Geology Courses

Geology 505
Geology of Mineral Resources: Survey of the occurrence and the origin of major ore deposits and mineral resources and the effects of mining on the environment.
Credits: 3; Offered: Fall 2006 (offered every 2 years); Instructor: Spry; Prerequisites: Geol 365.

Geology 506
Geology Field Trip: Geology of selected regions studied by correlated readings, followed by a field trip to points of geologic interest. Ten day field trip. Required of all students in graduate degree programs. Field trip fee.
Credits: 2 each time taken. This course can be taken more than once; Offered: Fall, Spring; Instructor: Staff; Prerequisites: graduate classification.

Geology 507
Midwestern Geology Field Trip: Cr. 1 each time taken. May be taken more than once. F. Prereq: Geol 365. On-site inspection of various ore deposits, mining operations, and terranes dominated by igneous or metamorphic rocks. Offered on a satisfactory-fail grading basis only.
Credits: 1; Offered: early Fall; Instructor: Spry; Prerequisite: Geol 365

Geology 509
Field Methods in Hydrogeology: Introduction to field methods used in groundwater investigations. In-field implementation of pumping tests, slug tests, monitoring well installation and drilling techniques, geochemical and water quality sampling, seepage meters, minipiezometers, stream gaging, electronic instrumentation for data collection, and geophysics. Local field trips to examine sites undergoing remedial investigation. Karst hydrology field trip to the Big Spring Basin in Northeast Iowa. Field trips, materials fee.
Credits: 2; Offered: Summer 2006 (offered every 2 years); Instructor: Simpkins; Prerequisites: Geol 411 or 511 or C E 573.

Geology 511
Hydrogeology: (Dual listed with 411.) Physical principles of groundwater flow, nature and origin of aquifers and confining units, well hydraulics, and groundwater geochemistry. Introduction to groundwater flow modeling using MODFLOW. Lab emphasizes applied field and laboratory methods for hydrogeological investigations. Field trip fee.
Credits: 4; Offered: Fall; Instructor: Simpkins; Prerequisites: Geol 100 or 201, 305; Math 165; Phys 111 or 221.

Geology 512X
Paleobiology: Introduction to the principles, methods of analysis, and major controversies within paleontology. Examination of the fossil record and its application to problems in evolutionary biology, paleoecology, paleoclimatology, and general Earth history. Lab involves observation, analysis, and interpretation of fossil specimens and relevant material of living organisms. Field/lab-based project. 1-2 field trips required.
Credits: 3; Offered: Spring 2004; Prerequisites: Geol 102 or 2 courses in the biological sciences at the 200 level or above.

Geology 515X
Paleoclimatology: (Dual listed with 415x.) Introduction to mechanisms that drive climate, including the interplay between oceanic and atmospheric circulation and fluctuation in Earth's orbital parameters. Examination and analysis of past climate records ranging from historical documentation to ecological and geochemical proxies (e.g. tree ring analysis; O and C isotopes of skeletal carbonates and soils). Dating methods used to constrain and correlate climatic periods, utility of computer models to reconstruct past climates and predict future climate change. Emphasis placed on paleoclimatolgy and paleoecology of the late Quaternary (last ~1 million years).
Credits: 3; Offered: Spring 2005; Instructors: Mora and Gutowski; Prerequisites: 4 courses in the physical or biological sciences at the 200 level or higher.

Geology 522
Environmental Geochemistry: (Dual listed with 422.) Geochemistry of natural waters, including inorganic and organic constituents and water-rock interactions. Interpretation of water quality data. Geochemical equilibrium modeling and introduction to kinetics. Laboratory emphasizes chemical analysis of waters and computer modeling. Materials fee.
Credits: 3; Offered: Fall; Instructor: Fang; Prerequisites: Geol 511, Chem 178 or equivalent background in chemistry.

Geology 525X
Stable Isotopes in the Environment: Introduction to the theory, methods and applications of stable isotopes. Primary focus will be on the origin, natural abundance, and fractionation of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen isotopes. Applications of isotopic occurrence for elucidation of physical, chemical, biological, and environmental processes. Effects of plant physiology, photosynthesis, trophic structure, diffusion, evaporation, chemical precipitation, soil and atmospheric processes, and environmental factors on isotope abundance will also be presented. Offered for non major graduate credit.
Credits: 3 (3 hrs lecture; 0 hrs lab); Offered: Fall; Instructor: Mora; Prerequisites: 4 courses in the physical or biological sciences.

