The Environment of the Earth's Surface

Syllabus

Course Meeting Times

Lectures: 1 session / week, 2 hours / session

Prerequisite

Permission of instructor

Description

This course covers the following topics: Production and movement of surficial materials; soils and soil erosion; precipitation; streams and lakes; groundwater flow; glaciers and their deposits. The course combines aspects of geology, climatology, hydrology, and soil science to present a coherent introduction to the surface of the Earth, with emphasis on both fundamental concepts and practical applications, as a basis for understanding and intelligent management of the Earth’s physical and chemical environment.

Topics

• Physics and chemistry of the Earth’s surface

  • Heating and cooling
  • The chemistry of the surface zone
  • The nature of water
  • The flow of water

• The solid materials of the Earth’s surface

  • Minerals
  • Rocks
  • Bedrock
  • Weathering
  • Regolith and sediment
  • Soils

• Topography

  • Maps, and how to read them
  • Understanding and using contours and contour maps
  • Geologic maps and cross sections

• Groundwater

  • Infiltration and percolation
  • The physics of groundwater movement
  • Aquifers, aquicludes, and the groundwater table
  • Water wells
  • Groundwater in coastal regions

• Rivers

  • Hydrology of rivers
  • Flow of water in rivers
  • Sediment transport in rivers
  • Plan form of rivers
  • Classification of rivers
  • Floodplains and floods

• Lakes

  • The nature of lakes
  • Thermal structure of lakes

• Glaciers

  • Glaciology
  • Glacial erosion and transport
  • Glacial sediments
  • Glacial landforms

• Coasts

  • Waves
  • Tides
  • Classification of coasts
  • Beaches
  • Estuaries
  • Deltas

• Deserts

  • The nature of deserts
  • Eolian sediment transport
  • Wind ripples
  • Eolian dunes
  • Mass wasting
  • Creep
  • Landslides

• Landscapes

  • Landforms
  • The nature of valleys
  • The nature of mountains
  • Erosion cycles
  • Desert sand seas
  • Small-scale landforms
  • Rates of landscape change

• Physical and chemical cycles

  • The Earth as a system
  • The hydrologic cycle
  • The carbon cycle

Exams

There are mid-term exam and final exam. Both exams are in class close book exams. Mid-term exam is optional.

Grading

If a student receives better grade in final exam than in mid-term exam, then final exam counts for 100% of the grade. If a student receives better grade in mid-term exam than in final exam, then mid-term exam counts for 1/3 of the grade and final exam counts for 2/3 of the grade.