Results for EARTHSYS

The course will provide a basic understanding of how the ocean functions as a suite of interconnected ecosystems, both naturally and under the influence of human activities. Emphasis is on the interactions between the physical and chemical environment and the dominant organisms of each ecosystem. The types of ecosystems discussed include coral reefs, deep-sea hydrothermal vents, coastal upwelling systems, blue-water oceans, estuaries, and near-shore dead zones. Lectures, multimedia presentations, group activities, and tide-pooling day trip.

Are you prepared for your internship this summer? This workshop series will help you make the most of your internship experience by setting learning goals in advance; negotiating and communicating clear roles and expectations; preparing for a professional role in a non-profit, government, or community setting; and reflecting with successful interns and community partners on how to prepare sufficiently ahead of time. You will read, discuss, and hear from guest speakers, as well as develop a learning plan specific to your summer or academic year internship placement. This course is primarily designed for students who have already identified an internship for summer or a later quarter. You are welcome to attend any and all workshops, but must attend the entire series and do the assignments for 1 unit of credit.

At its core, sustainability is a conversation about equity. Equity between people today and people tomorrow. Equity between the many diverse people today who are all trying to pursue their hopes and dreams. Equity between human beings and the myriad other living creatures we share this planet with. Movements for environmental sustainability and social justice share a concern for equity, but have largely evolved in parallel. Mounting evidence however shows that environmental and social change are almost always inextricably linked, and the climate crisis is pushing together these two areas of study like never before. That is good news, but tough questions remain. What happens when the environmental costs of personal freedom can no longer be sustained? Should the needs of the many always outweigh the needs of the few? Are we responsible for repairing the injustices of our parents' and grandparents' generations? Where are the win-win solutions? In this interdisciplinary seminar, we will explore the theory and practice of sustainability and social justice, examining case studies where they have intersected, and where they have not. Readings will draw from sustainability science, environmental justice, environmental ethics, religious studies, social psychology, and ecological economics. Through weekly readings, discussions, and journal writing, students will develop a personal sustainability manifesto and analyze a policy, technology, or social movement through the lens of social and environmental sustainability.

Hands-on, discussion-based class that seeks to expose students to the intersectionality of social justice and environmental well being. Through student-led talks and field trips around the Bay, the course pushes participants to think about connections between issues of privilege, race, health, gender equality, and class in environmental issues. Students from all experiences and fields of study are encouraged to join to gain a sense of place, engage critically with complex challenges, and learn about environmental justice in and out of the classroom.

Everything is connected, but how? Ecology is the science of interactions and the changes they generate. This project-based course links individual behavior, population growth, species interactions, and ecosystem function. Introduction to measurement, observation, experimental design and hypothesis testing in field projects, mostly done in groups. The goal is to learn to think analytically about everyday ecological processes involving bacteria, fungi, plants, animals and humans. The course uses basic statistics to analyze data; there are no math prerequisites except arithmetic. Open to everyone, including those who may be headed for more advanced courses in ecology and environmental science.

Microbes are often viewed through the lens of infectious disease yet they play a much broader and underappreciated role in sustaining our Earth system. From introducing oxygen into the Earth¿s atmosphere over 2 billion years ago to consuming greenhouse gases today, microbial communities have had (and continue to have) a significant impact on our planet. In this seminar, students will learn how microbes transformed the ancient Earth environment into our modern planet, how they currently sustain our Earth¿s ecosystems, and how scientists study them both in the present and in the past. Students will be exposed to the fundamentals of microbiology, biogeochemistry, and Earth history.

Preference to freshmen. Field trips to sites in the Elkhorn Slough, a small agriculturally impacted estuary that opens into Monterey Bay, a model ecosystem for understanding the complexity of estuaries, and one of California's last remaining coastal wetlands. Readings include Jane Caffrey's Changes in a California Estuary: A Profile of Elkhorn Slough. Basics of biogeochemistry, microbiology, oceanography, ecology, pollution, and environmental management.

