UNDERSTANDING EARTH AND BEYOND

Credit Hours: 3 · Graduate

In this course, students will gain an understanding of how our planet works, from its deep interior to the oceans, atmosphere, and life. A central theme of the course is to study how our planet works as an interconnected system. For example, we will investigate how plate tectonics makes volcanoes, ocean basins, mountains, continents, and even the atmosphere, and how all these components of the Earth interact with each other to give us the habitable planet we live on. We will learn about how life began on Earth and how life evolved with changing environments. We will also show how the principles of physics, chemistry, biology, and math become beautiful and easy when applied to our planet. Students will come out of this class with a greater appreciation of landscapes and the life around us. The course will also prepare students how to think about societally relevant problems, such as climate change, critical minerals, and natural disasters. Department Permission Required.