Courses
Course descriptions
View a list of courses offered by the division.
Course offerings 2011-2012
View courses offered this school year, listed by option and term offered. Check here for last-minute changes, additions or dropped courses.
Course Schedule - Winter 2012
Course Additions/Changes 2011 - 12
COMING WINTER TERM
Ge 169b. Readings in Geophysics
Effects of Fluids in Earthquake Source Processes and Lithospheric Deformation, Description coming soon. Instructor: Lapusta
Effects of Fluids in Earthquake Source Processes and Lithospheric Deformation, Description coming soon. Instructor: Lapusta
Ge 193. Special Topics in Geophysics
The Physics of Glaciers. 3 units (1-0-2); third term. Introduction to the physics of glaciers. Topics include: glacier deformation, glacial hydrology, melt generation, subglacial mechanics, icequakes, and glacier erosion. Emphasis will be placed on understanding the physical mechanisms responsible for various glacial processes. The course will make use of readings of both seminal papers and textbook chapters. Instructor: Tsai
The Physics of Glaciers. 3 units (1-0-2); third term. Introduction to the physics of glaciers. Topics include: glacier deformation, glacial hydrology, melt generation, subglacial mechanics, icequakes, and glacier erosion. Emphasis will be placed on understanding the physical mechanisms responsible for various glacial processes. The course will make use of readings of both seminal papers and textbook chapters. Instructor: Tsai
Ge 194. Special Topics in Planetary Sciences
Current issues in Understanding the Reservoirs of Water on Mars. 6 units (3-0-3); second term. Pre-requisite: permission of instructor. In this seminar, we will seek to understand the history of water on Mars quantitatively through examination of evidence for the size of the reservoirs and their fluxes through time. In addition to furthering understanding of current issues in Mars science, we will work to construct a working box model, constrained by predictions of isotopic ratios, that allows exploration of scenarios for water on Mars through time. The course will be based upon selected, wide-ranging readings from the literature. Each student will take a role in preparing a discussion subtopic for each class, will be responsible for writing a brief synthesis of the discussion for 1-2 classes, and as a final project will lead construction of a component of the model.Instructor: Ehlmann
Current issues in Understanding the Reservoirs of Water on Mars. 6 units (3-0-3); second term. Pre-requisite: permission of instructor. In this seminar, we will seek to understand the history of water on Mars quantitatively through examination of evidence for the size of the reservoirs and their fluxes through time. In addition to furthering understanding of current issues in Mars science, we will work to construct a working box model, constrained by predictions of isotopic ratios, that allows exploration of scenarios for water on Mars through time. The course will be based upon selected, wide-ranging readings from the literature. Each student will take a role in preparing a discussion subtopic for each class, will be responsible for writing a brief synthesis of the discussion for 1-2 classes, and as a final project will lead construction of a component of the model.Instructor: Ehlmann
FALL TERM
Ge 194. Roving on the Moon (9 units). Details are at this website: http://web.gps.caltech.edu/~mbrown/classes/ge194-glx Instructor: Brown
Ge 195. Special Opportunities in Field Geology. Basement Structure, Geomorphology and Tectonic Development of the San Gabriel Mountains (3 units p/f). This course will entail two days of field observations and outcrop seminars in the San Gabriel Mountains, and one evening of preparation entailing lecture and discussions. Students will be asked to serve as resident “expert” on a subject or publication that will be offered in a menu of subjects and papers at the beginning of the quarter, via email. Students will be expected to contribute on their subject both at evening prep session and on the outcrop. Field days and prep meeting to be arranged. Instructor: Saleeby.