Do you want a much better understanding of renewable power technologies? Did you know that wind and solar are the fastest growing forms of electricity generation? Are you interested in hearing about the most recent, and future, designs for green power? Do you want to understand what limits power extraction from renewable resources and how current designs could be improved? This course dives deep into these and related issues for wind, solar, biomass, geothermal, tidal and wave power technologies. We welcome all student, from non-majors to MBAs and grad students. If you are potentially interested in an energy or environmental related major, this course is particularly useful. Recommended: Math 21 or 42.

Energy is one of the world's main drivers of opportunity and development for human beings. At the same time, our energy system has significant consequences for our society, political system, economy, and environment. For example, energy production and use is the #1 source of greenhouse gas emissions. This course surveys key aspects of each energy resource, including significance and potential conversion processes and technologies, drivers and barriers, policy and regulatory environment, and social, economic, and environmental impacts. Both depletable and renewable energy resources are covered, including oil, natural gas, coal, nuclear, biomass, hydroelectric, wind, solar, photovoltaics, geothermal, and ocean energy, with cross-cutting topics including electricity, storage, climate change, sustainability, green buildings, energy efficiency, transportation, and the developing world. Understanding Energy is part of a trio of inter-related courses aimed at gaining an in-depth understanding of each energy resource - from fossil fuels to renewable energy. The other two classes are CEE107W/207W Understanding Energy - Workshop, and CEE 107F/207F Understanding Energy -- Field Trips. Note that this course was formerly called Energy Resources (CEE 173A/207A & Earthsys 103). Prerequisites: Algebra. May not be taken for credit by students who have completed CEE 107S.

Understanding Energy - Field Trips takes students on trips to major energy resource sites located within a few hours of Stanford University. Students visit at least two of the many field trips offered, including to a nuclear power plant, a wind farm, a geothermal facility, a solar photovoltaic (PV) farm, a hydroelectric power plant, an oil field, and a natural gas-fired power plant, among others (field trips offered may vary by quarter). Students meet 7-8 times during the quarter to debrief previous field trips and prepare for future ones. Open to all majors and backgrounds. Understanding Energy - Field Trips is part of a trio of inter-related courses aimed at gaining an in-depth understanding of each energy resource -- from fossil fuels to renewable energy. The other two courses are CEE 107A/207A & EARTHSYS 103 Understanding Energy, and CEE 107W/207W & EARTHSYS 103W Understanding Energy - Workshop. Priority is given to students who have taken or are concurrently enrolled in CEE 173A, CEE 107A, CEE 207A, EARTHSYS 103, or CEE 107S/207S.

Interactive workshop that goes in depth into cross-cutting energy topics touched on by CEE 107A/207A & EARTHSYS 103 - Understanding Energy. Topics covered include energy and sustainability, energy information analysis, energy and climate change policy, electricity storage, exergy and energy quality, energy-water nexus, energy and land use, energy and air quality, and transportation policy. Students are graded on attendance, participation, and a short final paper. Sessions will involve discussions, group activities, and fun debates. Open to all majors and backgrounds. This workshop is part of a trio of inter-related courses aimed at gaining an in-depth understanding of each energy resource -- from fossil fuels to renewable energy. The other two classes are CEE 107A/207A & EARTHSYS 103 Understanding Energy, and CEE 107F/207F & EARTHSYS 103F Understanding Energy Field Trips. Prerequisites: Must have taken or take concurrently CEE 173A, CEE 107A, CEE 207A,EARTHSYS 103, or CEE 107S/207S. 

Formerly 96B - Jasper Ridge Docent Training. First of two-quarter sequence training program to join the Jasper Ridge education/docent program. The scientific basis of ecological research in the context of a field station, hands-on field research, field ecology and the natural history of plants and animals, species interactions, archaeology, geology, hydrology, land management, multidisciplinary environmental education; and research projects, as well as management challenges of the preserve presented by faculty, local experts, and staff. Participants lead research-focused educational tours, assist with classes and research, and attend continuing education classes available to members of the JRBP community after the course.

