ENVI 485: ENVIRONMENTAL GEOLOGY

SPRING 2007

 

INSTRUCTOR

 

Sarah Gray, ST 270; email: sgray@sandiego.edu; sgray7@san.rr.com;

website: http://www.sandiego.edu/~sgray

Office hours: Tuesdays 11:00-12:00, Thursdays 11:00-12:00 and 2:00-5:00, or by appointment.

 

COURSE DESCRIPTION

 

An in-depth examination of the interactions  between  humans and the physical/geological  terrestrial environment,  with applications pertinent to the environmental consulting industry.  The course includes: a) a discussion of geologic hazards including mass wasting, floods, earthquakes, coastal hazards, and erosion; b) an examination of the geology of groundwater occurrence, groundwater flow, and groundwater management; c) ground and surface water pollution, waste disposal and management, and d) mineral and energy resources.  Specific case studies will be used to illustrate broader theories.  Examples from the San Diego region will be emphasized. Prerequisites: Environmental  Studies 109 or 110; Environmental Studies 210, and Mathematics 115 or Calculus; or consent of instructor.

 

TEXTBOOKS/MEDIA 

 

1)    Required: Montgomery, Carla W.  Environmental Geology, 7th edition.  McGraw Hill.

2)    Optional: Abbott, P. 1999. The Rise and Fall of San Diego, Sunbelt Publishers

3)    Selected Xeroxed readings; on e-reserve or the course website

4)    DVDÕs/videos (on reserve):

á         Video: ÒA Civil ActionÓ(VC 4657)

á         Video: ÒAfter the flood: the Mississippi FloodÓ(VC 3077)

á         DVD: ÒAmerica's Tsunami: are we next?Ó  (GC220.A44 2005)

á         DVD: ÒNova: Hurricane Katrina: the storm that drowned a cityÓ(QC944 .H87 2006)

á         Video: Cadillac Desert 2; ÒAn American NileÒ(VC 4087)

á         Video: Cadillac Desert 3; ÒThe mercy of natureÒ(VC 4088)

á         Video: Cadillac Desert 4: ÒLast oasisÓ (VC 4089)

 

MEETING TIMES AND IMPORTANT DATES

 

¬     Lecture: Tuesday/Thursday 9:15-10:35, ST 130

¬     Lab: Wednesdays: 1:25-5:25, ST262; Do not plan to leave lab early.  The labs and field trips may take the full four hours.

¬     Required activities OUTSIDE OF CLASS TIME

 

á      TWO Required weekend field trips outside of class time:

o      Salton Sea/Imperial Valley Field Trip:  Friday, March 16th 1:00 PM to ~9:00 PM Saturday, March 17th.  You will need to bring camping equipment. You will need to pay for, shop for, and cook your own meals on the field trip.  We will provide transportation.  All gear should be delivered by Friday morning to the designated location.

o      Water resources/coastal development in Northern Baja California (contingent on funding): 6:00 AM through 10 PM Saturday April 21st.

á      Environmental professional meeting or activitiy & one page write up

o      AEP: Association of Environmental Professionals (http://www.sandiegoaep.org/)

o      SDAG: San Diego Association of Geologists (http://www.sandiegogeologists.org/)

o      Or others (approved by instructor)

 

á      Outside lecture related to environmental studies & one-page write up

o      Departmental or senior seminars

o      Climate change lecture series at SDNHM: (2/13; 3/13; 4/10) (http://www.sdnhm.org/education/brochure/freelectures.html#glob)

o      Others

á      Viewing of required video/DVD presentations

 

¬     2 Midterms: Tuesday, Feb 27th, Thursday, Thursday, March 29th

 

¬     Final Exam: Thursday, May 17: 8:00 AM-10:00 AM

 

 

COMPUTER LITERACY:

Be familiar with: 1) receiving and sending email, 2) world-wide web, 3) word processing, 4) spread sheets/databases, and 5) a graphing program like Excel. If you are unfamiliar with any of these skills, take one or more of the excellent courses offered by Academic Computing.  Regularly throughout the semester, announcements and important information pertaining to the course will be sent out via email.  Therefore, you are required to regularly check your email throughout the semester.

 

 

ASSIGNMENTS:

 

-       LABORATORY PROJECTS:

o      Group project: Phase I Site Assessment of the USD Motor Pool

o      Smaller lab project write-ups

 

-       4-6 PROBLEM SETS (handed out in lecture; due one week later)

 

-       4-6 WRITING ASSIGNMENTS (< 2 double spaced pages) or VIDEO or DVD study questions:

 

-       TWO OUTSIDE LECTURE WRITE UPS (1 page each)

Attendance of two outside lectures and a 1-page summary of the presentation/experience are due by the last day of classes.  One must be based on attendance at a professional environmental organization meeting (see above).

