Relationship of fossil assemblages to life assemblages; structure of ancient communities, and interaction of organisms with each other and with the physicalenvironment; evolution of communities.

All forms of frozen water at Earth's surface define the cryosphere. These icy environmnets are an integral part of the global climate system, with important linkages and feedbacks resulting from their influences on surface energy and moisture fluxes, clouds, precipitation, hydrology, and circulation in the atmosphere and oceans. This course will survey the various components of the cryosphere and their interactions with climate, with a strong emphasis on the dynamics of glaciers and ice sheets. Broad topics to be covered are 1)the rudimentary mechanics of glacier and ice sheet flow, 2)fast-flowing ice streams and factors limiting their motion, 3)ice-quakes and their origins, 4)the nature of climate data recorded in natural ice bodies, 5)the influence of climate on the stability of ice sheets and glaciers, and 6)glacier-like flow on other planetary bodies. This will be a lecture-based course with written assignmnets and problems sets.

Geologic history of invertebrates and their inferred life habits, paleoecology, and evolution. Introduction to paleobotany and vertebrate paleontology.

Geologic history of invertebrates and their inferred life habits, paleoecology, and evolution. Introduction to paleobotany and vertebrate paleontology.

Crystallography, representative minerals, their chemical and physical properties. Use of petrographic microscope in identifying common rock-forming minerals in thin section.

Crystallography, representative minerals, their chemical and physical properties. Use of petrographic microscope in identifying common rock-forming minerals in thin section.

Hands-on study of earth materials and processes. Identification and interpretation of rocks, minerals and fossils. Topographic and geologic maps. Evolution of landscapes. Field trips lead to a synthesis of the geologic history of southeastern Pennsylvania.

Open to architectural and engineering majors as well as Ben Franklin Scholars. Field trips. Relations of rocks, rock structures, soils, ground water, and geologic agents to architectural, engineering, and land-use problems.

Open to architectural and engineering majors as well as Ben Franklin Scholars. Field trips. Relations of rocks, rock structures, soils, ground water, and geologic agents to architectural, engineering, and land-use problems.

Natural disturbances play a fundamental role in sculpturing landscapes and structuring natural and human-based ecosystems. This course explores the natural and social science of disturbances by analyzing their geologic causes, their ecological and social consequences, and the role of human behavior in disaster reduction and mitigation. Volcanoes, earthquakes, floods, droughts, fires, and extraterrestrial impacts are analyzed and compared.