Earth and Environmental Sciences - EAES

The information below lists courses approved in this subject area effective Fall 2008. Not all courses will necessarily be offered these terms. Please consult the Schedule of Classes for a listing of courses offered for a specific term.

500-level courses require graduate standing.

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101 Exploring the Earth's Surface
5 hours. Nature and evolution of the earth's surface. Interactions among the earth's solid surface, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere. Human impacts on natural processes. Lecture, laboratory, and discussion. Credit is not given for EAES 101 if the student has credit for EAES 107. Field trip required at nominal fee. Natural World - With Lab course.

102 Exploring the Earth's Interior
5 hours. Nature and evolution of the earth's interior. Interactions between the earth's interior and its surface. Earthquakes, volcanoes, and other geological hazards and their impact on society. Geological materials and resources. Lecture, laboratory, and discussion. Field trip required at nominal fee. Natural World - With Lab course.

107 The Changing Earth
5 hours. Introduction to the earth sciences and the development of the modern environment, using Illinois and, specifically, the Chicago Metropolitan Region to illustrate this relationship. Lecture, laboratory, and discussion. Credit is not given for EAES 107 if the student has credit in EAES 101 or EAES 102. Two Saturday field trips required at nominal fee.

109 The Restless Earth
4 hours. Introduction to plate tectonics, how ocean seafloor and continents form, break apart and collide and their relation to volcanoes, earthquakes, earth's interior, geological resources, and climate change. Lecture, laboratory an discussion. Credit is not given for EAES 109 if the student has credit for EAES 102. Natural World - With Lab course.

180 Honors Earth and Environmental Sciences
1 hours. Provides honors students with the opportunity to explore in depth a topic treated in the concurrent lecture course. May be repeated up to 1 time(s). Students may register in more than one section per term. May be taken a total of 2 times, each time with concurrent registration in EAES 101 or EAES 102. Prerequisite(s): Concurrent registration in EAES 101 or EAES 102. Honors course.

200 Field Work in Missouri
2 hours. Field observations in the St. Francois Mountains and vicinity, southeast Missouri. Credit is given upon completion of assignments that include a satisfactory written report. Three two-hour meetings and one-week field trip during the spring vacation. Attendance at the class meetings are mandatory in order to maintain enrollment in the class. Prerequisite(s): Grade of B or better or concurrent registration in EAES 101 and Grade of B or better or concurrent registration in EAES 102. Registration may be limited if student is not majoring in Earth and Environmental Sciences. Natural World - With Lab course.

220 Mineralogy
4 hours. Structure, composition, occurrence, and identification of minerals and materials. Introduction to crystallography, optical mineralogy, crystal chemistry and X-ray diffraction. Applications to earth and environmental sciences. Prerequisite(s): Credit or concurrent registration in CHEM 112.

285 Environmental Geology
4 hours. Earth systems and global change; global processes, greenhouse gases and global warming; geologic hazards; energy and the environment; human impact on the physical environment; geology of waste management. Saturday field trip required at nominal fee. Prerequisite(s): EAES 101 or EAES 107 or consent of the instructor.

310 Introduction to Geochemistry
4 hours. Principles of geochemical reactions. Chemical Evolution of the earth's crust, hydrosphere, and atmosphere. Biogeochemical evolution. Implications for global change. Prerequisite(s): EAES 220 or consent of the instructor.

330 Introduction to Petrology
4 hours. Igneous and metamorphic rock composition, classification, rock-forming processes. Description and interpretation of thin-sections. Prerequisite(s): EAES 220.

350 Principles of Sedimentology and Stratigraphy
4 hours. Characterization of sediments and sedimentary rocks, sediment transport, deposition and sedimentary structures, depositional environments. Stratigraphic principles, introductory sequence stratigraphy. Applied sedimentary geology. Field trips required at nominal fee. Prerequisite(s): EAES 220; or consent of the instructor.

360 Introduction to Paleontology
4 hours. The morphology, ecology, and relationships of fossil organisms. Basic principles of paleontology, including evolution, paleoecology and functional morphology. Same as BIOS 360. Prerequisite(s): EAES 102 or one year of biological sciences.

