Geology (GEOL)

Description: The study of igneous systems, including an investigation of volcanic processes, mineral equilibria, petrography, and the geochemistry of magmas and minerals.

Description: Exploration of the fundamentals of geochemistry from thermodynamics, including the laws of thermodynamics, multicomponent analysis, extrapolation to temperatures and pressures of interest, nonideal solution behavior, phase diagrams, volatile fugacities, and redox reactions.

Description: Behavior of stable and radiogenic isotopes in geological and cosmochemical systems. Application of isotope geochemistry to determining the age of rocks, as well as the sources of the chemical components in the rocks.

Description: Origin, preservation and transport of organic compounds found in the rock record. Applications of organic geochemistry to paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental interpretations as well as discerning the origins of coal, oil and natural gas.

Description: Principles of water chemistry and their use in precipitation, surface water, and groundwater studies. Groundwater applications used to determine the time and source of groundwater recharge, estimate groundwater residence time, identify aquifer mineralogy, examine the degree of mixing between waters of various sources and evaluate what types of biological and chemical processes have occurred during the water's journey through the aquifer system.

Description: Introduction to the basic methods and practical applications of remote sensing to map, monitor and assess agricultural and natural resources and other environmental changes

Description: Depositional settings and processes, petrography, geochemistry, diagenesis and geological significance of modern and ancient carbonate rocks and sediments.

Description: Analysis and interpretation of the Quaternary period's paleoecological data. Patterns of long-term climate variation. Distribution patterns and responses of organisms and ecosystems to Quaternary environmental change.

Description: Chemical cycling at or near the earth's surface, emphasizing interactions among the atmosphere, biosphere, geosphere and hydrosphere. Modern processes, the geological record, and human impacts on elemental cycles.

Description: Analysis of stratigraphic stacking patterns in sedimentary basins and sequence stratigraphic methods.

Description: Numerical and statistical analysis of paleontological data including biometry, syn-ecology, and quantitative biostratigraphy.

Description: Morphology, classification, ecology and geological application of common fossil and extant marine, brackish, and freshwater microfossils.

Description: Survey of mammalian evolution with emphasis on the origin, radiation, and phylogenetic relationships of Cenozoic fossil mammals. Overview of climatic and ecological changes affecting mammalian adaptations and hands on experience with fossil specimens.

Description: Theory of plate tectonics; tectonic controls on rock assemblages; interpretation of regional structure and tectonic history; origin and tectonic evolution of terrestrial planets.

Description: Geophysical techniques to study the Earth: seismology, gravity, magnetics and heat flow.

Description: Application of near-surface geophysical methods, namely seismic, ground-penetrating radar, and microgravimetry to groundwater, engineering, environmental, and archaeological investigations.

Description: An introduction into the role that microorganisms play and have played in natural and man-made environments. Topics covered include microbial diversity and physiology in soil, sediment, and water; microbes in Earth history; biogeochemical cycling; mineral formation and dissolution; biodegradation and bioremediation; biotechnology.

Description: Integrative analysis of geophysical data (gravity, magnetics, seismic) with geological information (well logs, tectonic history, etc.)

Description: Geophysical methods used for petroleum exploration: potential fields, seismology, electrical and electromagnetic surveying.

Description: Fluvial, glacial, eolian, and coastal processes and landforms. Roles of tectonics, climate, and climate change in landscape evolution. Lab stresses description and interpretation of landforms from remotely-sensed, cartographic, and field data.

Description: Overview of the key traits, relationships and evolutionary dynamics of invertebrate animals over Earth's history, particularly over the Phanerozoic (i.e., the last 540 million years). Emphasis on the use of invertebrate fossil record to test ideas about long term evolutionary patterns as well as learning the histories and basic anatomies of major invertebrate taxa.

Description: Basic concepts of GIS, hands-on experience with various case studies from geology, meteorology, climatology and environmental applications.

Description: A practical introduction to modeling and computational techniques that bridges subdisciplines of geology, with a focus on fluid transport modeling.

Description: Processes controlling the cycling of energy and elements in ecosystems and how both plant and animal species influence them. Human-influenced global and local changes that alter these cycles and ecosystem functioning.

Description: Basic techniques, field procedures, instruments, and software for data interpretation, and characterization of groundwater flow and contaminant transport.

Description: Quantitative approach to water in geological media, earth surface and atmosphere. Understanding and analysis of physical processes involved in groundwater-surface-atmosphere interactions.

Description: Holistic approach to the selection and analysis of planning strategies for protecting water quality from nonpoint sources of contamination. Introduction to the use of methods of analyzing the impact of strategies on whole systems and subsystems; for selecting strategies; and for evaluating present strategies.

Description: Occurrence and utilization of the metallic ores. Elementary theory of ore genesis.

Description: Seminar on current water resources research and issues in Nebraska and the region.

Description: Geology of coal, oil and gas, and methods of exploration.

Description: Occurence, movement, and development of water in the geologic environment.

Description: Topics vary.

Description: E.F. Schramm Course in Economic Geology. Aspects of fossil fuel geology and exploration.

Description: Geology of the oceanic realm, formation of oceanic crust, circulation, geochemistry, pelagic sediments and their diagensis, correlation, and oceanic history.

Description: Biostratigraphy, paleoecology, and paleobiogeography of fossil diatoms, silicoflagellates and ebridians.

Description: Review and discussion of professional research papers in Geophysics.

Description: Principles and modeling of fluid flow and solute transport in the vadose zone. Topics include hydraulic properties of variably saturated media, application of Darcy's Law in variably saturated media, hydrologic and transport processes in the vadose zone, and solution of steady and unsteady flow problems using numerical techniques including finite element methods. Contemporary vadose zone models will be applied to engineering flow and transport problems. Review and synthesis of classic and contemporary research literature on vadose zone hydrology will be embedded in the course.

Description: Occurrence, behavior and remediation of contamination in geological media. Fundamentals of physical, mathematical, chemical, and engineering processes affecting movement of contaminants in the hydrogeological environment and their applications. Teamwork, projects, seminar presentations, field trips and invited lectures.

Description: Application of fundamentals of modeling techniques (analytical, semi-analytical, finite-difference and finite elements) to the solution of hydrogeological problems. Emphasis on development of model concepts for specific groundwater flow and transport conditions, selection of solution methods, including computer software and hardware, performance of computer modeling, and interpretation of results.