printer friendly pageGES 215: Structural Geology and Rock Mechanics (CEE 297R, GEOPHYS 251)
Quantitative field and laboratory data integrated with solutions to boundary value problems of continuum mechanics to understand tectonic processes in Earth's crust that lead to the development of geological structures including folds, faults, fractures and fabrics. Topics include: techniques and tools for structural mapping¿ differential geometry to characterize structures¿ dimensional analysis and scaling relations¿ kinematics of deformation and flow¿ traction and stress analysis, conservation of mass and momentum in a deformable continuum¿ linear elastic deformation and elastic properties¿ brittle deformation including fracture and faulting¿ model development and methodology. Data sets analyzed using MATLAB. Prerequisites:
GES 1,
MATH 53, MATLAB or equivalent.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
Instructors:
Pollard, D. (PI)
GES 216: Rock Fracture Mechanics
Principles and tools of elasticity theory and fracture mechanics are applied to the origins and physical behaviors of faults, dikes, joints, veins, solution surfaces, and other natural structures in rock. Field observations, engineering rock fracture mechanics, and the elastic theory of cracks. The role of natural fractures in brittle rock deformation, and fluid flow in the earth's crust with applications to crustal deformation, structural geology, petroleum geology, engineering, and hydrogeology. Prerequisite: 215 or equivalent.
Last offered: Spring 2013
GES 218: Understanding Natural Hazards, Quantifying Risk, Increasing Resilience in Highly Urbanized Regions (EESS 118, EESS 218, GEOPHYS 118, GEOPHYS 218, GES 118)
Integrating the science of natural hazards, methods for quantitatively estimating the risks that these hazards pose to populations and property, engineering solutions that might best ameliorate these risks and increase resilience to future events, and policy and economic decision-making studies that may increase long-term resilience to future events. Panel discussions by outside experts exploring the science, engineering, policy, and economics that underly the hazards, risks, and strategies for increasing resilience. Group assignments to evaluate the way in which natural hazards, and human population and developing interact in megacities to produce risk, and what strategies might be adopted in each area to reduce risks posted by the specific hazards faced by these urban areas.
Last offered: Winter 2014
GES 221: What Makes a Habitable Planet? (GES 121)
Physical processes affecting habitability such as large impacts and the atmospheric greenhouse effect, comets, geochemistry, the rise of oxygen, climate controls, and impact cratering. Detecting and interpreting the spectra of extrasolar terrestrial planets. Student-led discussions of readings from the scientific literature. Team taught by planetary scientists from NASA Ames Research Center.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
Instructors:
Lissauer, J. (PI)
;
Marley, M. (PI)
GES 223: Reflection Seismology Interpretation (GEOPHYS 183, GEOPHYS 223)
The structural and stratigraphic interpretation of seismic reflection data, emphasizing hydrocarbon traps in two and three dimensions on industry data, including workstation-based interpretation. Lectures only, 1 unit. Prerequisite: 222, or consent of instructor.
Last offered: Spring 2014
GES 225: Contaminant Hydrogeology and Reactive Transport (CEE 260C, EESS 221)
For earth scientists and engineers. Environmental, geologic, and water resource problems involving migration of contaminated groundwater through porous media and associated biogeochemical and fluid-rock reactions. Conceptual and quantitative treatment of advective-dispersive transport with reacting solutes. Predictive models of contaminant behavior controlled by local equilibrium and kinetics. Modern methods of contaminant transport simulation and reactive transport modeling using geochemical transport software. Some Matlab programming / program modification required. Prerequisite: Physical Hydrogeology
EESS 220 /
CEE 260A (Gorelick) or equivalent. Recommended: course work in environmental chemistry or geochemistry (e.g., one or more of the following:
EESS 155,
EESS 156/256
GES 90,
GES 170/279,
GES 171,
CEE 177 or
CEE 270).
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
Instructors:
Gorelick, S. (PI)
;
Maher, K. (PI)
GES 227: Modern Turbidite Systems as Analogues for Deep-water Petroleum Plays (EESS 227)
This seminar is designed for earth science upperclassmen and graduate students. Marine geophysical and geological techniques will be used to illustrate and understand source-to-sink characteristics of modern turbidite systems. The course will examine a wide variety of small-scale base-of-apron (km) to large-scale (100's of km) sand-rich to mud-rich systems. New research on mass transport deposits, hybrid beds, and turbidite paleoseismology will be presented. Variations in turbidite system architecture, that are dependent upon tectonic setting, sediment supply, climate, sea level change, and contour currents will be discussed. The utility and pitfalls of model-driven approaches are also explored.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
Instructors:
Nelson, H. (PI)
GES 228: Evolutionary History of Terrestrial Ecosystems (EARTHSYS 128, GES 128)
The what, when, and how do we know it regarding life on land¿including plants, fungi, invertebrates, and vertebrates (yes, dinosaurs)¿and 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.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
Instructors:
Boyce, C. (PI)
GES 237: Surface and Near-Surface Hydrologic Response (CEE 260B)
Quantitative review of process-based hydrology and geomorphology. Introduction to finite-difference and finite-element methods of numerical analysis. Topics: biometeorology, unsaturated and saturated subsurface fluid flow, overland and open channel flow, and physically-based simulation of coupled surface and near-surface hydrologic response. Links hydrogeology, soil physics, and surface water hydrology.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
Instructors:
Loague, K. (PI)
GES 240: Geostatistics (ENERGY 240)
Geostatistical theory and practical methodologies for quantifying and simulating spatial and spatio-temporal patterns for the Earth Sciences. Real case development of models of spatial continuity, including variograms, Boolean models and training images. Estimation versus simulation of spatial patterns. Loss functions. Estimation by kriging, co-kriging with secondary data. Dealing with data on various scales. Unconditional and conditional Boolean simulation, sequential simulation for continuous and categorical variables. Multi-variate geostatistical simulation. Probabilistic and pattern-based approaches to multiple-point simulation. Trend, secondary variable, auxiliary variable and probability-type constraints. Quality control techniques on generated models. Workflows for practical geostatistical applications in mining, petroleum, hydrogeology, remote sensing and environmental sciences. prerequisites:
Energy 160/260 or basic course in data analysis/statistics
Terms: Spr
| Units: 2-3
Instructors:
Caers, J. (PI)
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