Courses
Undergraduates prepare to hoist sail on a field course with Prof. David Archer to study physical and chemical oceanography on the North Atlantic.
Students in GEOS24705 ("Energy: Science, Technology, and Human Usage") looking at advanced diesel engines at the Argonne National Laboratory's Locomotive Engine Research Program. Other course field trips included visits to coal-fired and nuclear power plants, a cogeneration facility, and the BP Whiting oil refinery (fourth largest in the nation, producing 4.5 billion gallons of fuel a year).
Geosci 302 is our introductory graduate course offered to all incoming graduate students as a way of introducing them to departmental life. This class offers a chance for 1st year graduate student to get to know each other, and the faculty, while being introduced to the wide variety of research conducted within the department.
In addition to courses, seminars and journal clubs provide important alternative opportunities for learning.
Graduate Student Nanxi Bian prepares samples for the ion probe as part of her reading and research course with Prof. Pam Martin.
Students set up a GPS Receiver on the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica as part of a reading and research class.
2009-2010 Proposed Courses
The following list represents courses that the Deparment plans to offer during the 2009-2010 academic year. This list of course offerings is currently up to date as of 6/4/2009 but is subject to change.
To see day and time listings for courses on offer, please refer to the Time Schedules.
To see a complete listing for of all courses in the Department, as well as degree requirements, please refer to the catalogs.
Autumn 2009
GEOS 13100 Physical Geology
This course introduces plate tectonics; the geologic cycle; and the internal and surface processes that make minerals and rocks, and shape the scenery. F. Richter
GEOS 21000 Introduction to Mineralogy
PQ: CHEM 11100-11200-11300 or equivalent. This course covers structure, chemical composition, stability, and occurrence of major rock-forming minerals. Labs concentrate on mineral identification with the optical microscope. L. Grossman
GEOS 21205/31205 Intro: Seismology, Earthquakes, Near Surface Earth Seismicity
This course introduces the mechanics and phenomenology of elastic
waves in the Earth and in the fluids near the Earth's surface (e.g., S and P waves in the solid earth, acoustic waves in the ocean and atmosphere). Topics include stress and strain, constitutive equations, elasticity, seismic waves, acoustic waves, theory of refraction/reflection, surface waves, dispersion, and normal modes of the Earth. Phenomenology addressed in the context of the course includes exploration geophysics (refraction/reflection seismology), earthquakes and earthquake source characterization, seismograms as signals, seismometers and seismological networks, and digital seismogram analysis. D. MacAyeal
GEOS 22200/32200 Geochronology
PQ: Background in college-level geology, physics, and mathematics. This course covers the duration of planetary differentiation and the age of the Earth (i.e., extinct and extant chronometers); timescales for building a habitable planet (i.e., the late heavy bombardment, the origin of the atmosphere, the emergence of life, and continent extraction); dating mountains (i.e., absolute ages, exposure ages, and thermochronology); the climate record (i.e., dating layers in sediments and ice cores); and dating recent artifacts (e.g., the Shroud of Turin). N. Dauphas
GEOS 22040/32040 Formation of Planetary Systems in our Galaxy: From Dust to Planetesimals.
PQ: One year of college level calculus and physics or chemistry, or consent of instructor. This course examines the physical and chemical processes that operate during the earliest stages of planet formation when dust in a protoplanetary disk aggregates into bodies 1-10 km in size. Topics that will be covered include the physical and chemical evolution of protoplanetary disks, radial transport of dust particles, transient heating events, and the formation of planetesimals. We will discuss the evidence of these processes found in meteorites and observed in disks around young stars. Chemical and physical models of dust evolution will be introduced, including an overview of basic numerical modeling techniques. F. Ciesla.
