Earth Sciences 203

Environmental Geosciences

Ozeas Costa

Credit hours: 5
GEC categories: Natural Science (Physical Science). Sequences: 100-203, 101-203
Prerequisites: Geological Sciences 100 or 121 or permission from instructor.

Text Books:

Example Syllabus:
Website: http://www.mansfield.ohio-state.edu/faculty/ocosta/ES203/ES203.htm

Course Objectives: This course fulfills the learning objectives of the GEC Natural Science requirement (Category 2. Breadth Areas; A. Natural Sciences: Physical Sciences) and provides a laboratory experience for students. Natural Sciences coursework fosters students’ understanding of the principles, theories, and methods of modern science, the relationship between science and technology, the implications of scientific discoveries and the potential of science and technology to address problems of the contemporary world. LEARNING OBJECTIVE 1: Students understand and explain the natural processes behind natural hazards, disasters and catastrophes, including: plate tectonics and internal processes; behavior and composition of magma; fault formation and rock stress; the hydrologic cycle; controls on global climate; the relationship between soils and vegetation, and human sustainability. This fulfills the first objective of the GEC Natural Science requirement: Students understand the basic facts, principles, theories and methods of modern science. LEARNING OBJECTIVE 2: Students describe and explain the occurrence of key events in Earth’s recent history, in particular those of catastrophic nature, and what roles science has played in dealing with them. This fulfills the second objective of the GEC Natural Science requirement: Students learn key events in the history of science. LEARNING OBJECTIVE 3: Students will be able to discuss the inter-dependence of scientific and technological developments in fields such as emergency preparedness, hazard monitoring, and climate modeling and forecasting. This fulfills the third objective of the GEC Natural Science requirement: Students provide examples of the inter-dependence of scientific and technological developments. LEARNING OBJECTIVE 4: Students should be able to describe the relationship between science and societal decision-making pertaining to natural hazards, natural resources, global climate and human sustainability. This fulfills the fourth objective of the GEC Natural Science requirement: Students discuss social and philosophical implications of scientific discoveries and understand the potential of science and technology to address problems of the contemporary world.

Course Content: This course examines several major Earth’s surface processes that have a direct, often sudden and violent, impacts on human systems. Basic principles and concepts in Geology, Climatology, Oceanography, and Ecology are integrated to provide the basis for understanding the interactions between humans and natural hazards. And the need for such understanding has never been clearer. In the past 25 years alone, the number and cost of natural disasters and catastrophes have grown at an exponential rate. Some of the most recent include: heat waves in Europe (2003 and 2006) and in the US (Chicago 1995) that combined killed over 50,000 people; the massive earthquake and tsunami in the Indian Ocean, which killed over 200,000 people in eleven countries; destructive earthquakes in China (2008) and Pakistan (2005), which together killed over 110,000 people; the Atlantic hurricane season of 2005, which includes Katrina and Wilma, that caused over 30 billion in damages; the eruption of Nevado del Ruiz (Colombia, 1985), which ended the lives of over 25,000 people; the long and severe drought in Australia, the worst on record, that is ongoing since 2003; among others. This course seeks to explain the Earth processes behind these events, how they interact with the human environment, and how we can better adjust to their effects. Topics to be discusses include: volcanic eruptions; earthquakes and tsunamis; climate change; extreme weather events; flooding; drought; heat waves; wildfires; tropical cyclones and hurricanes; mass wasting and landslides; subsidence and soils; erosion and coastal hazards.

Method of Presentation: Slide-illustrated lectures supplemented by laboratory activities (2 2-hr cl, 1 2-hr lab).

Method of Evaluation: Two midterm quizzes (15% each), lab reports (30%), final exam (30%), and participation on course activities (10%).

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