ENVR 403 - Advanced Environmental Geology

3 Credit(s)

This course introduces students to advanced topics in geology that apply to the characterization of the geologic environment at a site-specific scale. The course is divided into two subject areas. The first half of the course introduces the basic principles of structural geology and their applications to engineering and environmental site characterizations. It includes the study of folded and faulted structures, the orthogonal and stereographic solutions to characterize near-surface geologic structure, and the construction and interpretation of geologic maps, geologic cross sections, and block diagrams. The second half of the course concentrates on the occurrence and distribution of earth’s surficial materials and their engineering and environmental properties. The geochemistry of soil formations that influence the engineering and environmental index properties is emphasized as a function of the soils origin. The geohazards of surficial processes are also studied in the context of geologic history and the planning and use of the geologic environment.
Prerequisite(s): ENVR 201 or ENVR 300.