Evaluation of environmental contamination and liability is an important tool during acquisition of real estate property, and a standard work product in the environmental consulting field. This course will cover the purpose and history of the Superfund law, the various classifications of Superfund liable parties, and protections against Superfund liability, specifically with regard to bona fide prospective purchasers (BFPP). In the context of the BFPP liability defense the course will focus on the performance of "All Appropriate Inquiry" for the presence of environmental contamination (e.g. Phase I environmental site assessment). Our study of "All Appropriate Inquiry" will include evaluation of historical maps and other resources, aerial photography, chain-of-title documentation, and governmental database information pertaining to known contaminated sites in the area of select properties on or near campus. Site visits will be performed to gain experience and knowledge for the identification of recognized environmental conditions. Students will prepare environmental reports for select properties and will have an opportunity to hone technical writing skills.

The application of geophysical investigation techniques to problems of the local and shallow subsurface structure of the earth. The application of geophysical measurements and interpretation for environmental site characterizations, locating buried structures, groundwater investigations, and identifying geotechnical hazards with emphasis on gravity methods, seismic refraction and reflection, electrical resistivity, electromagnetic methods, ground penetrating radar, and borehole nuclear logging. Prerequisite: MSAG Required Course

This course will introduce numerical techniques for analyzing data and formulating models in Earth Science. Students will first be introduced to Octave, a high level computer programming language (equivalent to Matlab, but free of cost) that allows data analysis and manipulation, sophisticated plotting and numerical modeling from the same interface. Data analysis will focus on time series, pattern recognition, image/topography analysis, and correlation statistics; modeling will include groundwater and surface water flow, random processes, diffusion, and erosion and deposition. This will be a seminar-style course where discussion will be encouraged, and additional topicsmay be covered depending on student interest. Through project-based learning exercises students will gain proficiency in Octave which will be useful for allaspects of Earth science. Prerequisite: All relevant physics will be covered with the course. Some exposure to applications of physics or mathematics is required.

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

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

This course is designed to provide the graduate student with an understanding of the fundamentals of aqueous geochemistry.The chemistry of water,air and soil will be studied from an environmental perspective.The nature, composition, structure, and properties of pollutants coupled with the major chemical mechanisms controlling the occurrence and mobility of chemicals in the environment will also be studied.Upon completion of this course, students should expect to have attained a broad understanding of and familiarity with aqueous geochemistry concepts applicable to the environmental field. Environmental issues that will becovered include acid deposition, toxic metal contamination, deforestation,and anthropogenic perturbed aspects of the earth's hydrosphere.

This course will introduce graduate students to the principles of remote sensing, characteristics of remote sensors, and remote sensing applications. Image acquisition, data collection in the electromagnetic spectrum, and data set manipulations for earth and environmental science applications will be emphasized. We will cover fundamental knowledge of the physics of remote sensing; aerial photographic techniques; multispectral, hyperspectral, thermal, and other image analysis. Students will pursue an independent research project using remote sensing tols, and at the end of the semester should have a good understanding and the basic skills of remote sensing. Expectations for the graduate student independent research projects will be at the graduate level and can relate to their capstone or Ph.D. thesis research topics.

The culmination of the Earth Science major. Students, while working with an advisor in their concentration, conduct research and write a thesis. Prerequisite: GEOL 400-level and declaration of the EASC major. The Earth Science major, as of the fall of 2008, requires 1 semester of GEOL 399 and two semesters of GEOL 498.