 

-       NATURAL DISASTER LOG (DUE Tuesday, 3/13/07)

Between 1/30/07 and 3/6/07, log at least six natural disasters for San Diego (and/or) a specific region of the world.  Log these natural disasters in chronological order. Include the location & type of natural disaster; the beginning and ending dates of the disaster; a short description of the disaster; the economic loss and human casualities (injuries and deaths), sources of information (Newspaper and magazine articles, television and radio reports, and internet URLs).  If there are more than six in your region during this time, log them if they have caused major damage to people/property.  Possible regions include: a) North America,  b) South America, c) Oceania (including Australia & New Zealand), d) South Asia (India, the Himalayas, and the Indian Ocean),  e) Europe, Africa & the middle East, f) Asia. Your log will be turned in and your disasters plotted on a color-coded map of the region on Tuesday 3/13/07.

 

-       CASE STUDY PRESENTATION & BIBLIOGRAPHY (Various dates)

Each student will make a 12-15 minute Powerpoint presentation based on a case study that illustrates a particular topic we are covering in class.  The cases must be approved  by the instructor at least 3 weeks in advance of the scheduled presentation and a practice presentation presented during the instructors office hours prior to presentation in the class. No one will be allowed to present without going through a practice talk in advance with me.  It is your responsibility to schedule these meetings well in advance. A typed bibliography citing at least 6 sources (reputable internet sites are o.k.) must be turned in the day of the presentation. You must hand out a detailed outline of your talk, pertinent figures, a bibliography and three to five study questions pertaining to your talk to the students on the day of the presentation.

Case studies will cover the following themes and must be presented during the week that we cover those topics:

Topic A: flooding (Week 3)

Topic B: landslides/mass wasting (Week 3)

Topic C: coastal erosion (Week 4)

Topic D: hurricanes (Week 4)

Topic E: tsunamis (Week 6)

Topic F: earthquakes (Week 6)

Topic G: subsidence (Week 7)

Topic H: soil hazards, erosion or pollution (Week 7)

Topic I: water  resources (Week 8)

Topic J: groundwater  pollution (1) (Week 10)

Topic K: groundwater  pollution (2) (Week 10)

Topic L: waste management (1) (Week 11)

Topic M: waste management (2) (Week 12)

Topic N: mineral resources/mining impacts (1) (Week 12)

Topic O: mineral resources/mining impacts (2) (Week 13)

Topic P: energy resources/impacts (Week 13)

 

-       SALTON SEA PROPOSALS AND GROUP PRESENTATIONS (May 9th, 2007)

Imagine your environmental consulting firm has been Òshort listedÓ for a $20 Million contract with the Imperial Valley Water District to perform much needed environmental assessments in and around the Salton Sea.  In groups of two, you will conduct research and make 15 minute-presentations on a topic in environmental geology related to issues pertinent to our field trip to the Salton Sea/Imperial Valley.  You will discuss the particular issue, any prior research that has been completed, and what you propose to do in order to further study and eventually solve the dilemma.

You are required to use visual aids (PowerPoint).  For these presentations, you are required to meet with me a minimum of two times before your presentation and should have your first meeting no later than three weeks prior to your presentation date.  No one will be allowed to present without going through a practice talk in advance. You are required to consult a minimum of four literature sources in preparing your presentation and must turn in a bibliography.  You must hand out a detailed outline of your talk, pertinent figures, a bibliography and three to five study questions pertaining to your talk to the students on the day of the presentation.

GRADING FOR LECTURE AND LAB: 

The lecture and laboratory sections of this course are integrated and you will not receive a separate grade for lecture and lab.  The midterms and final exams will cover concepts covered in laboratories, on the field trips, guest speakers, videos/dvds, student presentations and/or reading assignments.  Conversely, material covered in lectures and readings assigned for the lecture may be necessary to complete the laboratory assignments. All exams may include some questions that are comprehensive and require integration of concepts covered from the beginning of the course (including material presented in class, laboratories or assigned readings in the text, and out-of-class assignments).   All exams are cumulative with emphasis on material covered since the last exam. All exams will include at least one problem that is similar to the problems assigned in the problems sets. There will be two midterms and one final exam.

The table below summarizes the approximate weight of each grade. This may be adjusted slightly.

 

 

Task

Final Grade %

 

2 Midterm Exams @ 13 % each

26

 

Cumulative final exam

20

 

Case study & Salton Sea presentation

18

 

Writing assignments; laboratory projects & assignments; problem sets; natural disaster logs; outside lectures, participation and attitude

36

 

POLICIES

 

1)    Attitude:  This course is challenging but you will have fun and learn a lot.  There will be a number of group activities.  Good, positive group dynamics is critical the success of all the students. 

 

2)    Attendance:  I strongly advise you to attend all lectures and all laboratory sessions.  You are expected to have a firm understanding of anything presented or discussed during class time.  NO MAKE-UP EXAMS OR QUIZS WILL BE GIVEN WITHOUT A VALID EXCUSE.

 

3)    Be punctual.

 

4)    Check your email regularly.  Announcements and important information about the course will be sent out as email.

 

5)    Field trips: The laboratory and the weekend field trips are an important part of the course.  What you learn on the field trips cannot be replaced by book learning or writing a paper.  NO STUDENT CAN PASS THIS COURSE WITHOUT ATTENDING THE REQUIRED WEEKEND FIELD TRIPS.  If you are ill on the weekend of the field trip you will need a doctorÕs note and will need to talk to the instructor about arranging an alternate field experience.  If an appropriate make-up experience cannot be arranged this semester, a student may receive an Incomplete for the course. 