GEOS 23200/33200 Climate Dynamics
PQ: Prior physics course (preferably PHYS 13300 and 14300) and knowledge of calculus required; prior geophysical sciences course not required. Prior programming experience helpful but not required. This course introduces the basic physics governing the climate of planets, the Earth in particular but with some consideration of other planets. Topics include atmospheric thermodynamics of wet and dry atmospheres, the hydrological cycle, blackbody radiation, molecular absorption in the atmosphere, the basic principles of radiation balance, and diurnal and seasonal cycles. Students solve problems of increasing complexity, moving from pencil-and-paper problems to programming exercises, to determine surface and atmospheric temperatures and how they evolve. An introduction to scientific programming is provided, but the fluid dynamics of planetary flows is not covered. R. Pierrehumbert, E. Moyer.
GEOS 24714 Feeding the City: the Urban Food Chain-3 (=ENST 25703)
PQ: 2nd or 3rd year students strongly though not exclusively preferred. Acceptance into program by application only. GEOS 24714 is a zero-unit, non-credit course that must be taken P/F. This is a three-quarter sequence (winter, spring, autumn), combined with a summer internship. This class focuses on energy use and related greenhouse gas emissions of small-scale, diversified farms serving Chicago. The primary goal for interns will be to gather data on energy use and greenhouse gas emissions at Chicago-area farms, both rural and urban. Other agriculture or food-related projects will be considered on a case by case basis. In Winter and Spring Quarters, students will participate in an interdisciplinary reading and research course to explore and discuss the environmental impacts, and social and economic issues of local and national food production. The class will include a series of field trips within Chicago as well as guest lecturers. In Summer Quarter, students will be matched with farm sites where they will work as farm interns as well as keep detailed records to document energy input/output and other data; stipend provided for summer internship. In Autumn Quarter, students will wrap up reading and research component as well as analyze collected data. There is also opportunity to develop theses - both science-based and social-science based, stemming from participation in the project. Two-quarters' credit (200 units) is granted in the final quarter after successful completion of all three quarters and the summer internship. To meet requirements for full-time student status, students must carry at least three additional courses while registered for this course. Satisfies Environmental Studies major field study/intern degree requirement. P. Martin.
GEOS 30200 Research in the Geophysical Sciences
This course introduces the faculty's current research themes/areas to incoming graduate students. Lectures are presented by individual faculty on either 1) a general survey of a research area, or 2) a specialized topic of interest. Evaluation of the class is by a paper topic, chosen by the student by agreement with a particular faculty member, who will advise. The paper should consist of the development of an in-depth understanding of the topic selected. Class presentations (20 minutes) that present the general findings on that subject in a comprehensible manner are required. The grade is based on an overall evaluation of the oral and written presentations. STAFF
GEOS 36900 Topics in Paleobiology (=EVOL 31900)
In this seminar we investigate paleobiological and historical geological topics of current interest to students and faculty. Previous subjects include benthic paleoecology, the Pleistocene, and arthropod paleobiology. Prereq: Consent of instructor. D. Jablonski, S. Kidwell.
Winter 2010
GEOS 13200 Earth History
PQ: GEOS 13100 or consent of instructor. This course covers the paleogeographic, biotic, and climatic development of the Earth. C.Boyce
GEOS 22050/32050 Formation of Planetary Systems in our Galaxy: From Planetesimals to Planets
PQ: GEOS 22040 or consent of instructor. We will explore the stage of planet formation during which 1-10 km planetesimals accrete to form planets. Specific topics include heating of planetesimals, models of giant planet formation, the delivery of water to terrestrial planets, and the impact that stellar mass and external environment have on planet formation. We will also discuss what processes determine the properties (mass, composition, and orbital parameters) of a planet and its potential for habitability. Basic modeling techniques will be discussed. Students will be expected to actively discuss current research papers in peer-reviewed journals. F. Ciesla
GEOS 23500/33500 Physical Oceanography
PQ: GEOS 23200 or consent of instructor. This course provides a conceptual understanding of the dynamics of ocean circulation and a background in physical oceanography for students interested in further study of climate dynamics, chemical oceanography, marine biology, and paleontology. Topics include geometry of map projections, hypsometry of ocean basins and the geoid, temperature and salinity structure, watermasses, geostrophy and geostrophic adjustment, Ekman layers, coastal upwelling, Sverdrup balance, vorticity balance and western intensification, and waves and tides. D. MacAyeal
GEOS 23805/33805 Stable Isotope Biogeochemistry
PQ: CHEM 11100-11200-11300 or equivalent; 13100-13200-13300 or consent of instructor. Stable isotopes of H, C, O, N, and S are valuable tools for understanding the biological and geochemical processes that have shaped the composition of Earth's atmosphere and oceans throughout our planet's history. This course examines basic thermodynamic and kinetic theory to describe the behavior of isotopes in chemical and biological systems. We then examine the stable isotope systematics of localized environmental processes, and see how local processes contribute to global isotopic signals that are preserved in ice, sediment, rock, and fossils. Special emphasis is placed on the global carbon cycle, the history of atmospheric oxygen levels, and paleoclimate.