390 Current Topics in Earth and Environmental Sciences
2 hours. Seminar on current issues in earth and environmental sciences. Introduction to reading, interpretation, and writing of scientific papers. Prerequisite(s): Completion of at least one 200-level course in earth and environmental sciences.

396 Independent Research
2 TO 8 hours. Individual study under supervision of a faculty member in areas not covered in standard courses. May be repeated. Students may register in more than one section per term. A combined maximum of 6 hours of credit in EAES 396 and EAES 492 may be applied toward the degree. Independent research and a resulting undergraduate thesis are required for graduating with highest departmental distinction. Prerequisite(s): Consent of the instructor.

400 Field Experience in Earth Sciences
6 hours. Application of geologic mapping and other field techniques to a summer field camp in the Black Hills of South Dakota for a period of six weeks. Prerequisite(s): EAES 330 and EAES 440, or consent of the instructor.

410 Geochemistry
4 hours. Origin of elements. Principles of the distribution of elements in the earth's crust. Element partitioning between coexisting minerals. Thermodynamic considerations of mineral equilibria. Geochemistry of continental waters. Ocean geochemistry. Prerequisite(s): CHEM 114 or consent of the instructor.

415 Environmental Geochemistry
4 hours. Chemical reactions in natural environments; surface chemistry of metals and organic compounds. Clay minerals in soils and sediments. Chemistry of contaminant remediation. Prerequisite(s): EAES 310 or consent of the instructor.

416 Organic Geochemistry
4 hours. Global carbon cycle, chemical composition of biogenic matter, sedimentology and diagenesis of organic matter, molecular fossils, geopolymers, fossil fuels, anthropogenic organic compounds, carbon isotope geochemistry. Prerequisite(s): CHEM 114 or CHEM 130, and EAES 350; or consent of the instructor.

422 Crystal Chemistry of Rock-Forming Minerals
4 hours. The crystal chemistry, chemistry, phase equilibria, and properties of materials and minerals. Prerequisite(s): EAES 220 or consent of the instructor.

424 X-Ray Crystallography
4 hours. Introduction to the use of diffraction techniques for the identification and characterization of materials. Prerequisite(s): Consent of the instructor.

430 Igneous Petrology
4 hours. Discussion of petrogenesis, application of thermodynamic principles to the crystallization of rocks. Prerequisite(s): CHEM 114 and EAES 330.

440 Structural Geology and Tectonics
4 hours. Elementary stress and strain relations; folds, fabrics and faults; deformation mechanisms; basic plate tectonic concepts with regional geological examples. Required weekend field trip at a nominal fee. Prerequisite(s): EAES 102.

444 Geophysics
4 hours. Introduction to basic principles of geophysics applicable for environmental problems and the solid earth including magnetics, electric, seismic, gravity, geophysical well logging, radioactivity and heat flow. Prerequisite(s): EAES 102. Recommended background: Completion of introductory courses in physics and calculus.

448 Plate Tectonics
4 hours. Basic concepts and recent developments including plate kinematics, marine magnetics and paleomagnetics, evolution of oceanic lithosphere, subduction zones and passive margins. Prerequisite(s): MATH 180; and PHYS 102 or PHYS 142; or consent of the instructor.

455 Clastic Sedimentology and Sequence Stratigraphy
4 hours. Processes, facies, and sedimentary architecture in fluvial, deltaic, coastal, and offshore marine clastic depositional environments. Relative sea-level change and its controls on the stratigraphic record. Basin and reservoir modeling. Field trips required at nominal fee. Prerequisite(s): EAES 350 or consent of the instructor.

466 Principles of Paleontology
4 hours. Theory and methods of evolutionary paleobiology; includes paleoecology, functional morphology, and major features of organic evolution. Same as BIOS 466. Prerequisite(s): EAES 360 or BIOS 360 or consent of the instructor.

470 Surficial Processes
4 hours. Quantitative analysis of the mechanics, rates, and distribution of physical processes that modify Earth's and other planets' surfaces. Introduction to field, theoretical, and modelling approaches. Prerequisite(s): EAES 101 and MATH 181.

