Skip navigational links

• Home
• News
• About Us
  • Directory
  • Contact Us
  • Site Map
  • Institute Partners
• Graduate Program
  • Degree Requirements
  • Available Courses
  • Study Areas
• Research
  • Projects
  • Facilities
  • Contributions to Science
  • Expeditions
  • Software
  • Churchill Exploration Fund
  • Hal Borns Symposium
  • Annual Field Trip
  • Climate Policy
  • Publications
• Science Initiatives
  • Maine Climate Research
  • What is Climate Change

Classical and modern perspectives on vegetation ecology, including floristic and ecosystem approaches, classification and ordination of vegetation data, dynamics of vegetation with emphasis on the role of disturbance in landscape development, paleoecological perspectives, plant population ecology. Two field trips. Prerequisite: BIO 319 or equivalent, one year calculus. Lec 2, Lab 4. Cr 4.

---

Introduction to geophysical studies of the Earth. Seismological, gravity, magnetic, electrical and geothermal studies of the Earth's lithosphere are emphasized. Field exercises on one afternoon of selected weeks; course problem solving requires spread sheeting/graphical applications using available personal computers. Lec. 3. Prerequisites: ERS 101 or ERS 102 or ERS 106, MAT 127, PHY 111 and permission. Cr. 3. Topics include glaciers and their deposits, flow dynamics of glaciers, mechanics of erosion, transportation and deposition, development of soils, isotopic and sedimentologic techniques in stratigraphy, chronology, and reconstruction of paleoglacial events from glacial deposits. Required field trips. Lec 2, Lab 2. Prerequisite:ERS 101, ERS 102, ERS 104 or ERS 106 or permission. Cr 3 Algebraic and graphical analysis of water-mineral interactions at earth surface conditions. Topics include congruent and incongruent solubility, complexing, redox reactions, ion exchange, coprecipitation, chemical precipitation, evaporation, and diffusion. Prerequisites: CHY 121, MAT 126. Cr. 3. A survey of earth surface or near surface processes involving chemical reactions between rocks, organic matter and water. Topics include soil genesis, supergene enrichment, nutrient cycling, ground water evolution, and river and lake chemistry and cycles. Prerequisite:. ERS 521 or SMS 520. Cr. 2. Theory of variations in the relative abundances of naturally occurring radioactive and stable isotopes. Applications will emphasize the use of isotopic tracers in studies of petrogenesis, geochronology, paleoceanography and paleoecology. Prerequisite:. ERS 333 or permission. Cr. 3. Study of the physical environments of the Quaternary Period with special emphasis on ice-age theories, world-wide terrestrial and marine glacial stratigraphy, paleoclimatology, and effects of environment on society. One weekend field trip. Lec 2, Lab 2. Prerequisite: ERS 541 or permission. Cr 3. Offered every 2nd year. Required. An interdisciplinary approach with emphasis on glacial and nonglacial episodes and discussion of associated climatic and biologic changes. One week-end field trip. Rec. 2. Prerequisite:. ERS 541 or permission. Cr. 3. Integrates critical aspects of glacial geology and glaciology to better understand the configuration and dynamics of paleo continental glaciers. Examines the role of ice sheet dynamics in long term and abrupt global climate change. Landscape features used to diagnose such ice sheet changes are found in many areas as well as in Maine. Examples of critical features will be examined during field trips. Prerequisites: ERS 441 (or equivalent), MAT 126 or permission. Cr. 3. Paleoclimatic and paleooceanographic interpretations of marine sediment sequences. Emphasis on Late Quaternary stratigraphy, regional and global paleoclimates, correlation of the marine and terrestrial records and the recent advances of the CLIMAP program. Lec. 2, Rec. 1. Prerequisites: ERS 314, ERS 315 and SMS 568. Cr. 3. Covers classification methods, mapping procedures and techniques for the study of coastal landforms and interpretation of their origin and development. Dynamic processes that affect coastal environments including regional geology, climate, weather, tides, sea level, waves, storms, coastal currents, ice and crustal movements. Emphasis on field studies of beach forms and processes on Maine beaches. Several field trips. Prerequisites: SMS 270, ERS 101 or ERS 106 and permission. Cr. 3 The role of groundwater in geologic processes: the hydrologic cycle, groundwater transport equations, chemical evolution of groundwater, and groundwater as a geologic agent. Prerequisites: ERS 101 or ERS 102 or ERS 106, MAT 127. Cr. 3. The climatic system, survey of atmospheric behavior and climatic change; meteorological measurements and analysis; formulation of physical principles governing weather and climate with selected applications to small and large scale phenomena. Prerequisites: PHY 112 or PHY 122, MAT 126 or permission. Cr. 3.