A. Colman
GEOS 24705 Energy: Science,Technology and Human Usage (=ENST 24705)
PQ: Equivalent of first-year undergraduate course sequence in physics. Students with strong interest but weak background should contact the instructor prior to enrolling. This course covers the technologies by which humans appropriate energy for industrial and societal use, from steam turbines to internal combustion engines to photovoltaics. We will also discuss the physics and economics of the resulting human energy system: fuel sources and relationship to energy flows in the Earth system, modeling and simulation of energy production and use. The course is intended to provide a technical foundation for students interested in careers in the energy industry or in energy policy. Rather than laboratory time we will take field trips to major energy converters (e.g. coal-fired and nuclear power plants, oil refinery, biogas digester) and users (e.g. steel, fertilizer production). E. Moyer
GEOS 27000/37000 Evolutionary History of Terrestrial Ecosystems
Seminar course covering the evolution of terrestrial ecosystems from their Paleozoic assembly through to the modern world. The fossil history of plant, vertebrate, invertebrate, and fungal lineages are covered, as well as the diversification of their ecological interactions. The influence of extinction events and important extrinsic factors (e.g., geography, climate, atmospheric composition) also are considered. C. K. Boyce
GEOS 28000/38000 Introduction to Structural Geology
PQ: GEOS 13100. This course explores the deformation of the Earth materials primarily as observed in the crust. We emphasize stress and strain and their relationship to incremental and finite deformation in crustal rocks, as well as techniques for inferring paleostress and strain in deformed crustal rocks. We also look at mesoscale to macroscale structures and basic techniques of field geology in deformed regions. D. Rowley
GEOS 29002/39002 Field Course in Modern and Ancient Environments
This course uses weekly seminars during the winter quarter to prepare for a ~one-week fieldtrip over spring break, where students acquire experience with sedimentary rocks and the modern processes responsible for them. The focus for Winter 2010 will be the geology and biology of tropical carbonate settings, including the formation of reefs, working out of the Gerace Research Station on San Salvador, Bahamas. First organizational meeting for the course will be in late Autumn 2009; contact instructor for details. S. Kidwell, M. LaBarbera
GEOS 32300 Cosmochemistry
Prereq: Consent of instructor. Chemical, mineralogical, and petrographic classifications of meteorites. Topics include: abundances of the elements, origin of the elements and stellar evolution, the interstellar medium and formation of the solar nebula, condensation of the solar system, chemical fractionations in meteorites and planets, age of the solar system, extinct radionuclides in meteorites, isotope anomalies. L. Grossman
GEOS 34200 Geophysical Fluid Dynamics
Prereq: One quarter of fluid mechanics in any discipline, or consent of instructor. Theoretical foundation for understanding the large-scale flow patterns in the Earth's atmosphere and ocean. Topics include: The governing equations for fluids on a rotating sphere under gravity; basic conservation properties; linear wave-dynamics and geostrophic adjustment; quasigeostrophic-dynamics with Ekman friction; effects of isolated mountains on the general circulation of the atmosphere; two-layer model of baroclinic instability and implications to storm organization; wind driven ocean circulation. R. Pierrehumbert
GEOS 36501 Paleobiological Modeling and Analysis-1 (=EVOL 33001)
Prerequisites: Mathematics through first-year calculus; basic computer programming skills (or willingness to learn); elementary statistics helpful. This course is an introduction to mathematical modeling as applied to problems in paleobiology and evolutionary biology. Topics include: basic probability theory; general approaches to modeling; model comparison using likelihood and other criteria; forward modeling of branching processes; sampling models; and inverse methods. A series of programming exercises and a term project are required. Programming in R or C is recommended, but any language may be used. M. Foote
GEOS 36700 Taphonomy (=EVOL 31800)