475 Hydrology/Hydrogeology
4 hours. The occurrence, storage, movement, and quality of water above, on and below the Earth's surface. Topics progress through atmospheric water vapor processes, Earth surface hydrology, and groundwater hydrology. Field trip required at nominal fee. Prerequisite(s): EAES 101 or EAES 107; and MATH 181; or consent of the instructor.

480 Statistical Methods in Earth and Environmental Sciences
4 hours. Techniques of probability and data analysis as applied to problems in environmental sciences. Sampling, statistical inference, descriptive statistics, multivariate methods, time series analysis. Prerequisite(s): Consent of the instructor.

488 Instrumental Analysis
3 hours. Scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive system. DC plasma analysis. Prerequisite(s): CHEM 114 and EAES 220; or consent of the instructor.

492 Internship in the Earth and Environmental Sciences
1 hours. Off-campus participation in governmental or private-sector training program. Credit is contingent on submission of a final report. Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grading only. May be repeated with approval. A combined maximum of 6 hours of credit in EAES 492 and EAES 396 may be applied toward the degree. Prerequisite(s): Approval of the Department.

494 Current Topics in Earth and Environmental Sciences
4 hours. Discussion of current research topics in earth and environmental sciences. Prerequisite(s): Consent of the instructor. Recommended background: Senior standing and 12 hours of advanced courses in earth and environmental sciences.

510 Advanced Geochemistry
3 TO 4 hours. Advanced topics in one of the following categories: isotope geochemistry and geochronology, distribution of elements in the earth's crust, mineral systems with and without volatile components, low-temperature mineral systems. Lectures and seminars. May be repeated if topics vary. Prerequisite(s): Consent of the instructor. Recommended background: Credit in EAES 410.

511 Principles of Aqueous Geochemistry
4 hours. Theory and application of thermodynamics and kinetics to processes controlling the compositions of natural waters, including solid and gas solubility, dissolution and precipitation, sorption, oxidation-reduction, acid-base equilibria. Prerequisite(s): Consent of the instructor.

512 Solid-Water Interface Chemistry
4 hours. Description, theory, and characterization of molecular-scale chemical processes at the solid-water interface. Major emphasis on oxide minerals with minor emphasis on metals, salts, and organics. Prerequisite(s): Consent of the instructor.

513 Stable Isotopes Geochemistry and Biogeochemistry
4 hours. Lectures and readings will cover nucleosynthesis, physical basis of isotopic fractionation, isotopic distributions in nature, and applications of stable isotope ratio measurements in studies of geologic, hydrologic, and biogeochemical cycles. Prerequisite(s): Consent of the instructor.

514 Environmental Radioactivity
4 hours. Covers the origins and distribution of radioactivity in the natural environment, along with applications of radioactivity measurements to studies of geologic, hydrologic, atmospheric, and biological processes. Prerequisite(s): Consent of the instructor.

516 Advanced Organic Geochemistry/Biochemistry
4 hours. Carbon biogeochemical cycle, carbon fixation and carbon isotope fractionation, compound specific isotope analysis, biomarker geochemistry, paleoenvironment. Prerequisite(s): EAES 416 or consent of the instructor.

520 Advanced Mineralogy
4 hours. Various types in one of the following catagories: structural determination, advanced diffraction techniques, crystal chemistry and structural mineralogy. Lectures, seminars, and laboratory. May be repeated if topics vary. Prerequisite(s): Consent of the instructor.

530 Advanced Petrology
3 TO 4 hours. Selected topics: generation and properties of magmas, formation of metamorphic rocks, reaction rates in metamorphic rocks. May be repeated if topics vary. Prerequisite(s): Consent of the instructor. Recommended background: Credit in EAES 430.

540 Interdisciplinary Approaches to the Study of Integrated Human/Natural Landscapes
3 hours. Examination of ecological, biogeochemical and evolutionary principles; techniques and philosophies of ecological remediation, restoration and conservation; environmental regulation and policy; sustainability in theory and practice. Same as BIOS 540 and CME 540. Prerequisite(s): Consent of the instructor.

541 Seismology
4 hours. Elastic wave propogation theory, instrumentation, seismic source mechanisms, body and surface waves, free oscillations, earth's interior, focal mechanisms, earthquakes and plate tectonics. Prerequisite(s): EAES 444 or consent of the instructor.

