Results for GS

Lectures, hands-on laboratories, in-class activities, and one field trip. Focus is on the physical and chemical processes of heat and mass transfer within the earth and its fluid envelopes, including deep-earth, crustal, surface, and atmospheric processes. Topics include plate tectonics, the cycling and formation of different types of rocks, and how geologists use rocks to understand Earth's history.

Explore the history and natural science of three national parks proximal to Stanford. Under the guidance of instructors, students will work in teams to learn about chosen aspects of these parks, develop dynamic self-guided tours for public consumption, and implement (and publish) these tours using the XibitEd app for iPhones. Students will learn how to present their findings to a general, non-scientific audience, delineate physical locations at which storytelling will take place through the XibitEd system, and create and configure the content for the system. The course will culminate in the publishing of the experiential learning tours, as well as a weekend-long field trip to the Pinnacles National Park

Preference to sophomores. Components of multidisciplinary environmental problems and ethical questions associated with decision making in the regulatory arena. Students lead discussions on environmental issues such as groundwater contamination from point and nonpoint sources, cumulative watershed effects related to timber and mining practices, acid rain, and subsurface disposal of nuclear waste.

Preference to sophomores. Topics include: geologic processes that led to the concentration of gold in the river gravels and rocks of the Mother Lode region of California; and environmental impact of the Gold Rush due to population increase, mining operations, and high concentrations of arsenic and mercury in sediments from hard rock mining and milling operations. Recommended: introductory geology.

The chemistry of the solid earth and its atmosphere and oceans, emphasizing the processes that control the distribution of the elements in the earth over geological time and at present, and on the conceptual and analytical tools needed to explore these questions. The basics of geochemical thermodynamics and isotope geochemistry. The formation of the elements, crust, atmosphere and oceans, global geochemical cycles, and the interaction of geochemistry, biological evolution, and climate. Recommended: introductory chemistry.

Use of petrographic microscope to identify minerals and common mineral associations in igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks. Crystallization histories, mineral growth and reaction relations, deformation textures in metamorphic rocks, and provenance of siliciclastic rocks. Required lab section. Prerequisite 102.

Topics: weathering, erosion and transportation, deposition, origins of sedimentary structures and textures, sediment composition, diagenesis, sedimentary facies, tectonics and sedimentation, and the characteristics of the major siliciclastic and carbonate depositional environments. Required Lab Section: methods of analysis of sediments in hand specimen and thin section. There is a required field problem trips to the field site(s) during the quarter, data collection and analysis, and preparation of a final written and oral report. Prerequisites: 1, 102, 103.

Explore the history and natural science of three national parks proximal to Stanford. Under the guidance of instructors, students will work in teams to learn about chosen aspects of these parks, develop dynamic self-guided tours for public consumption, and implement (and publish) these tours using the XibitEd app for iPhones. Students will learn how to present their findings to a general, non-scientific audience, delineate physical locations at which storytelling will take place through the XibitEd system, and create and configure the content for the system. The course will culminate in the publishing of the experiential learning tours, as well as a weekend-long field trip to the Pinnacles National Park

The what, when, where, and how do we know it regarding life on land through time. Fossil plants, fungi, invertebrates, and vertebrates (yes, dinosaurs) are all covered, including how all of those components interact with each other and with changing climates, continental drift, atmospheric composition, and environmental perturbations like glaciation and mass extinction. The course involves both lecture and lab components. Graduate students registering at the 200-level are expected to write a term paper, but can opt out of some labs where appropriate.

Materials of the Earth and hydrologically driven landscape processes. Topics: hillslope hydrology, weathering of rocks and soils, erosion, flow failures, mass wasting, and conceptual models of landscape evolution. Current and classic theory in geomorphology.