Prereq: Consent of instructor. Lecture and research course on patterns and processes of fossilization, including rates and controls of soft-tissue decomposition, post-mortem behavior of skeletal hard parts, concentration and burial of remains, scales of time-averaging, and the net spatial and compositional fidelity of (paleo)biologic information, including trends across environments and evolutionary time. S. Kidwell
Spring 2009
GEOS 13300 The Atmosphere (=ENST 13300)
PQ: MATH 13200 or consent of instructor. This course introduces the physics, chemistry, and phenomenology of the Earth's atmosphere with an emphasis on the role of the atmosphere as a component of the planet's life support system. Topics include (1) atmospheric composition, evolution, and structure; (2) solar and terrestrial radiation; (3) the role of water in atmospheric processes; (4) winds, the global circulation, and weather systems; and (5) atmospheric chemistry and pollution. We focus on the mechanisms by which human activity can influence the atmosphere and on interactions between atmosphere and biosphere. J. Frederick
GEOS 21100/31100 Introduction to Petrology
PQ: GEOS 21000. We learn how to interpret observable geological associations, structures, textures, and mineralogical and chemical compositions of rocks so as to develop concepts of how they form and evolve. Our theme is the origin of granitic continental crust on the only planet known to have oceans and life. Igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks; ores; and waste disposal sites are reviewed. N. Dauphas
GEOS 21200/31200 Physics of the Earth
PQ: Prior calculus and college-level physics courses, or consent of instructor. We consider geophysical evidence bearing on the internal makeup and dynamical behavior of the Earth, including seismology (i.e., properties of elastic waves and their interpretation, and internal structure of the Earth); mechanics of rock deformation (i.e., elastic properties, creep and flow of rocks, faulting, earthquakes); gravity (i.e., geoid, isostasy); geomagnetism (i.e., magnetic properties of rocks and history, origin of the magnetic field); heat flow (i.e., temperature within the Earth, sources of heat, thermal history of the Earth); and plate tectonics and the maintenance of plate motions. F. Richter
GEOS 24600/34600 Laboratory Course on Weather and Climate. Working in groups, students gain hands-on experience in designing, implementing, and analyzing experiments concerning the principles of rotating fluids that underlie weather and climate. N. Nakamura
GEOS 344xx Advanced Planetary Radiation
Course in development. R. Pierrehumbert
GEOS 36000 Geometric Morphometrics (=EVOL 33700)
This graduate-level course serves as an introduction to the field of morphometrics (the analysis of organismal shape). Quantitative exploratory and confirmatory techniques involving both traditional (length-based) and geometric (landmark-based) summaries of organismal shape are introduced in a series of lectures and practical exercises. Emphasis is placed on the application of morphometric methods to issues such as (but not restricted to) quantification of intraspecific variability, interspecific differences, disparity, ontogenetic growth patterns (allometry), and phylogenetic changes in morphology. Relevant statistical and algebraic operations are explained assuming no prior background. Students are required to bring personal laptop computers, and are expected to acquire and analyze their own data sets during the course. M. Webster
GEOS 36800 Macroevolution (=EVOL 31700)
Prereq: Consent of the instructor. Patterns and processes of evolution above the species level, in both recent and fossil organism. A survey of the current literature, along with case studies. D. Jablonski
Helpful Courses outside our Department
Below is a list of courses current students have found helpful
Math
20000-20100. This analysis sequence is designed for students intending to major in the physical sciences
22000. Statistical Methods and Their Applications
Physics
33000. Mathematical Methods of Physics. Topics include complex analysis, linear algebra, differential equations, boundary value problems, and special functions.
Chemistry
Biology
Evolutionary Processes
Biomechanics
Systematic Biology
Speciation
Writing
Little Red School House
General Courses
Scientific Illustration
