Paleoclimate (1): Methodology in paleoclimate: stable-isotope, paleoecological, and other methods for reconstructing the past climate. Fundamental principles of climate change on the time scale of thousands to millions of years. Climate reconstructions from the Cretaceous to the present.
EARTH 461 Advanced Topics in Plate Tectonics (1): Geophysical study of plate-boundary and intraplate processes; intraplate earthquakes and deformation; the subduction process; physical processes at midocean ridges; history of ocean basins; evolution of the Earth's mantle and crust.
EARTH 462 Advanced Topics in Seismology (1): Earthquake source models, normal modes of the Earth, and body wave synthesis methods.
EARTH 499 Independent Study (1): May be repeated for credit. Study of special problems under the direct supervision of one or more members of the teaching staff. A comprehensive report and/or a comprehensive examination is required.
EARTH 590 Research (1): Independent investigation of selected problems pertaining to thesis or dissertation. May be repeated for credit.
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