The economics of food production, consumption, and trade. The micro- and macro- determinants of food supply and demand, including the interrelationship among food, income, population, and public-sector decision making. Emphasis on the role of agriculture in poverty alleviation, economic development, and environmental outcomes. (graduate students enroll in 206)

Think controlling the earth¿s climate is science fiction? It is when you watch Snowpiercer or Dune, but scientists are already devising geoengineering schemes to slow climate change. Will we ever resurrect the woolly mammoth or even a T. Rex (think Jurassic Park)? Based on current research, that day will come in your lifetime. Who gets to decide what species to save? And more generally, what scientific and ethical principles should guide our decisions to control nature? In this course, we will examine the science behind ways that people alter and engineer the earth, critically examining the positive and negative consequences. We¿ll explore these issues first through popular movies and books and then, more substantively, in scientific research.

Is the "Big One" overdue in California? What kind of damage would that cause? What can we do to reduce the impact of such hazards in urban environments? Does "fracking" cause earthquakes and are we at risk? Is the United States vulnerable to a giant tsunami? The geologic record contains evidence of volcanic super eruptions throughout Earth's history. What causes these gigantic explosive eruptions, and can they be predicted in the future? This course will address these and related issues. For non-majors and potential Earth scientists. No prerequisites. More information at: https://stanford.box.com/s/tpwwqpl2ryxfty6stq8wo2j78fj06ikg

This is a speaker series class featuring highly successful innovators in the food system. Featured speakers will talk in an intimate, conversational manner about their current work, as well as about their successes, failures, and learnings along the way. Additional information can be found here: http://feedcollaborative.org/speaker-series/

"Building a Sustainable Society: New approaches for integrating human and environmental priorities" draws on economics, natural resources management, sociology and leadership science to examine theoretical frameworks and diverse case studies that illustrate challenges as well as effective strategies in building a sustainable society where human beings and the natural environment thrive. Themes include collaborative consumption, the sharing economy, worker-owned cooperatives, community-corporate partnerships, cradle to cradle design, social entrepreneurship, impact investing, "beyond GDP", and transformative leadership. Critical perspectives, lectures and student-led discussions guide analysis of innovations within public, private and civic sectors globally. Students explore their personal values and motivations and develop their potential to become transformative leaders.

Introduction to the fossil record with emphasis on marine invertebrates. Major debates in paleontological research. The history of animal life in the oceans. Topics include the nature of the fossil record, evolutionary radiations, mass extinctions, and the relationship between biological evolution and environmental change. Fossil taxa through time. Exercises in phylogenetics, paleoecology, biostratigraphy, and statistical methods.

Introduction to the physics governing the circulation of the atmosphere and ocean and their control on climate with emphasis on the large-scale ocean circulation. This course will give an overview of the structure and dynamics of the major ocean current systems that contribute to the meridional overturning circulation, the transport of heat, salt, and biogeochemical tracers, and the regulation of climate. Topics include the tropical ocean circulation, the wind-driven gyres and western boundary currents, the thermohaline circulation, the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, water mass formation, atmosphere-ocean coupling, and climate variability. Prerequisites: EESS 146A or EESS 246A, or CEE 164 or CEE 262D, or consent of instructor.

What is wilderness and why does it matter? In this course we will interrogate answers to this question articulated by influential and diverse American environmental thinkers of the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries, who through their writing transformed public perceptions of wilderness and inspired such actions as the founding of the National Park System, the passage of the Wilderness Act and the Clean Air and Water Acts, the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency, and the birth of the environmental and climate justice movements. Students will also develop their own responses to the question of what is wilderness and why it matters through a series of writing exercises that integrate personal narrative, wilderness experience, and environmental scholarship, culminating in a ~3000 word narrative nonfiction essay. This course will provide students with knowledge, tools, experience, and skills that will empower them to become more persuasive environmental storytellers and advocates.

Required for Earth Systems students in the oceans track. Interdisciplinary look at how oceanic environments control the form and function of marine life. Topics include distributions of planktonic production and abundance, nutrient cycling, the role of ocean biology in the climate system, expected effects of climate changes on ocean biology. Local weekend field trips. Designed to be taken concurrently with Marine Chemistry (EESS/EARTHSYS 152/252). Prerequisites: BIO 43 and EESS 8 or equivalent.

