Undergraduate Course Listing

Chairperson: Professor D.E. Fastovsky

Geosciences (GEO)

100 Environmental Geology (I and II, 3) Geologic processes, how they affect people and vice versa; geologic hazards, earthquake impact, shoreline development, offshore oil, waste disposal, water, energy and other resources, climate change. (Lec. 3) Boving, Cain, Frohlich, and Staff (N)

101 Geological Field Trips (I, 1) Field trips to coastal, glacial, and bedrock terrains. The relation of structures and materials to the history of the earth, mineral resources, and our environment. (Lab. 2) Offered in even-numbered years. Staff

102 Evolution and Extinction of the Dinosaurs (II, 3) General introduction to the dinosaurs. Variety, habits, warm-bloodedness, and extinction discussed. Pterosaurs and bird origins presented. (Lec. 3) Fastovsky (N)

103 Understanding the Earth (I and II, 4) Processes operating within and upon the earth. Relationship of plate tectonics to volcanism, earthquakes, and mountain building. Development and modification of landscapes by rivers, glaciers, wind, waves, and ground water. Environmental implications of geologic processes. (Lec. 3, Lab. 2) Veeger, Cain, Fastovsky, or Hermes (N)

120 Geology of U.S. National Parks  (I, 3) Selected parks are used to illustrate geologic processes and age relationships to understand earth history. Includes plate tectonics, volcanic and plutonic activity, glaciation, cave formation. (Lec. 3) Hermes

203 Field Geology (I, 3) Emphasis on the development of skills in geologic mapping and the construction of geologic maps. Field trips required. (Lec. 2, Lab. 3) Pre: 100, 103, or permission of instructor. Murray

210 Landforms: Origin and Evolution (II, 4) Development, distribution, and geologic significance of landforms produced by rivers, glaciers, coastal processes, weathering, and other geomorphic agents. Interpretation of landforms through field studies, topographic maps, and aerial photographs. (Lec. 3, Lab. 2) Pre: 103 or permission of instructor. Veeger

222 Introduction to Environmental Chemistry (II, 4). Classes, properties, and distribution of environmentally relevant organic contaminants. Special emphasis on soil and ground-water pollution. (Lec. 4), Pre: CHM 101, 102, or 103,105, or permission of instructor. Boving

240 Prehistoric Life (II, 4) The history of life, from its origins to the first multicellular animals, to humans. Special emphasis on the origin of fishes, birds, mammals, and humans. (Lec. 3, Lab. 2) Pre: 102 or 103 or BIO 104B or 113 or permission of the instructor. Offered in even-numbered years. Fastovsky

277 Coastal Geologic Environments (II, 3) Geologic processes in coastal environments such as barriers, lagoons, estuaries, bays, and rocky headlands. Impact of coastal geologic hazards such as hurricanes, winter storms, and sea-level rise. Response of people to hazards. Field trips, small group project required. (Lec. 3) Pre: 103. Boothroyd

301 Earth's Depleting Resources (I, 3) Origin, distribution, extraction, and importance of various nonrenewable resources: energy sources, metals, building and industrial materials, water. Strategic materials, their world distribution and role in world affairs. (Lec. 3) Pre: 103 or permission of instructor. Cain

320 Earth Materials (I, 4) Hand-sample identification and characterization of minerals and rocks, including crystallography, composition, classification, origin, and relationship to geological occurrence; also includes aspects of soil-forming minerals, ore deposits, and other mineral resources. (Lec. 2, Lab. 4) Pre: 103, credit or concurrent enrollment in CHM 101 or 103. Hermes

321 Rocks and Geologic Processes (II, 4) The study of igneous and metamorphic processes related to plate tectonics, and the interpretation of Earth history and events from features preserved in rocks. Application of the polarizing microscope to the study of rocks in thin section, combined with geochemical and phase equilibria approaches. introduction to computer modeling of igneous and metamorphic processes. (Lec. 2, Lab. 4) Pre: 320. Hermes

350 Evolution (I, 4) Introduction to evolution as the unifying thread in the biosphere. Processes and patterns discussed, including microevolution and macroevolution. Social impact of evolution discussed from a biological perspective. Pre: GEO 102 or one semester of biological sciences, or permission of instructors. Twombly and Fastovsky

