41 - 50 of 146 results for: EARTHSYS

Islands are natural laboratories for studying a wide variety of subjects including biological diversity, cultural diversity, epidemiology, geology, climate change, conservation, and evolution. This field seminar focuses on Island Biogeography in one of the most extraordinary and well-preserved ecosystems in the world: Tasmania. Tasmanian d­­evils, wombats, and wallabies ¿ the names conjure up images of an exotic faraway place, a place to appreciate the incredibly diversity of life and how such striking forms of life came to be. This course will prepare students for their overseas seminar in Tasmania. Students will give presentations on specific aspects of the Tasmania and will lay the groundwork for the presentations they will be giving during the field seminar where access to the internet and to other scholarly resources will be quite limited. Additional topics to be addressed include: logistics, health and safety, group dynamics, cultural sensitivity, history, and politics. We will also address post-field issues such as reverse culture shock, and ways to consolidate and build up abroad experiences after students return to campus.

Terrestrial and marine ecology and conservation biology of the Hawaiian Archipelago. Taught in the field in Hawaii as part of quarter-long sequence of courses including Earth Sciences and Anthropology. Topics include ecological succession, plant-soil interactions, conservation biology, biological invasions and ecosystem consequences, and coral reef ecology. Restricted to students accepted into the Earth Systems of Hawaii Program.

Progression from volcanic processes through rock weathering and soil-ecosystem development to landscape evolution. The course starts with an investigation of volcanic processes, including the volcano structure, origin of magmas, physical-chemical factors of eruptions. Factors controlling rock weathering and soil development, including depth and nutrient levels impacting plant ecosystems, are explored next. Geomorphic processes of landscape evolution including erosion rates, tectonic/volcanic activity, and hillslope stability conclude the course. Methods for monitoring and predicting eruptions, defining spatial changes in landform, landform stability, soil production rates, and measuring biogeochemical processes are covered throughout the course. This course is restricted to students accepted into the Earth Systems of Hawaii Program.

This course explores the cultural, political economic, and environmental status of contemporary Hawaiians. What sorts of sustainable economic and environmental systems did Hawaiians use in prehistory? How was colonization of the Hawaiian Islands informed and shaped by American economic interests and the nascent imperialsm of the early 20th centrury? How was sovereignty and Native Hawaiian identity been shaped by these forces? How has tourism and the leisure industry affected the natural environment? This course uses archaeological methods, ethnohistorical sources, and historical analysis in an exploration of contemporary Hawaiian social economic and political life.

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.

This class connects the science behind natural disasters with the real-world constraints of disaster management and development. In each iteration of this class we will focus on a specific, disaster-prone location as case study. By collaborating with local stakeholders we will explore how science and engineering can make a make a difference in reducing disaster risk in the future. Offered every other year.

This service-learning course exposes students to geographic information systems (GIS) as a tool for exploring alternative solutions to complex environmental and humanitarian issues in the international arena. The project-based, interdisciplinary structure of this class gives primary emphasis to the use of GIS for field data collection, mapping, analysis and visualization that allows for multi-criteria assessment of community development. Those with no prior GIS experience will be required to take an introductory GIS workshop hosted by the Geospatial Center in Branner Library during the first two weeks of class.