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Course Criteria
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3.00 Credits
This course is designed for geosciences majors and for environmental studies students interested in surficial geologic processes and their importance in shaping the physical environment. Geomorphology analyzes the nature and rates of constructional, weathering, and erosional processes and the influence of climatic, tectonic, and volcanic forces on landform evolution. Labs focus on field measurements of hydrologic and geomorphic processes in the Williamstown area as well as on the analysis of topographic maps and stereo air photos.
Prerequisite:
Any 100-level Geosciences course or consent of the instructor
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3.00 Credits
With a title merging two inter-related fields, this course could be subtitled "An Introduction to Earth Materials and Analytical Techniques." As the basis for all subsequent solid-earth courses in the major, it provides a systematic framework for the study of minerals - Earth's building blocks: their physical and chemical properties at all scales and the common analytical methods used to identify and interpret them. The course progresses from hand-specimen morphology and crystallography through element distribution and crystal chemistry to the phase relations, compositional variation, and mineral associations within major rock-forming mineral systems. Laboratory work includes the determination of crystal symmetry; mineral separation; the principles and applications of optical emission spectroscopy; wavelength- and energy-dispersive x-ray spectrochemical analysis; x-ray diffraction; the use of the petrographic microscope; and the identification of important minerals in hand specimen and thin section.
Prerequisite:
One 100-level Geosciences course or consent of the instructor
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3.00 Credits
Rising oil and electricity costs disrupt the economy and help fuel global insecurity. Clearer understanding of how fossil-fuel consumption contributes to global climate change is increasing demand for renewable sources of energy and for more sustainable campus environments. What sources of energy will supply Williams College and nearby areas in the twenty-first century? How will campus buildings, old and new, continue to be attractive spaces while making far more efficient use of heat and light? How can the College help support local farms? This course is a practical introduction to renewable sources of energy, including conservation, principles of sustainability, and to their application to the campus environment. Topics covered include: biological sources of energy (biomass, biogas, liquid fuels), wind energy, geothermal and solar energy, energy efficiency and the environmental impacts of using renewable energy. Lectures, field trips and individual projects emphasize examples from the campus and nearby area.
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3.00 Credits
This course examines ocean and coastal environmental science issues including carbon dioxide and the ocean's role in climate, El Ni?o and other ocean-atmosphere oscillations that influence our weather, coastal erosion and other hazards, coastal pollution, and fisheries. The focus is on controlling processes with regional comparisons. Blue water oceanography is conducted in the Atlantic and comparative coastal oceanography includes trips to southern New England shores, and the West and Gulf coasts of the US as part of the Williams-Mystic program.
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3.00 Credits
The fossil record is a direct window into the history of life on Earth and contains a wealth of information on evolution, biodiversity, and climate change. This course investigates the record of ancient life forms, from single-celled algae to snails to dinosaurs. In addition to the intellectual discovery of fossils as organic relics and the ways in which fossils have been used to support conflicting views on nature, geologic time, and evolution, we will cover a range of topics central to modern paleobiology. These include: how the fossil record informs our understanding of evolutionary processes including speciation; the causes and consequences of mass extinctions; how fossils help us tell time and reconstruct the Earth's climactic and tectonic history; statistical analysis of the fossil record to reconstruct biodiversity through time; analysis of fossil morphology to recreate the biomechanics of extinct organisms; and using fossil communities to reconstruct past ecosystems. Laboratory exercises will take advantage of Williams' superb fossil collections as well as published datasets to introduce the major fossil groups and preservation styles as well as to provide a broad understanding of the history of life on Earth. We will also view a diversity of fossils in their geologic and paleo-environmental context on field trips.
Prerequisite:
Any 100-level Geosciences course or Biology 102, 203 or 205
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3.00 Credits
This class provides a practical look at fast-evolving methods used to integrate information about the earth's surface with spatial data collected by disciplines such as archaeology, economics, the field sciences, history and political science. Remote sensing involves collection and processing of data from satellite and airborne sensors to yield environmental information about the earth's surface and lower atmosphere. Remote sensing allows regional mapping of rock materials, analysis of vegetation cover and measurement of urban areas and land-use change over time. A Geographic Information System (GIS) links satellite-based environmental measurements with spatial data such as topography, transportation networks, and political boundaries, allowing display and quantitative analysis at the same scale using the same geographic reference. This course covers concepts of remote-data capture and geographic rectification using a Global Positioning System (GPS), as well as principles of remote sensing, including linear and non-linear image enhancements, convolution filtering, and image classification. Principles of GIS include display and classification, spatial buffers, logical overlays and techniques of spatial analysis. Weekly labs focus on training in the application of techniques using data from the region and other areas of North America.
Prerequisite:
At least one introductory course in Biology, Environmental Studies, or Geosciences
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3.00 Credits
The composition and architecture of sediments and sedimentary rocks preserve information about the rocks that were eroded to form them, the fluids and forces that transported them, the mechanisms by which they were deposited, and the processes by which they were lithified. This course will provide an introduction to the principles of sedimentology, including sedimentary petrology, fluid mechanics, bedform analysis, and facies architecture.
Prerequisite:
Geosciences 202 (may be taken concurrently with permission of instructor)
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3.00 Credits
Using plate tectonics and the geologic assembly of New England as a template, this course explores the origin of crystalline rocks - volcanic, plutonic, and metamorphic - that comprise 94% of the earth's crust and record most of its history. Field and lab studies (the crux of the course) are backed up by phase-rule applications and fundamental thermodynamic principles. Chemical and mineralogical compositions and rock fabrics provide evidence for crystallization or re-crystallization processes and environments, particularly as they define present or past plate boundaries or tectonic settings. Lab work emphasizes thin section analysis, with a 3-week segment devoted to interpreting the igneous rocks of New England collected on field trips..
Prerequisite:
Geosciences 202 or consent of the instructor
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3.00 Credits
Many of the materials in our daily lives--plastics, hydrocarbon fuels, building materials, sheet metals, electrical components, etc.-- are won from the earth by finding and mining economic mineral resources. We will study how these deposits form and how they can be found. In this course we will integrate across several areas of the geosciences as we investigate the relationships between Earth history, plate tectonics, geochemistry, and the production of minable deposits. We will also consider the environmental aspects of mineral exploitation and the production and fate of pollutants.
Prerequisite:
Two 200-level and one 300-level GEOS courses or permission of instructor
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3.00 Credits
Geosciences senior thesis.
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