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2024-2025 Academic Year

Fall 2024

GEOS 310 Physics of the Earth
How and why do earthquakes happen? Why does Earth's magnetic field flip? How do we know there are magma reservoirs under mid ocean ridges? How have Earth's tectonic plates moved in the past? Do mantle plumes really exist? Some of the answers to these questions can be found in the diverse field of geophysics. This course will address these and many other questions about our dynamic Earth. This course aims to teach fundamental physics underpinning the behavior of planet Earth. The application of physics to study plate tectonics is especially emphasized and includes observations from seismology, gravity, magnetism, isostasy, and heat flow. The course will also include units on Earth's deep interior covering mantle convection, mantle plumes, and the geodynamo. Topics will be investigated from a mathematical perspective as well as more descriptive methods. Students will gain and/or enhance skills in manipulating and solving equations, interpreting geophysical data, presenting data, and scientific reasoning. Labs will emphasize coding for data analysis and visualization. No previous coding experience required. The course will culminate in a semester project integrating and applying new geophysical knowledge to a case study plate boundary. Three hours classroom and three hours of laboratory a week.

Spring 2025

GEOS 151 Foundations of Earth Sciences
How do mountains and oceans form? Why do the positions of continents shift? Can rocks bend or flow? What is the history of life on our planet? This course explores the materials that make up the Earth and the processes that shape it, both at and below the surface. Students will take field trips around the Carlisle area as well as complete analytical and computer laboratory activities in order to acquire basic field, laboratory, and computer modelling skills. This course serves as a gateway to the Earth Sciences major, but is also appropriate for non-majors. Three hours of lecture and three hours of lab per week.

GEOS 203 Treetop to Bedrock
The critical zone (CZ) is the thin life-sustaining veneer of planet Earth that extends from treetop to bedrock. The CZ is continually evolving as rock, water, atmosphere, soil, and biota interact to support terrestrial life. CZ processes and functions are crucial to a sustainable future as the CZ provides essential services such as food production and water storage. Thus, CZ science is becoming increasingly relevant as climate and land use stress terrestrial life at the surface. In this course students will examine the CZ as a complex system and describe the system services it provides. The transdisciplinary and global nature of CZ science is emphasized alongside the varying temporal and spatial scales required for understanding the CZ. Material in this course will be organized topically and include the following: water transfer through the CZ; landscape evolution and CZ architecture; biogeochemical cycling; land-atmosphere exchange; and humans in the CZ. This course relies heavily on scientific literature to explore the state of the science and outstanding questions in the CZ. Hands-on activities include field trips and data activities from critical zone programs.