Environmental Earth Science

Click here to listen to one of the student podcasts on environmental consequences of meat consumption

This is an introductory course that assumes no prior knowledge of geology. We are going to spend the next 15 weeks learning about the five Earth spheres: the geosphere (the solid Earth, comprised of minerals and rocks), hydrosphere (liquid water), cryosphere (solid water–ice), atmosphere (water vapor), and the biosphere (living species). How many of those spheres do you see in the picture above from the tepuis, or tabletop mountains in Venezuela?

To some degree we will talk about the spheres separately, but one of the things I really want you to get from this course is that those spheres are linked in really important ways. We will pay special attention to links between one element of the biosphere (the human population) and the other Earth spheres. Geology influences our lives in hugely consequential ways–think fossil fuels, global climate, agriculture, natural hazards–and that’s just the beginning! By the end of this semester you will be able to recognize the most common rocks and minerals, infer the environment where they formed, understand how hose rocks and minerals were molded by plate tectonics to create geological landforms, articulate how the solid Earth influences climate, see how water and other matter flow through the Earth system, and appreciate how all the elements of the Earth system influence humans. It’s a big task, but I promise we will get there together.

The course is divided into eight modules of about two weeks each. Each class is focused on a particular topic that feeds into the overarching module. Before most classes students will be asked to do some reading and watch lecture and other videos online. These readings and videos are the primary source of foundational knowledge, like key vocabulary and important concepts. Think of those videos and readings as homework–students focus on those outside of class, and come equipped to each class meeting armed with their new knowledge base. In class, we will apply that new knowledge in different ways–sometimes we will use problem sets, other times a short activity, or a discussion. Class will also be a time to ask questions and clarify points of confusion. We will also use the Canvas discussion boards as a venue for Q & A.

our signature assignment (the big one worth the most points!) in PH 115 will be a geology-themed podcast that you produce on a topic of your choice. All scientists communicate their work in different formats. Traditionally, the three primary formats were journal articles, poster presentations, and scientific talks. Those formats are very focused on communicating science to other scientists. That’s an important skill to have, for sure. But communicating science to non-scientists is important too—now more than ever. Science communication is in high demand. Your challenge in this assignment is to create an engaging, informative podcast targeted at a non-expert audience. This is an opportunity to not only learn a lot about a particular topic, but actually create new content for other people to learn from. Along the way, you will develop some science communication skills, and leave this class with a tangible product that you can talk about and share when applying for internships and jobs.