Geology 532
Geochemistry: Thermodynamic and kinetic methods for interpreting geochemical processes and environments. Emphasis on processes of interest to petrologists; phase relations in binary systems, kinetics of crystallization, isotopic systematics, hydrothermal systems, planetary evolution. Computer modeling.
Credits: 3; Offered: Fall (offered every 2 years); Prerequisites: Geol 541; physical chemistry recommended.

Geology 534
Contaminant Hydrogeology: (Dual listed with Geol 434). Brief review of organic and inorganic contaminants in industrial and agricultural settings. Geochemical interactions with porous media. Process oriented approach to abiotic and biological fate and transport of contaminants. Investigation of coupled processes (advection, diffusion, sorption, biodegradation) using computer models. Groundwater remediation strategies.
Credits: 3; Offered: Spring; Prerequisites: Geol 511 and 522 or their equivalent.

Geology 541
Geochemistry and Mineral Chemistry: Fundamentals of crystal chemistry and application to common rock-forming minerals, especially silicates. Chemical bonding, polyhedral packing, thermodynamic modeling of mineral behavior, mineral genesis, and metamorphism.
Credits: 3; Offered: Fall (offered every 2 years); Instructor: Windom; Prerequisites: Geol 311.

Geology 542
Optical Mineralogy: Introduction to using the microscope for mineral identification. Optical properties of minerals in immersion oils and in thin section. Research project required. Materials fee.
Credits: 2; Offered: Spring; Instructor: Spry; Prerequisites: Geol 311.

Geology 543
Microanalysis of Geologic Materials: Theory and operation of the electron microprobe with emphasis on the analysis of geologic materials. Sample preparation, data acquisition and data correction schemes utilizing both energy dispersive and wavelength dispersive x-ray detection systems. Class size strictly limited to 12.
Credits: 2; Offered: Fall; Instructor: Staff; Prerequisites: Geol 541 and permission of instructor.

Geology 550
Advanced Structural Geology: Principles of stress and strain; folding, faulting, development of schistosity and lineation; deformation mechanisms and flow laws; development and tectonic implications of crystallographic preferred orientations. Lab includes descriptive geometry, use of the stereonet, and computer applications. Materials fee.
Credits: 3; Offered: Alt. Spring; Instructor: Jacobson; Prerequisites: Geol 356.

Geology 551
Applied and Environmental Geophysics: (Dual-listed with 451; same as EnSci 551.) Seismic, gravity, magnetic, resistivity, electromagnetic, and ground-penetrating radar techniques for shallow subsurface investigations and imaging. Data interpretation methods. Lab emphasizes computer interpretation packages. Field work with seismic - and resistivity-imaging systems and radar. Nonmajor graduate credit.
Credits: 3; Offered: Spring; Instructor: Beresnev; Prerequisites: introductory geology and math.

Geology 552
GIS I: An introduction to geographic information systems (GIS) with particular emphasis on geoscientific data. The course will provide students with the theoretical and practical knowledge necessary to typical GIS operations and analyses in the geosciences. As software we will use ESRI's ArcGIS (8.3) Desktop and also work with several extensions. After course completion the students should be able to use ArcGIS to solve a variety of geoscientific problems with different data types and should be able use GIS in their further studies and research.
Credits: 4 (2 hrs lecture; 4 hrs lab); Offered: Alt. Fall, offered 2003; Instructor: Harding; Prerequisites: basic geoscience background (may be admitted with the instructor's approval).

Geology 555
Soil Clay Mineralogy: Elastic waves. Design of seismic surveys. Seismic data collection. Methods of seismic processing. Interpretation of data in geologic terms. Field work with shallow seismic acquisition system. Engineering and environmental applications. Oil exploration. (Same as Agron 555.) See Agronomy.

Geology 555L
Soil Clay Mineralogy Laboratory: (Same as Agron 555L.) See Agronomy.

