Geology (GLY)

This Scientific Literacy and Inquiry course explores the solid Earth and ways that ongoing, natural processes act to harm people and property. The course aims to put geological hazards in a broader context by examining the latest science at the micro (e.g., minerals), human (e.g., why tsunamis are such efficient and massive killers) and global (e.g., global effects of asteroid impacts or super volcano eruptions) scales. We will examine the history of scientific discovery and thought about natural hazards and global catastrophes on both human and geologic timescales. We will use case studies and debates to clarify science vs. pseudo-science, current controversies, and how natural (as well as some human-induced) hazards affect us in Western New York. Completing all three courses, GLY 101LEC, GLY 102LEC and GLY 105LAB, would fulfill the Scientific Inquiry and Literacy Requirement as well as the Natural Sciences General Education requirement.

This Scientific Literacy and Inquiry course offers an interdisciplinary discussion of both natural and human-induced global environmental and climate change at various scales (space and time). Provides a comprehensive description of how advances in the physical, biological, and geological sciences are being integrated to understand the interplay between the Earths components (atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, and biosphere). Topics include glaciers, basic oceanography and atmospheric science, natural hazards, natural resources, and Earth system cycles (such as weather, climate change, and atmospheric pollution). Completing all three courses, GLY 101LEC, GLY 102LEC and GLY 105LAB, would fulfill the Scientific Inquiry and Literacy Requirement as well as the Natural Sciences General Education requirement.

This course introduces engineers and others to the Earth system, by examining the latest science at the micro (e.g., minerals), human (e.g., why earthquakes are such efficient and massive killers) and global (e.g., water cycle) scales. We examine the use of scientific hypothesis testing and implications for understanding Earth materials and natural hazards. We use case studies to clarify science vs. pseudo-science, current controversies, and how natural (as well as some human-induced) hazards affect us.

Historical Geology provides the student with a comprehensive survey of the history of life and major events in the physical development of Earth. Most importantly, this class addresses how processes like plate tectonics and climate interact with life, forming an integrated system. The first half of the class focuses on theoretical concepts within both the biosphere and lithosphere (e.g., tectonics, earth sciences, evolution) and the second portion of the course will focus on a chronologic overview of major biological and physical events in different geologic periods. This lab course aims to enhance student Earth science college-level content knowledge, awareness, and analysis and critical thinking skills in a broad context by examining the temporal, regional and global (e.g., climate and ecological change through time) scales. This course is designed to develop skills in map-reading, cladistics/systematics, problem-solving, and to foster learning of the interactions between Earth processes, the environment, and the biosphere. We will apply the scientific method and foster student analysis of scientific data and models to evaluate leading concepts in both geological and paleontological science.

This Scientific Literacy and Inquiry lab course aims to put Earth science in a broader context by examining the latest science at the micro, human (e.g., climate change impacts and mitigation) and global (e.g., global warming) scales. It is designed to develop skills in map-reading, problem-solving, and to foster hands-on learning of the interactions between Earth processes, the environment, and humans. We will apply the scientific method and foster student analysis of scientific data and models to evaluate leading concepts in Earth science. Finally, through case studies and debates, it will discuss science vs. pseudo-science, current controversies, and how earth science affects our everyday lives.

Explores dinosaurs as a biological group: their origin, anatomy, life habits, evolution, and extinction. Evaluates revolutionary new ideas on their physiology, behavior, and significance in the history of life. Uses dinosaurs to exemplify important evolutionary phenomena, how scientists gather new knowledge, and how that knowledge is filtered to the public via academic and popular culture routes.

The one credit UB Seminar is focused on a big idea or challenging issue to engage students with questions of significance in a field of study and, ultimately, to connect their studies with issues of consequence in the wider world. Essential to the UB Curriculum, the Seminar helps transition to UB through an early connection to UB faculty and the undergraduate experience at a comprehensive, research university. This course is equivalent to any 198 offered in any subject. This course is a controlled enrollment (impacted) course. Students who have previously attempted the course and received a grade of F or R may not be able to repeat the course during the fall or spring semester.

The three credit UB Seminar is focused on a big idea or challenging issue to engage students with questions of significance in a field of study and, ultimately, to connect their studies with issues of consequence in the wider world. Essential to the UB Curriculum, the Seminar helps students with common learning outcomes focused on fundamental expectations for critical thinking, ethical reasoning, and oral communication, and learning at a university, all within topic focused subject matter. The Seminars provide students with an early connection to UB faculty and the undergraduate experience at a comprehensive, research university. This course is equivalent to any 199 offered in any subject. This course is a controlled enrollment (impacted) course. Students who have previously attempted the course and received a grade of F or R may not be able to repeat the course during the fall or spring semester.