Introduction to the interdisciplinary knowledge and skills required to critically evaluate problems in marine chemistry and related disciplines. Physical, chemical, and biological processes that determine the chemical composition of seawater. Air-sea gas exchange, carbonate chemistry, and chemical equilibria, nutrient and trace element cycling, particle reactivity, sediment chemistry, and diagenesis. Examination of chemical tracers of mixing and circulation and feedbacks of ocean processes on atmospheric chemistry and climate. Designed to be taken concurrently with Biological Oceanography (EESS/EARTHSYS 151/251)

In the next two decades floods, droughts and famine caused by climate change will displace more than 250 million people around the world. In this course students will develop an increased understanding of how different stakeholders including scientists, aid organizations, locals, policy makers, activists, and media professionals communicate the climate change crisis. They will select a site experiencing the devastating effects and research the voices telling the stories of those sites and the audiences who are (or are not) listening. Students might want to investigate drought-ridden areas such as the Central Valley of California or Darfur, Sudan; Alpine glaciers melting in the Alps or in Alaska; the increasingly flooded Pacific islands; the hurricane ravaged Gulf Coast, among many others. Data from various stakeholders will be analyzed and synthesized for a magazine length article designed to bring attention to a region and/or issue that has previously been neglected. Students will write and submit their article for publication.nnFor students who have completed the first two levels of the writing requirement and want further work in developing writing abilities, especially within discipline-specific contexts and nonfiction genres. Individual conferences with instructor and peer workshops. Prerequisite: first two levels of the writing requirement or equivalent transfer credit. For more information, see https://undergrad.stanford.edu/programs/pwr/explore/notation-science-writing.

Physical, chemical, and biological processes within soil systems. Emphasis is on factors governing nutrient availability, plant growth and production, land-resource management, and pollution within soils. How to classify soils and assess nutrient cycling and contaminant fate. Recommended: introductory chemistry and biology.

This interdisciplinary course integrates the legal, scientific, and policy dimensions of how we characterize and manage resource use and allocation along the California coast. We will use this geographic setting as the vehicle for exploring more generally how agencies, legislatures, and courts resolve resource-use conflicts and the role that scientific information and uncertainty play in the process. Our focus will be on the land-sea interface as we explore contemporary coastal land-use and marine resource decision-making, including coastal pollution, public health, ecosystem management; public access; private development; local community and state infrastructure; natural systems and significant threats; resource extraction; and conservation, mitigation and restoration. Students will learn the fundamental physics, chemistry, and biology of the coastal zone, tools for exploring data collected in the coastal ocean, and the institutional framework that shapes public and private decisions affecting coastal resources. There will be 3 to 4 written assignments addressing policy and science issues during the quarter, as well as a take-home final assignment. Special Instructions: In-class work and discussion is often done in interdisciplinary teams of students from the School of Law, the School of Engineering, the School of Humanities and Sciences, and the School of Earth, Energy, and Environmental Sciences. Students are expected to participate in class discussion and field trips. Elements used in grading: Participation, including class session and field trip attendance, writing and quantitative assignments. Cross-listed with Civil & Environmental Engineering (CEE 175A/275A), Earth Systems (EARTHSYS 175/275), Law (LAW514), and Public Policy (PUBLPOL 175/275). Open to graduate students and to advanced undergraduates with instructor consent.

Field-based training in ecologically sound agricultural practices at the Stanford Community Farm. Weekly lessons, field work, and group projects. Field trips to educational farms in the area. Topics include: soils, composting, irrigation techniques, IPM, basic plant anatomy and physiology, weeds, greenhouse management, and marketing.

Farms and gardens provide excellent settings for place-based environmental education that emphasize human ecological relationships and experiential learning. The O'Donohue Family Stanford Educational Farm is the setting to explore the principles and practices of farm and garden-based education in conjunction with the farm's new field trip program for local youth. The course includes readings and reflections on environmental education and emphasis on learning by doing, engaging students in the practice of team teaching.