NEW
Division Resource Seminar. This year we are extending the Seismolab Resource Seminars to a broad Division-wide series of short courses on several computer languages and softwares available through the Division. Details are at this website: http://web.gps.caltech.edu/resources/computing/seismolab/
Division Resource Seminar. This year we are extending the Seismolab Resource Seminars to a broad Division-wide series of short courses on several computer languages and softwares available through the Division. Details are at this website: http://web.gps.caltech.edu/resources/computing/seismolab/
ESE 101. Earth's Atmosphere. 9 units (3-0-6); first term. Composition of the atmosphere. Radiative transfer and the greenhouse effect. Scattering and absorption by gases, clouds, and aerosols. Feedbacks due to water vapor, clouds, ice, and vegetation. Transports of energy and momentum and their effects on the surface climate. Chemical reactions in the atmosphere affecting atmospheric ozone and air quality. Instructor: Schneider. Replaces ESE/Ge 148 a
ESE 102. Earth's Oceans. 9 units (3-0-6); first term. Fundamentals of ocean dynamics: Ekman layers, wind-driven gyres, boundary currents, and overturning circulations. Oceanographic observational methods and phenomenology of the distribution of temperature, salinity, and tracers. Ocean biology and chemistry: simple plankton population models, Redfield ratios, air-sea gas exchange, productivity and respiration, weathering inputs, and carbon cycle basics. Fundamentals of past climate changes. Geochemical methods of inferring past ocean behavior, and changes of ocean circulations over Earth’s history. Instructor: Adkins. Replaces ESE/Ge 148 b
ESE 103. Earth's Biogeochemical Cycles. 9 units (3-0-6); second term. Global cycles of carbon, nitrogen and sulfur. Photosynthesis, respiration and net primary production. Soil formation, erosion, and carbon storage. Ecosystem processes, metrics, and function. Nutrient supply and limitation. Microbial processes underlying weathering, decomposition, and carbon remineralization. Stable isotope tracers in the carbon and hydrologic cycles. The human footprint on the Earth. Instructor: Sessions. Replaces ESE/Ge 148 c
NEW
ESE 104. Current Problems in Environmental Science and Engineering. 3 units; first term. Discussion of current research by ESE graduate students, faculty, and staff. Instructor: Schneider
ESE 104. Current Problems in Environmental Science and Engineering. 3 units; first term. Discussion of current research by ESE graduate students, faculty, and staff. Instructor: Schneider
NEW
ESE 105. Research in Environmental Science and Engineering. 6 or more units as arranged; any term. Prerequisites: instructor's permission. Exploratory research for first-year graduate students and qualified undergraduates. Graded pass/fail. Instructor: Staff.
ESE 105. Research in Environmental Science and Engineering. 6 or more units as arranged; any term. Prerequisites: instructor's permission. Exploratory research for first-year graduate students and qualified undergraduates. Graded pass/fail. Instructor: Staff.
ESE 110 abc. Seminar in Environmental Science and Engineering. 1 unit; first, second, third terms. Seminar on current developments and research within the field of environmental science and engineering. Graded pass/fail. Instructor: Adkins. Replaces ESE 150 abc
NEW
ESE 130. Atmosphere Dynamics. 9 units (3-0-6); second term. Prerequisites: ESE 101 or instructor's permission. Introduction to the physical balances and dynamical mechanisms governing atmospheric circulations: angular momentum balance and its role in controlling winds; energy balance and its role in controlling temperatures; the hydrologic cycle and its role in controlling humidity and aridity; tracer transport and connections to the surface. The relative importance of mean circulations, transient eddies, and stationary eddies in these balances will be discussed, as will be the dynamics of their generation and maintenance. The course gives an overview of the dominant processes that govern the surface climate, with a focus on phenomenology and order-of-magnitude physics that is applicable to climates generally, including those of Earth's distant past and of other planets. Instructor: Bordoni.
ESE 130. Atmosphere Dynamics. 9 units (3-0-6); second term. Prerequisites: ESE 101 or instructor's permission. Introduction to the physical balances and dynamical mechanisms governing atmospheric circulations: angular momentum balance and its role in controlling winds; energy balance and its role in controlling temperatures; the hydrologic cycle and its role in controlling humidity and aridity; tracer transport and connections to the surface. The relative importance of mean circulations, transient eddies, and stationary eddies in these balances will be discussed, as will be the dynamics of their generation and maintenance. The course gives an overview of the dominant processes that govern the surface climate, with a focus on phenomenology and order-of-magnitude physics that is applicable to climates generally, including those of Earth's distant past and of other planets. Instructor: Bordoni.
NEW
ESE 131. Physical Oceanography. 9 units (3-0-6); second term. Prerequisites: ESE 102 or instructor's permission. Introduction to the physical balances and dynamical mechanisms governing ocean circulations. Topics include: Overview of observation systems; wind-driven planetary gyres and western boundary currents; buoyancy-driven circulations and abyssal flow; energetics of ocean circulations and combined effects of wind and buoyancy driving; meridional overturning circulations; thermocline models; mesoscale eddies; equatorial waves and response to wind driving at the equator; El Nino and the Southern Oscillation. Instructor: Staff.
ESE 131. Physical Oceanography. 9 units (3-0-6); second term. Prerequisites: ESE 102 or instructor's permission. Introduction to the physical balances and dynamical mechanisms governing ocean circulations. Topics include: Overview of observation systems; wind-driven planetary gyres and western boundary currents; buoyancy-driven circulations and abyssal flow; energetics of ocean circulations and combined effects of wind and buoyancy driving; meridional overturning circulations; thermocline models; mesoscale eddies; equatorial waves and response to wind driving at the equator; El Nino and the Southern Oscillation. Instructor: Staff.
