courses of instruction - Lafayette College

120. Geological Disasters: Agents of Cha
os. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, land
slides, hurricanes, floods, tsunamis, and
asteroid impacts are all part of the geologic
evolution of the earth. For many different
reasons, humans are exposed to the often
severe consequences of living in areas vul
nerable to the violence of nature. Through
lecture and laboratory, this course examines
these processes from both scientific and
personal perspectives to understand why
and where they occur and how human ac
tivity has interfered with natural processes,
perhaps making the planet more prone to
disaster. Lecture/laboratory. Preference to
first- and second-year students, geology
majors, and environmental science minors.
Mr. Malinconico
130. Origins, Evolutions, and Extinc
tions. A broad introduction to the origin
and evolution of the earth system. The
processes and events that have shaped
earth history, such as the origin and evolu
tion of the atmosphere, oceans, continents,
ocean basins, and life are explored. Labo
ratory exercises focus on firsthand study
of earth materials that contain evidence
for the processes and events studied in
class and include field trips to local sites.
Preference to first- and second-year stu
dents and geology majors. Lecture/labo
ratory. Ms. Schubel
200. Earth and Planetary Materials. Intro
duction to the crystallographic, structural,
and chemical characteristics of rock-form
ing minerals. Consideration of the pro
cesses and variables that control mineral
formation. Igneous, metamorphic, hydro-
thermal, and sedimentary environments
in which common minerals form. X-ray
powder diffraction techniques used to
identify earth materials and to determine
unit-cell dimensions, as well as applica
tion of this dimensional information. The
laboratory includes discovery-oriented ex
ercises in X-ray diffraction, mineral identi
fication, and crystallography, as well as
high-temperature experiments in phase
equilibria. Lecture/laboratory. Prerequi
sites: Any 100-level geology course and
GEOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
elementary chemistry, or permission of
instructor. Mr. Hovis
203. X-Ray Diffraction and Analytical
Techniques. Review of crystallography.
Use of X-ray powder diffraction tech
niques to identify various materials, both
inorganic and organic, including minerals.
Determination of lattice parameters to ob
tain information about atomic structure
and chemical composition. Quantitative
determination of mixtures. Determination
of errors in X-ray data and consideration
of precision versus accuracy. Discussion
and experiments using additional analyti
cal techniques. Requires permission of in
structor. Lecture/laboratory. Mr. Hovis
205. Oceanography. Exploration of the
physical, chemical, and biological systems
of the oceans and human impacts on these
systems. Topics include marine geology,
seawater composition, oceanic and atmo
spheric circulation, waves, tides, coastal
and open ocean processes, marine ecosys
tems, marine resources, and ocean pollu
tion. Lecture/weekend field trips. Week
end field trips explore barrier island envi
ronments and erosion along the New Jer
sey coast; oceanographic sampling tech
niques on Seneca Lake; and marine biolo
gy and pollution of the New England
coast. Prerequisite: Any 100-level geology
course or permission of instructor. Priority
given to geology majors and first- and sec
ond-year students. Ms. Schubel
210. Hydrogeology. The study of ground-
water occurrence, flow, quality, and utiliza
tion. The characteristics of the geologic envi
ronment which determines the hydrogeo-
logic system are discussed. Principles of
groundwater flow, surface water and
groundwater interaction, aquifer response to
pumping, and regional groundwater flow
are examined in detail. The course also fo
cuses on groundwater contamination and
remediation ("clean-up"). Field projects us
ing a well-field at Metzgar Fields and local
remediation sites are utilized to bridge the
gap between theory and practice. Lecture/
laboratory. Prerequisite: Any 100-level geol
ogy course. Mr. Germanoski
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