 

6)    Late work: A specific due date will be given for all assignments.  Students are required to turn in all assigned lab and homework on the specified date. Late work will not be accepted.

 

7)    Academic Integrity: You are responsible to have read and fully understand the meaning and expectations of academic integrity as described in the USD Undergraduate Bulletin.  No probation or second chances will be given.

ENVI 485: ENVIRONMENTAL GEOLOGY OUTLINE

 

  1. INTRODUCTION (Montgomery: 1, 18, 19)

 

    1. What is Environmental Geology?

 

    1. What do Environmental Geologists do?

 

    1. Environmental Geology and Policy/Law

 

  1. NATURAL HAZARDS & SOILS (Mongomery: 11, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)

 

    1. Soils

 

    1. rivers and flooding

 

    1. landslides/mass wasting

 

    1. subsidence

 

    1. earthquakes

 

    1. coastal hazards including hurricanes & tsunamis

 

 

  1. HYDROLOGY, WATER QUALITY AND WASTE MANAGEMENT (Montgomery: 10, 15, 16)

 

    1. water resources

 

    1. groundwater

 

    1. water  pollution & treatment

 

    1. solid waste management

 

  1. ENERGY AND MINERAL RESOURCES (Montgomery: 12, 13, 14)

 

 

ENVIRONMENTAL GEOLOGY SCHEDULE (Subject to Change)

 

WEEK

 

DATE
TOPICS

READING

(Mont-gomery: M)

LAB TOPICS/

VIDEOS

 

1

T

1/30

Introduction

M: Ch. 1,

1/31

Introductions; Lab Safety

Measurements & Units

Population

 

Th

2/1

Environmental Geology & Planning;

M: Ch. 19

 

2

T

2/6

Hazards & Risks

M: Ch. 20

2/7

What do Environmental

Geologists Do?

Guest Speaker: Eric Cathcart

Field Trip: tour of current project sites & environmental lab

 

Th

2/8

Soil

M: Ch. 11;

 

3

Case Studies A, B

T

2/13

Streams & Flooding

 

M: Ch. 6;

2/14

Phase I Site Assessments

-       Background Research

-       Topographic, Geologic, Hydrologic Research

-       Regulatory Review Planning

-       Meeting w/ Fred Rocha

 

Th

2/15

Mass Wasting

 

M: Ch. 8;

 

4

Case Studies C, D

T

2/20

Coastal Hazards

M: Ch. 7

2/21

Phase I Site Assessment Project

-       Data Collection

-       Historical and Regulatory Review

 

Th

2/22

Hurricanes & Tsunamis

 

 

 

5

T

2/27

Midterm Exam 1

 

2/28

Phase I Site Assessment Project

-       Follow-up

-       Report Preparation

 

Th

3/1

Earthquakes & Faults

M: Ch. 4

 

6

Case Studies E, F

T

3/6

Earthquake engineering

 

3/7

Field Trip: Flooding & Seismic Hazards  in San Diego

Reading: Xeroxed article

 

Th

3/8

Guest Speaker

 

 

7

Case Studies G, H

T

3/13

Discussion of natural disaster logs

 

3/14

Preparation for the Salton Sea/

Imperial Valley Field Trip

 

Th

3/15

Water Supply and Use

M: Ch. 10

 

 

Fri-Sat

 

FIELD TRIP

3/16- 3/17

3/16-3/17

SALTON SEA/

IMPERIAL VALLEY

8

Case Study  I

T

3/20

 

Water Resources in California

Cadillac Desert 2

 

 

3/21

Field Trip:

Landslides in San Diego

 

 

Th

3/22

Cadillac Desert 3

 

 

9

T

3/27

Cadillac Desert 4

 

 

3/28

NO LAB: COMP FOR FIELD TRIPS

 

Th

3/29

Midterm Exam 2

 

 

 

 

4/2-4/9

EASTER BREAK

NO CLASSES

 

 

10

Case Studies J, K

T

4/10

Groundwater pollution and treatment

M: 16

4/11

Principles of Hydrology

 

 

Th

4/12

Guest Speaker

 

 

11

Case Study L

T

4/17

Waste Management

 

M: 15

 

4/18

Water Quality

 

 

Th

4/19

Baja field trip preview

 

 

 

Sat

4/21

 

 

Field Trip: Northern Baja California

12

Case Studies M, N

T

4/24

Waste Management (cont.)

 

 

4/25

Field Trip:

Sewage Treatment Plant

(Xeroxed article)

 

Th

4/26

Mineral Resources

 

M: 12

 

13

Case Studies O, P

T

5/1

Energy & the Environment

 

M: 15

5/2

Field Trip: Landfill

(Xeroxed article)

 

Th

5/3

Energy & the Environment

 

 

14

T

5/8

Guest Speaker

 

 

5/9

Salton Sea Conference & Presentations

 

 

Th

5/10

Summary/Wrap up

 

 

 

 

 

Th

5/17

FINAL EXAM

8:00 Ð 10:00 AM