370 Structure of the Earth (II, 4) Stress and strain relationships s they pertain to rocks. Manifestations of these phenomena in geologic structures and criteria for recognizing them. (Lec. 3, Lab. 2) Pre: PHY 213 and 285 or 111 and 185 or permission of instructor. Murray

421 Geochemistry (I, 3) Introduction to thermodynamics of rock and minerals, stable isotopes, geochronology, and cosmogeochemistry. Emphasis on the geochemistry of igneous and metamorphic rocks. (Lec. 3) Pre: CHM 112, GEL 321, and MTH 132 or 142, or permission of instructor. Murray

450 Introduction to Sedimentary Geology (I, 4) Principles underlying formation and composition of lithofacies and sedimentary environments. Methods, procedures, and techniques used to study sedimentary processes, depositional environments, sediment and rock sequences, and paleogeography. (Lec. 3, Lab. 2) Pre: graduate or advanced undergraduate standing in environmental, resource, or engineering major. Boothroyd

465 Introduction to Geophysics (I, 3) Physical properties of earth and the application of geophysical methods to explore the earth's interior for natural resources. Introductory interpretation of gravity, magnetic, seismic, and radiometric surveys. (Lec. 2, Lab. 2) Pre: 103, PHY 112, MTH 132. Frohlich

468 Ground-Water Chemistry (I, 4) Introduction to the chemical processes controlling water chemistry in low-temperature environments. Chemical weathering, ion exchange, redox, mineral equilibrium, isotopes, and chemical modeling of aqueous systems. (Lec. 3, Lab. 2) Pre: CHM 101, 102, 112, 114; GEL 103, 320. Offered in odd numbered years. Veeger

480 Summer Field Camp (SS, 4-8) Geologic field mapping and principles. (Practicum) Pre: 210, 240, 321, 370, 450 recommended. Course not offered through URI; prior approval of selected camp required by the Department of Geology. Recommended between junior and senior years. Not for graduate credit in geology. Staff

482 Innovative Remediation Technologies (II, 4) Develop an understanding of the theoretical concepts and applicability of innovative remediation technologies, their advantages and short-comings. The focus is on remediation of subsurface contamination. (Lec. 4) Pre: 103, 222, and CHM 101, or permission of instructor. Boving

483 Hydrogeology (I, 4) Study and interpretation of groundwater flow systems and the interaction between groundwater and the geologic framework, including: groundwater flow, aqueous geochemistry, groundwater resource evaluation, and groundwater in geologic processes. (Lec. 3, Lab. 2) Pre: 103, 210, and MTH 141 or 131, or permission of instructor. Veeger

484 Environmental Hydrogeology (II, 4) Develop an understanding of the physical principles, fundamental relationships, and equations that describe the fate and transport of contaminants in the hydrologic system. (Lec. 3, Lab. 1) Pre: 103, 222, CHM 101, and MTH 141 or 131, or permission of instructor. Boving

485 (or CVE 485) Environmental Engineering Geophysics (II, 3) Field and lab methods of determining physical rock constants such as density, porosity, permeability, electrical conductivity, and seismic velocity, with applications in geology and environmental engineering. (Lec. 2, Lab. 2) Pre: 103, MTH 132 or 142, PHY 111 and 185 or 213 and 285, and junior standing, or permission of instructor. Offered In even-numbered years. Frohlich and Urish

488 Geological Evolution of North America (II, 4) The evolution of the major sedimentary basins in North America is presented within a tectonic framework. Regional paleoenvironments and paleogeography through time are reconstructed from faunas and facies. Ten-day field trip to Colorado Plateau. (Lec. 3, Lab. 2) Pre: 450 or permission of instructor. Fastovsky

491 Special Topics (I and II, 1-3) Advanced work for undergraduates under the supervision of a faculty member arranged to suit the individual requirements of the student. (Independent Study) Pre: permission of instructor. Not for graduate credit in geology. Staff

499 Senior Thesis (I and II, 3) Independent research. Student selects an area of study and works in close conjunction with a faculty member of his or her choice. (Independent Study) Pre: senior standing and permission of instructor. Not for graduate credit in geology. Staff