How can we ensure that measures taken to mitigate global climate change don¿t create larger social and environmental problems? What metrics should be used to compare potential climate solutions beyond cost and technical feasibility, and how should these metrics be weighed against each other? How can modeling efforts and stakeholder engagement be best integrated into climate decision making? What information are we still missing to make fully informed decisions between technologies and policies? Exploration of these questions, alongside other issues related to potential negative externalities of emerging climate solutions. Evaluation of energy, land use, and geoengineering approaches in an integrated context, culminating in a climate stabilization group project.

Under supervision of an Earth Systems faculty member on a subject of mutual interest.

Honors Program in Earth Systems

Preference to graduate students and senior undergraduates in environmental, natural and social sciences, engineering, journalism. Students help produce and publish SAGE, an eco advice column, by choosing, researching, and answering questions about sustainable living submitted by Stanford alumni and the general public. (Meets Earth Systems WIM requirement).

The economics of food production, consumption, and trade. The micro- and macro- determinants of food supply and demand, including the interrelationship among food, income, population, and public-sector decision making. Emphasis on the role of agriculture in poverty alleviation, economic development, and environmental outcomes. (graduate students enroll in 206)

For graduate and undergraduate students interested in the natural sciences and the Spanish language. Students will acquire the ability to communicate in Spanish using scientific language and will enhance their ability to read scientific literature written in Spanish. Emphasis on the development of science in Spanish-speaking countries or regions. Course is conducted in Spanish and intended for students pursuing degrees in the sciences, particularly disciplines such as ecology, environmental science, sustainability, resource management, anthropology, and archeology.

Students work independently or in groups to complete their Senior Capstone Projects. They will participate in regular advising meetings with the instructor(s), and will give a final presentation on their projects at the end of the quarter in a special Earth Systems symposium. Prerequisite: EARTHSYS 210A, B, or C.

This is a speaker series class featuring highly successful innovators in the food system. Featured speakers will talk in an intimate, conversational manner about their current work, as well as about their successes, failures, and learnings along the way. Additional information can be found here: http://feedcollaborative.org/speaker-series/

Introduction to the physics governing the circulation of the atmosphere and ocean and their control on climate with emphasis on the large-scale ocean circulation. This course will give an overview of the structure and dynamics of the major ocean current systems that contribute to the meridional overturning circulation, the transport of heat, salt, and biogeochemical tracers, and the regulation of climate. Topics include the tropical ocean circulation, the wind-driven gyres and western boundary currents, the thermohaline circulation, the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, water mass formation, atmosphere-ocean coupling, and climate variability. Prerequisites: EESS 146A or EESS 246A, or CEE 164 or CEE 262D, or consent of instructor.

What is wilderness and why does it matter? In this course we will interrogate answers to this question articulated by influential and diverse American environmental thinkers of the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries, who through their writing transformed public perceptions of wilderness and inspired such actions as the founding of the National Park System, the passage of the Wilderness Act and the Clean Air and Water Acts, the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency, and the birth of the environmental and climate justice movements. Students will also develop their own responses to the question of what is wilderness and why it matters through a series of writing exercises that integrate personal narrative, wilderness experience, and environmental scholarship, culminating in a ~3000 word narrative nonfiction essay. This course will provide students with knowledge, tools, experience, and skills that will empower them to become more persuasive environmental storytellers and advocates.

Independent research related to student's primary track, carried out after the junior year, during the summer, and/or during the senior year. Student develops own project with faculty supervision. 10-15 page thesis. May be repeated for credit.

Required for Earth Systems students in the oceans track. Interdisciplinary look at how oceanic environments control the form and function of marine life. Topics include distributions of planktonic production and abundance, nutrient cycling, the role of ocean biology in the climate system, expected effects of climate changes on ocean biology. Local weekend field trips. Designed to be taken concurrently with Marine Chemistry (EESS/EARTHSYS 152/252). Prerequisites: BIO 43 and EESS 8 or equivalent.