Geology 557
Exploration Seismology: (Dual-listed with 457.) Physics of elastic-wave propagation. Seismic surveys in environmental imaging, engineering, and petroleum exploration. Reflection and refraction techniques. Data collection, processing, and geological interpretation. Field work with state-of-the-art equipment. Nonmajor graduate credit.
Credits: 3; Offered: Fall; Instructor: Beresnev; Prerequisites: introductory geology and math.

Geology 562
Advanced Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology: Origin and evolution of crystalline rocks. Nature of crustal and mantle magma source regions; chemical and physical changes accompanying crystallization; heterogeneous phase equilibria; mineral assemblages and textures of contact, dynamic, and regionally metamorphosed rocks; processes of recrystallization and deformation; regional patterns of metamorphic belts. Laboratory involves microscopic examination of crystalline rocks in thin section and computer applications.
Credits: 3; Offered: Alt. Fall, offered 2002; Instructors: Windom, Jacobson; Prerequisites: Geol 365.

Geology 571
Principles of Stratigraphy: Basic concepts in stratigraphy, stratigraphic subdivision and nomenclature, correlation, facies and facies analysis, sedimentary tectonics, and basin analysis.
Credits: 3; Offered: Alt. Spring, offered 2002; Instructor: Rankey; Prerequisites: Geol 412.

Geology 574
Glacial and Quaternary Geology: (Dual listed with Geol 474). The study of the depositional and erosional processes of glaciers using modern glacier analogs and landforms. Discussion of glaciology, glacier hydrology, Quaternary history and stratigraphy, paleoclimatology, and causes of glaciation. Laboratory emphasizes aerial photo and topographic map interpretation and the Quaternary stratigraphy of Iowa. Two required field trips.
Credits: 3; Offered: Alt. Spring, offered 2003; Instructors: Iverson, Simpkins; Prerequisites: Geol 100 or 201.

Geology 575
Surficial Processes: (Dual listed with 475.) Study of surficial processes in modern and ancient geological environments with emphasis on environmental and engineering applications. Topics include weathering, soil formation, erosion, sediment production, and landform genesis in fluvial, arid/semiarid, glacial, periglacial, karst, eolian, and coastal environments. Laboratory emphasizes aerial photo and topographic map interpretation. Field trip fee.
Credits: 3 (2 hrs lecture; 2 hrs lab); Offered: Fall; Instructor: Iverson; Prerequisites: Geol 100 or 201 or equivalent experience.

Geology 576
Advanced Sedimentation: Interpretation of clastic and chemical sediments to infer processes, environments, and the tectonic settings in which they were formed. Survey of the origin of recent and ancient chemical sedimentary rocks, including carbonates and evaporites. Fieldtrips.
Credits: 3: Offered: Alt. Fall, offered 2001; Instructor: Rankey; Prerequisites: Geol 368 and 571.

Geology 590
Special Topics.
Credits: 1 to 3 each time taken; Offered: variable; Prerequisites: Permission of instructor.
A. Surficial Processes
B. Stratigraphy
C. Sedimentation
D. Paleontology
E. Petrology
F. Structural Geology
G. Geochemistry
H. Hydrogeology
I. Earth Science
J. Mineral Resources
K. Geophysics
L. Mineralogy
M. Tectonics

Geology 595
Seminar: Weekly seminar on topics of current research interest. All students in graduate degree programs must enroll during each semester in residence.
Credits: R; Offered: Fall, Spring; Prerequisites: senior or graduate classification.

Geology 599
Creative Component.
Credits: var.

Geology 610
Advanced Seminar.
Credits: 1 to 3 each time taken; Offered: Fall, Spring; Prerequisites: graduate standing and permission of instructor.
A. Earth Materials
B. Economic Geology
C. Environmental Geochemistry
D. Geophysics
E. Geotectonics
F. Hydrogeology
G. Surficial Processes
H. Sedimentation and Stratigraphy

Geology 699
Research.
Credits: var.
A. Surficial Processes
B. Stratigraphy
C. Sedimentation
D. Paleontology
E. Petrology
F. Structural Geology
G. Geochemistry
H. Hydrogeology
I. Earth Science
J. Mineral Resources
K. Geophysics
L. Mineralogy
M. Tectonics