Field seminar. Three class meetings during Winter quarter followed by a 6-day field trip over Spring Break to Mojave Desert, Death Valley, and Owens Valley. See stunning desert and mountain scenery, and examine geology that includes active faults, recent volcanoes, hot springs, ore deposits, rocks that have been stretched and melted deep in the earth's crust, peaks carved by glaciers, vast ancient lakebeds that are now huge salt flats, shifting fields of sand dunes, and desert flora and fauna. Involves camping and some hiking. Enrollment limited to 25 students; preference given to freshmen and sophomores; additionally graduate students in the School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences. Students interested in signing up for the course must complete this form: http://web.stanford.edu/~aferree/GS183.fb

Four- to seven-day field trips to locations of geologic and environmental interest. Includes trips offered during Thanksgiving and Spring breaks. May be repeated for credit.

Field-, lab-, or literature-based. Faculty supervision. Written reports. May be repeated for credit.

For seniors who wish to write a thesis based on research in 192 or as a summer research fellow. May not be repeated for credit; may not be taken if enrolled in 199.

Reading and instruction under faculty supervision. Written reports. May be repeated for credit.

Research on a topic of special interest. See "Undergraduate Honors Program" above.nMay be repeated for credit.

For upper division undergraduates and graduate students. Topics vary each year but the focus is on current developments and problems in sedimentary geology, sedimentology, Archean geology, and basin analysis. These include issues in deep-water sediments, their origin, facies, and architecture; sedimentary systems on the early Earth; and relationships among tectonics, basin development, and basin fill. May be repeated for credit.

Decades of industrial activity have released vast quantities of contaminants to groundwater, threatening water resources, ecosystems and human health. What processes control the fate and transport of contaminants in the subsurface? What remediation strategies are effective and what are the tradeoffs among them? How are these processes represented in models used for regulatory and decision-making purposes? This course will address these and related issues by focusing on the conceptual and quantitative treatment of advective-dispersive transport with reacting solutes, including modern methods of contaminant transport simulation. Some Matlab programming / program modification required. Prerequisite: Physical Hydrogeology ESS 220 / CEE 260A (Gorelick) or equivalent and college-level course work in chemistry.

The what, when, where, and how do we know it regarding life on land through time. Fossil plants, fungi, invertebrates, and vertebrates (yes, dinosaurs) are all covered, including how all of those components interact with each other and with changing climates, continental drift, atmospheric composition, and environmental perturbations like glaciation and mass extinction. The course involves both lecture and lab components. Graduate students registering at the 200-level are expected to write a term paper, but can opt out of some labs where appropriate.

For advanced undergraduates or graduate students. Students use stratigraphy, subsurface maps, and basic well log, lithologic, paleontologic, and geochemical data to construct 1-D, 2-D, and 3-D models of petroleum systems that predict the extent of source-rock thermal maturity, petroleum migration paths, and the volumes and compositions of accumulations through time (4-D). Recent software such as PetroMod designed to reconstruct basin geohistory. Recommended: 251 or 253.

The essential technical and scientific elements of the nuclear fuel cycle, focusing on the sources, types, and characteristics of the nuclear waste generated, as well as various strategies for the disposition of spent nuclear fuel - including reprocessing, transmutation, and direct geologic disposal. Policy and organizational issues, such as: options for the characteristics and structure of a new federal nuclear waste management organization, options for a consent-based process for locating nuclear facilities, and the regulatory framework for a geologic repository. A technical background in the nuclear fuel cycle, while desirable, is not required

Current research topics. Presentations by guest speakers from Stanford and elsewhere. May be repeated for credit.

Field trips for teaching and research purposes. Trips average 5-10 days. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.

May be repeated for credit.

Two-three week field research projects. Written report required. May be repeated three times.

Weekly student presentations on continental collision tectonics, sedimentology, petrology, geomorphology, climate, culture, and other topics of interest. Students create a guidebook of geologic stops in advance of field trip. May be repeated for credit.

On-the-job training in the geosciences. May include summer internship; emphasizes training in applied aspects of the geosciences, and technical, organizational, and communication dimensions. Meets USCIS requirements for F-1 curricular practical training.n (Staff)

Graduate research projects that lead to reports, papers, or other products during the quarter taken. On registration, students designate faculty member and agreed-upon units.

Faculty supervision. On registration, students designate faculty member and agreed-upon units.