Prerequisite: GEOL 201. Groundwater in the geologic setting. Hydrology of groundwater basins. Well hydraulics. Principles of flow in saturated and unsaturated materials. Modeling of hydrogeologic systems. Applications to groundwater contamination and management problems.
Prerequisite: GEOL 202 and GEOL 320. Overview of what ore is and how it is formed, techniques of finding and extracting ore, plus environmental impacts of extracting ore. Case studies of well known mines.
(3 lecture, 3 laboratory) Prerequisite: GEOL 320. Description and classification of igneous and metamorphic rocks in hand sample and in thin section. Includes a study of the genesis of igneous and metamorphic rocks via phase diagrams and chemical reactions.
(3 lecture, 2 laboratory) Prerequisite: GEOL 421 and GEOL 470. Integration of, for example, structural geology, petrology, and geochronology, to understand past and present mountain belts and plate tectonics.
(3 lecture, 3 laboratory) Prerequisite: GEOL 202. Study of fossils including taxonomy, systematics, taphonomy, functional morphology, paleoecology, biostratigraphy, extinction, evolutionary trends and major events in the history of life. Labs review major fossil groups. Field trips required.
GEOL 202 or permission of instructor. A survey of the evolution of vertebrates through geologic time, emphasizing major events in the history of vertebrates. Includes field trips and methods of fossil collection, preparation, and curation.
(3 lecture, 3 laboratory) Prerequisite: GEOL 202. Sedimentary processes; depositional environments; classification and structures of sedimentary rocks; field and laboratory methods of analyzing and interpreting outcrops and samples. Regional stratigraphy of northeastern Colorado investigated. Field trips required.
(2 lecture, 3 laboratory) Origin and evolution of landforms emphasizing processes of their formation, including tectonic, glacial, fluvial and hillslope processes.
Prerequisite: GEOL 100 or GEOL 201. A survey of geologic phenomena that characterized the Quaternary Period, with emphasis on the behavior of glaciers, glacial landforms and sediment and climatic implications. Two Saturday field trips required.
(2 lecture, 3 laboratory) Prerequisite: GEOL 202 or consent of instructor. A study of volcanoes and volcanic processes and products. Emphasis on the origin, classification and interpretation of volcanic rocks and ejecta and volcanic structures and landforms.
(3 lecture, 3 laboratory) Prerequisites: GEOL 202. Mechanics of rock deformation and geologic structures of the earth's crust – their description and classification, theories and facts regarding their origins and methods of investigating them. Field trips required.
(4 laboratory) Prerequisites: GEOL 450, GEOL 470. Techniques of obtaining and recording geological data in the field and constructing geological maps. Includes use of Brunton compass, topographic maps, aerial photographs, geographic information systems, and the preparation of geological reports.
Prerequisites: GEOL 201 and CHEM 111. Explore, examine, and interpret classification, genesis and processes (physical, chemical, biological) that drive soil formation. Use soils data from various ecosystems to determine nutritional and toxic aspects for land management.
Prerequisite: GEOL 470. Overview of the processes driving and resulting from plate tectonics. Detailed study of some of the earth's past and present mountain belts.
Prerequisites: GEOL 201 and CHEM 111. Petroleum and energy geology includes integrated exploration and development methods and understanding technological advancements that have led to the dynamic energy industry. Case studies and applied problems are emphasized.
Consent of instructor. Geology of selected Rocky Mountain area thoroughly investigated by means of four-day field trip to that area followed by seminar presentations on topics relevant to geology of specified area.