2009-2010 Bulletin – PDF - SEAS Bulletin - Columbia University

EESC W3018y Weapons of mass destruction
3 pts. Professor Richards.
Prerequisite: one semester of a lab science or
permission of the instructor. A review of the history
and environmental consequences of nuclear,
chemical, and biological weapons of mass
destruction (WMD); of how these weapons work,
what they cost, how they have spread, how they
might be used, how they are currently controlled
by international treaties and domestic legislation,
and what issues of policy and technology arise in
current debates on WMD. What aspects of the
manufacture of WMD are easily addressed, and
what aspects are technically challenging It may
be expected that current events/headlines will be
discussed in class.
EESC W4001x Advanced general geology
3 pts. Lab: 3. 4 pts. Professors Scholz and Anders.
Prerequisite: One semester of college-level calculus,
physics, and chemistry. Fee: $35. A concentrated
introduction to the solid Earth, its interior,
and near-surface geology. Intended for students
with good backgrounds in the physical sciences
but none in geology. Laboratory and field trips.
EESC W4008x Introduction to atmospheric
science
Lect: 3. 3 pts. Professor Del Genio.
Prerequisite: Advanced calculus and general
physics, or the instructor’s permission. Basic
physical processes controlling atmospheric
structure: thermodynamics; radiation physics
and radiative transfer; principles of atmospheric
dynamics; cloud processes; applications to
Earth’s atmospheric general circulation, climatic
variations, and the atmospheres of the other planets.
EESC W4009x. Chemical geology
4 pts. Offered in alternate years. Professor Walker.
Prerequisite: Physical chemistry or the instructor’s permission.
Thermodynamics as applied to earth systems.
EESC W4050x Global assessment and
monitoring using remote sensing
3 pts. Offered in alternate years. Professor Small.
Prerequisite: permission of the instructors.
Recommended preparation: some college-level
physics or math. Enrollment limited to 24 students.
General introduction to fundamentals of
remote sensing and image processing. Example
applications in the Earth and environmental
sciences are explored through the analysis of
remote sensing imagery in a state-of-the-art
visualization laboratory. Lab required.
EESC W4076y Geologic mapping
3 pts. Professors Walker and Anders.
Field work on weekends in April and for two
weeks in mid-May, immediately following the end
of examinations. Estimated expenses: $250. The
principles and practice of deciphering geologic
history by observing rocks in the field, making
geological maps, constructing geological crosssections,
and writing short reports.
EESC W4085x Geodynamics
3 pts. Offered in alternate years. Professor Buck.
Prerequisites: Calculus, differential equations, introductory
physics. Physical processes that control
plate tectonics and the evolution of planetary interiors
and surfaces; analytical descriptions of these
processes; weekly physical model demonstrations.
EESC W4113x Introduction to mineralogy
3. Lab: 3. 4 pts. Offered in alternate years.
Professor Walker.
Prerequisites: Introductory geology or the equivalent
and elementary college physics and chemistry,
or the instructor’s permission. Elementary
crystallography and crystal structures, optical
properties of minerals, mineral associations and
phase equilibria, economic minerals. Laboratory:
identification of minerals in hand specimens,
chemical and physical tests, and use of the
petrographic microscope.
EESC W4230y Crustal deformation
3 pts. Professors Anders and Scholz.
Prerequisites: Introductory geology and one year
of calculus. Recommended preparation: higher
levels of mathematics. Introduction to the
deformation processes in the Earth’s crust.
Fundamental theories of stress and strain; rock
behavior in both brittle and ductile fields; earthquake
processes; ductile deformation; large-scale
crustal contractional and extensional events.
EESC W4300x The Earth’s deep interior
3 pts. Professor Ekstrom.
Prerequisites: Calculus, differential equations,
one year of college physics, and EESC W4950 or
its equivalent. An introduction to properties of the
Earth’s mantle, fluid outer core, and solid inner
core. Current knowledge of these features is
explored, using observations of seismology, heat
flow, gravity, and geomagnetism, plus information
on the Earth’s bulk composition.
EESC W4701x or y. Introduction to igneous
petrology
4 pts. Offered in alternate years. Professor
Kelemen.
Prerequisites: EESC V1011-V1012 or the equivalent.
Recommended preparation: EESC W4113
and knowledge of chemistry. Fee: $15. Students
not enrolled in terrestrial geology may elect to
write a substantial term paper in lieu of the laboratory
course. Compositional characteristics of
igneous and metamorphic rocks and how they
can be used as tools to investigate earth processes.
Development of igneous and metamorphic rocks
in a plate-tectonic framework.
EESC W4885y The chemistry of continental
waters
3 pts. Offered in alternate years. Instructors to
be announced.
Recommended preparation: A solid background
in basic chemistry. Introduction to geochemical
cycles involving the atmosphere, land, and biosphere;
chemistry of precipitation, weathering
reactions, rivers, lakes, estuaries, and groundwaters;
stable isotopes and radioactive tracers
of transport processes in continental waters.
EESC W4924y Introduction to atmospheric
chemistry
3 pts. Offered in alternate years. Professor Shindell.
A survey of trace gas photochemistry important
in the Earth’s atmosphere. Major topics are composition,
including biogenic and anthropogenic
inputs, and chemical processes, including reaction
kinetics and photochemistry. Specific applications
to tropospheric air quality, including smog,
acid rain, and stratospheric ozone, including
the Antarctic ozone hole, are covered, with an
emphasis on the response to anthropogenic
pollutants and climate change.
EESC W4925x Principles of physical
oceanography
3 pts. Professor Gordon.
Recommended preparation: A solid background in
mathematics, physics, and chemistry. Physical
properties of seawater, water masses and their distribution,
sea-air interaction influence on the ocean
structure, basic ocean circulation pattern, relation
of diffusion and advection with respect to distribution
of ocean properties, and introduction to ocean
dynamics.
EESC W4926y. Principles of chemical
oceanography
3 pts. Offered in alternate years.
Professors Anderson and Hoenisch.
Recommended preparation: A solid background
in mathematics, physics, and chemistry. Given in
alternate years. Factors controlling the concentration
and distribution of dissolved chemical species
within the sea. Application of tracer and natural
radioisotope methods to large-scale mixing of the
ocean, the geological record preserved in marine
sediments, the role of ocean processes in the
global carbon cycle, and biogeochemical processes
influencing the distribution and fate of elements in
the ocean.
EESC W4930y Earth’s oceans and atmosphere
3 pts. Professor Gordon.
Recommended preparation: A good background
in the physical sciences. Physical properties of
water and air. Overview of the stratification and
circulation of Earth’s oceans and atmosphere and
their governing processes; ocean-atmosphere
interaction; resultant climate system; natural and
anthropogenic forced climate change.
EESC W4941x or y Principles of geophysics
3 pts. Offered in alternate years. Instructor to be
announced.
Prerequisite: Calculus through MATH V1202
and physics through PHYS C1007. The structure
and properties of the Earth as inferred from
geophysical investigations: gravity, isostasy,
earthquakes, seismic exploration, geomagnetism,
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SEAS 2009–2010