543 Advanced Geophysics and Plate Tectonics
4 hours. Advanced topics in geophysics and plate tectonics including subjects such as mantle convection, driving forces of plate tectonics and evolution of rifted continental margins. May be repeated if topics vary. Students may register in more than one section per term. Prerequisite(s): EAES 444 or EAES 448.

545 Spatial and Temporal Analysis and Modeling
4 hours. Methods for the analysis and modeling of spatial and temporal patterns in the earth and environmental sciences. Data acquisition. Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing; and consent of the instructor.

546 Research Methods for Landscape Ecological and Anthropogenic Processes
4 hours. Students will develop the skills to choose and utilize relevant methods and tools used in the study and management of altered natural landscapes to achieve research and management objectives through hands-on interdisciplinary laboratory modules. Same as BIOS 546 and CME 546. Prerequisite(s): Consent of the instructor.

547 Field Experiences in Landscape Ecological and Anthropogenic Processes
4 hours. Evaluation of the issues and needs of various landscape restorations and related urban-impacted sites in the Chicago metropolitan area based upon selected readings, site visits and presentations and discussions with the site manager/coordinators. Same as BIOS 547 and CME 547. Prerequisite(s): Consent of the instructor.

555 Advanced Sedimentary Geology
3 hours. Advanced topics in modern sedimentology and stratigraphy. May be repeated if topics vary. Field trips required at nominal fee. Prerequisite(s): EAES 455 or consent of the instructor.

560 Topics in Paleontology
3 TO 4 hours. In-depth analysis of current problems and issues in paleontology, involving reading primary literature, student presentations, and critical discussions. Same as BIOS 560. May be repeated if topics vary. Prerequisite(s): Consent of the instructor.

570 Advanced Surficial Processes
4 hours. Advanced topics in theoretical, empirical, and applied aspects of hillslope processes, sediment transport mechanics, river mechanics, weathering and soil development, or drainage basin development. May be repeated if topics vary. Prerequisite(s): EAES 470.

572 Quaternary Environmental Systems
3 hours. Interrelations between eolian, lacustrine, marine, eolian and glacial environments for the past 1.8 million years; geochronologic and isotopic methods; stratigraphic and geomorphic approaches. Prerequisite(s): EAES 470.

575 Advanced Hydrology
3 hours. Selective topics; mechanics of near-surface groundwater, flow in fractured rocks, groundwater contamination, unsaturated-saturated flow, surface-groundwater interactions. May be repeated if topics vary. Prerequisite(s): EAES 475.

576 Paleoclimatology
3 hours. Principles of climatology and paleoclimatology; mechanisms and causes of climate change for the past 63 million years; geologic records of climate and modelling. Prerequisite(s): EAES 470.

580 Aquatic Science
3 hours. Addresses environmental issues related to lakes, rivers, estuaries, and coastal zones. Topics will cover sampling techniques, impact of humans, and global change. Field trip required at nominal fee. Prerequisite(s): EAES 475; or consent of the instructor.

595 Departmental Seminar
1 hours. Special one-hour seminar, every Thursday, by invited speakers from other earth and environmental sciences departments, governmental agencies, and industry. Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grading only.

596 Advanced Studies in Earth and Environmental Sciences
1 TO 6 hours. Independent study or research with faculty supervision, leading to a written report. May be repeated. A maximum of 4 hours of credit may be applied toward the requirements for the M.S. degree. Prerequisite(s): Consent of the head of the department and the faculty member who will supervise the study.

598 Master's Thesis Research
0 TO 16 hours. Individual work under the supervision of faculty members in their respective fields. Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grading only. May be repeated. Prerequisite(s): Consent of the thesis supervisor.

599 Ph.D. Thesis Research
0 TO 16 hours. Individual work under the supervision of faculty members in their respective fields. Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grading only. May be repeated. Prerequisite(s): Consent of the thesis supervisor.

Information provided by the Office of Programs and Academic Assessment.

This listing is for informational purposes only and does not constitute a contract. Every attempt is made to provide the most current and correct information. Courses listed here are subject to change without advance notice. Courses are not necessarily offered every term or year. Individual departments or units should be consulted for information regarding frequency of course offerings.