NEW
ESE 132. Tropical Atmosphere Dynamics. 9 units (3-0-6); third term. Prerequisites: ESE 130 or instructor's permission. Phenomenological description of tropical atmospheric circulations at different scales, and theories or models that capture the underlying fundamental dynamics, starting from the large-scale energy balance and moving down to cumulus convection and hurricanes. Topics to be addressed include: large-scale circulations such as the Hadley, Walker, and monsoonal circulations, the intertropical convergence zone, equatorial waves, convectively coupled waves, and hurricanes. Instructor: Bordoni.
ESE 132. Tropical Atmosphere Dynamics. 9 units (3-0-6); third term. Prerequisites: ESE 130 or instructor's permission. Phenomenological description of tropical atmospheric circulations at different scales, and theories or models that capture the underlying fundamental dynamics, starting from the large-scale energy balance and moving down to cumulus convection and hurricanes. Topics to be addressed include: large-scale circulations such as the Hadley, Walker, and monsoonal circulations, the intertropical convergence zone, equatorial waves, convectively coupled waves, and hurricanes. Instructor: Bordoni.
NEW
ESE 133. Large-scale Atmosphere Dymanics. 9 units (3-0-6); third term. Prerequisites: ESE 130 or instructor's permission. Introduction to the global-scale fluid dynamics of the atmosphere, beginning with an analysis of classical models of instabilities in atmospheric flows and leading to currently unsolved problems. Topics include barotropic Rossby waves and barotropic instability; the quasigeostrophic two-layer model and baroclinic instability; conservation laws for wave quantities and wave-mean flow interaction theory; turbulent fluxes of heat and momentum; geostrophic turbulence; genesis of zonal jets; Hadley cell dynamics. The course focuses on earth’s atmosphere but treats the circulation of Earth’s atmosphere as part of a continuum of possible planetary circulations. Given in alternate years; offered in 2011-12. Instructor: Schneider.
ESE 133. Large-scale Atmosphere Dymanics. 9 units (3-0-6); third term. Prerequisites: ESE 130 or instructor's permission. Introduction to the global-scale fluid dynamics of the atmosphere, beginning with an analysis of classical models of instabilities in atmospheric flows and leading to currently unsolved problems. Topics include barotropic Rossby waves and barotropic instability; the quasigeostrophic two-layer model and baroclinic instability; conservation laws for wave quantities and wave-mean flow interaction theory; turbulent fluxes of heat and momentum; geostrophic turbulence; genesis of zonal jets; Hadley cell dynamics. The course focuses on earth’s atmosphere but treats the circulation of Earth’s atmosphere as part of a continuum of possible planetary circulations. Given in alternate years; offered in 2011-12. Instructor: Schneider.
NEW
ESE 137. Southern Ocean Dymanics. 9 units (3-0-6); third term. Prerequisites: ESE 131 or instructor's permission. This course focuses on the impact of Southern Ocean dynamics on the global climate. Topics include: water mass formation and modification processes, the Southern Ocean meridional overturning circulation, surface mixed-layer dynamics, wave-mean flow interactions and transport in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, topographic interactions and small-scale mixing, the Southern Ocean's response to changing climate conditions, continental shelf/slope dynamics, interactions with the cryosphere. Instructor: Thompson.
ESE 137. Southern Ocean Dymanics. 9 units (3-0-6); third term. Prerequisites: ESE 131 or instructor's permission. This course focuses on the impact of Southern Ocean dynamics on the global climate. Topics include: water mass formation and modification processes, the Southern Ocean meridional overturning circulation, surface mixed-layer dynamics, wave-mean flow interactions and transport in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, topographic interactions and small-scale mixing, the Southern Ocean's response to changing climate conditions, continental shelf/slope dynamics, interactions with the cryosphere. Instructor: Thompson.
ESE/Ge 139. Atmospheric Radiation. 9 units (3-0-6); third term. Prerequisites: ESE 101 or instructor's permission. The basic physics of absorption and scattering by molecules, aerosols, and clouds. Theory of radiative transfer. Band models and correlated-k distributions and scattering by cloud and aerosol particles. Solar insolation, thermal emission, heating rates, and applications to climate and remote sensing. Instructor: Yung. Replaces ESE/Ge 152
NEW
ESE 180. Environmental Policy. 9 units (3-0-6); second term. An introduction to environmental policy and analysis, with an emphasis on global environmental issues and policies. Using environmental policy cases, the course includes examination of the historical context for contemporary environmental policy issues, the role of government, science and the public in policy making, and the ethical dimensions of policy choices. Topics also include policy process models, environmental policy approaches, and frameworks for evaluation. Instructor: Carmichael
Winter
NEW
Ge 169b, Reading in Geophysics, Effect of Fluids in Earthquake Source Processes and Lithosphere Deformation, offered by N. Lapusta.
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Last updated November 29, 2011 11:13 by Lisa Christiansen
