71 - 80 of 132 results for: GES

The thermodynamic properties of crystalline, glassy, and molten silicates and oxides in light of microscopic information about short range structure and ordering. Measurements of bulk properties such as enthalpy, density, and their pressure and temperature derivatives, and structural determination by spectroscopies such as nuclear magnetic resonance and Mössbauer. Basic formulations for configurational entropy, heats of mixing in solid solutions, activities; and the energetics of exsolution, phase transitions, and nucleation. Quantitative models of silicate melt thermodynamics are related to atomic-scale views of structure. A general view of geothermometry and geobarometry. Prerequisites: introductory mineralogy and thermodynamics.

Stable, cosmogenic, and radiogenic isotopes; processes that govern isotopic variations. Application of isotopes to geologic, biologic, and hydrologic questions. Major isotopic systems and their applications. Simple modeling techniques used in isotope geochemistry.

The basics of translating a conceptual model into a numerical model is presented. Emphasis on building models, box modeling, methods of solving models. Lab exercises draw from examples in biogeochemistry, including modeling global biogeochemical cycles, sediment biogeochemistry, and microbial processes.

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

Procedures for calculating and evaluating the thermodynamic properties of reversible and irreversible reactions among rock-forming minerals and aqueous solutions in geologic systems. Emphasis is on the generation and utility of phase diagrams depicting solution-mineral interaction relevant to phase relations associated with weathering diagenetic, hydrothermal, and metamorphic processes, and the prediction of temperature, pressure, and the chemical potential of thermodynamic components compatible with observed mineralogic phase relations in geologic outcrops. Individual research topics. Prerequisite: 171.

Solid, aqueous, and gaseous phases comprising the environment, their natural compositional variations, and chemical interactions. Contrast between natural sources of hazardous elements and compounds and types and sources of anthropogenic contaminants and pollutants. Chemical and physical processes of weathering and soil formation. Chemical factors that affect the stability of solids and aqueous species under earth surface conditions. The release, mobility, and fate of contaminants in natural waters and the roles that water and dissolved substances play in the physical behavior of rocks and soils. The impact of contaminants and design of remediation strategies. Case studies. Prerequisite: 90 or consent of instructor.

Current topics including new analytical techniques, advances in isotopic measurements, and new isotopic approaches and systems. May be repeat for credit for total completion of 5 and total unit allowed 15.

The practical and theoretical aspects of x-ray generation and detection, and the behavior of electron beams and x-rays in solids. The basic principles needed to quantitatively analyze chemically complex geological materials. Operation of the JEOL 733 electron microprobe and associated computer software for quantitatively analyzing materials. X-ray chemical mapping. Enrollment limited to 8.

Recent work in geochronology and paleobiology supports the temporal coincidence of the eruption of continental flood basalts with mass extinction in the marine and terrestrial realms. The mechanisms and timescale of flood basalt eruptions, their likely environmental and biological consequences, and the evidence for flood basalt eruptions as the triggers of many mass extinction events. Sources include recent primary literature.