Introduction to the interdisciplinary knowledge and skills required to critically evaluate problems in marine chemistry and related disciplines. Physical, chemical, and biological processes that determine the chemical composition of seawater. Air-sea gas exchange, carbonate chemistry, and chemical equilibria, nutrient and trace element cycling, particle reactivity, sediment chemistry, and diagenesis. Examination of chemical tracers of mixing and circulation and feedbacks of ocean processes on atmospheric chemistry and climate. Designed to be taken concurrently with Biological Oceanography (EESS/EARTHSYS 151/251)

Supervised field, lab, or private sector project. May consist of directed research under the supervision of a Stanford faculty member, participation in one of several off campus Stanford programs, or an approved non-Stanford program relevant to the student's Earth Systems studies. Required of and restricted to declared Earth Systems majors. Includes 15-page technical summary research paper that is subject to iterative revision.

This interdisciplinary course integrates the legal, scientific, and policy dimensions of how we characterize and manage resource use and allocation along the California coast. We will use this geographic setting as the vehicle for exploring more generally how agencies, legislatures, and courts resolve resource-use conflicts and the role that scientific information and uncertainty play in the process. Our focus will be on the land-sea interface as we explore contemporary coastal land-use and marine resource decision-making, including coastal pollution, public health, ecosystem management; public access; private development; local community and state infrastructure; natural systems and significant threats; resource extraction; and conservation, mitigation and restoration. Students will learn the fundamental physics, chemistry, and biology of the coastal zone, tools for exploring data collected in the coastal ocean, and the institutional framework that shapes public and private decisions affecting coastal resources. There will be 3 to 4 written assignments addressing policy and science issues during the quarter, as well as a take-home final assignment. Special Instructions: In-class work and discussion is often done in interdisciplinary teams of students from the School of Law, the School of Engineering, the School of Humanities and Sciences, and the School of Earth, Energy, and Environmental Sciences. Students are expected to participate in class discussion and field trips. Elements used in grading: Participation, including class session and field trip attendance, writing and quantitative assignments. Cross-listed with Civil & Environmental Engineering (CEE 175A/275A), Earth Systems (EARTHSYS 175/275), Law (LAW514), and Public Policy (PUBLPOL 175/275). Open to graduate students and to advanced undergraduates with instructor consent.

Farms and gardens provide excellent settings for place-based environmental education that emphasize human ecological relationships and experiential learning. The O'Donohue Family Stanford Educational Farm is the setting to explore the principles and practices of farm and garden-based education in conjunction with the farm's new field trip program for local youth. The course includes readings and reflections on environmental education and emphasis on learning by doing, engaging students in the practice of team teaching.

How can we ensure that measures taken to mitigate global climate change don¿t create larger social and environmental problems? What metrics should be used to compare potential climate solutions beyond cost and technical feasibility, and how should these metrics be weighed against each other? How can modeling efforts and stakeholder engagement be best integrated into climate decision making? What information are we still missing to make fully informed decisions between technologies and policies? Exploration of these questions, alongside other issues related to potential negative externalities of emerging climate solutions. Evaluation of energy, land use, and geoengineering approaches in an integrated context, culminating in a climate stabilization group project.

Students complete an internship or similar practical experience in a professional environmental communication setting. Potential placements include environmental publications, NGOs, government agencies, on-campus entities, and science centers and museums. Restricted to students enrolled in the Environmental Communication Master of Arts in Earth Systems.

Group-project based course focused on applying the skills and theoretical understanding gained through the Environmental Communication Master of Arts in Earth Systems course progression to a real-world communication challenge. Students design, plan, and implement an integrated communication strategy around a defined environmental topic or research program, such as the implementation of the new student farm; a specific research group¿s laboratory or expedition work; or an topic or concept of interest across research groups, such as climate change adaptation or marine conservation. Restricted to students enrolled in the Environmental Communication Master of Arts in Earth Systems, or by permission of the instructor.

Under supervision of an Earth Systems faculty member on a subject of mutual interest.

For Earth Systems master's students and advanced undergraduates only. Analysis and discussion of selected literary nonfiction books relevant to Earth systems topics. Examples of previous topics include political presentations of environmental change in the popular press, review of the collected works of Aldo Leopold, disaster literature, and global warming.