Overview of mineralogy and petrology (igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic). Introduction to mechanical and transport properties (heat, including material flow, and porous media flow), and practical applications and economic resources of Earth materials.

Introduces geological maps, cross sections and stratigraphic columns, which are the primary tools for conveying information in the earth sciences. Covers basic map-reading skills, mapmaking and cross-section construction and interpretation. Emphasizes written communication through a combination of informal and formal writing assignments; an oral presentation is required. Final projects will be included in the student's e-portfolio. Fulfills the Communication Literacy 2 requirement.

This course provides an introduction to the many ways that chemistry allows us to interpret geologic processes. It is designed to employ basic concepts introduced in a general chemistry course to geologic problems. It provides a survey of different geochemistry sub-disciplines and introduces concepts in support of upper level geology courses.

Acquaints students with near-surface geomorphic and hydrologic processes, their interpretation, and their role in shaping landforms. Studies the occurrence and movement of water on and within the earth including basic hydrostatics, hydrology, hydrogeology and open-channel flow hydraulics. Introduces quantitative and computer-based methods of analysis in geomorphology, hydrology and environmental geology. Requires labs and field trips.

Introduction to the types and origins of sedimentary rocks and their depositional environments, stratigraphic orientation, fossil content, and relationship to geologic time. Requires labs and field trip.

Introduces the fundamental concepts required to understand the scientific basis for plate tectonics, including deep Earth structure and theories of mantle convection. Describes major whole-Earth geophysical techniques (active-source seismology, earthquake seismology, gravity, magnetics, heat flow, resistivity and EM measurements). Uses general examples as well as specific case studies to support current tectonic theories. Practical application and hands-on use of seismic, gravity, magnetic instrumentation and shallow radar take place in labs. Requires labs.

Introduces students to the description, classification and interpretation of geological structures, including faults, folds and joints. Describes these structures in terms of their tectonic setting (extensional, strike-slip, contractional). In labs, introduces practical techniques for structural analysis.

Applied field methods in geology. Geologic field trips and mapping from a mobile base in the western United States. Mapping projects include surficial deposits in Colorado and areas of increasingly complex sedimentary structure in Utah and Wyoming. This course is conducted outdoors and requires walking over difficult terrain and some exposure to the elements.

Examines the occurrence and movement of water in the shallow subsurface, and its importance to water resource development and environmental pollution. Uses basic quantitative techniques for the prediction of water flow through porous and fractured geologic media. Laboratory includes hands-on experience with aquifer testing methods using wells located on campus. Primarily for students interested in the fields of hydrogeology, hydrology, environmental geology, and environmental and geotechnical engineering.

Stable isotopes are a tool commonly used to solve environmental, geological, and criminological mysteries. Small differences in atomic mass among stable (non-radioactive) isotopes of the same element can give rise to differences in partitioning within the environment. This course explores how isotopes fractionate and how this behavior can be used to investigate complex processes and solve mysteries. This course will provide a comprehensive knowledge base to apply the interpretation of stable isotope data to research questions across a range of disciplines.

Introduces the theoretical background and methods of application for several noninvasive near-surface geophysical imaging techniques, including seismic reflection/refraction, microgravity, magnetics, electromagnetics, resistivity, induced polarization (IP), and ground-penetrating radar. Laboratory provides hands-on experience with the commonest environmental geophysics techniques (i.e., resistivity, IP, GPR, and electromagnetics). The labs will cover discussions of experimental design, data acquisition, processing and interpretation. The demonstrations will involve both numerical and field-scale experiments. This course is dual listed with GLY 519.

Computer modeling of complex processes is becoming more important in a number of geological areas, such as risk assessment, movement of toxic contaminants in an aquifer, crystallization of magmas, and impact cratering. Students develop knowledge of the processes whereby a geological problem is reduced to a mathematical model, the model is translated into a computer program, and the program is utilized to produce numerical and graphical results. The course assumes that students have a good familiarity with digital computers. Any mathematical complexities are explained as the course progresses.

Discusses disasters that may include those related to volcanoes, earthquakes, landslides, windstorms, tsunamis, river floods, and hazardous waste storage. Topics include models of geological phenomena, consequences of hazards, and risk assessment. Case studies analyzed for each phenomenon. A detailed case study focusing on expert elicitation is discussed.

Problems encountered in working with large data sets, formulating statistical hypotheses, and interpreting the analysis in terms of the geologic problem. Includes data from petrology, sedimentation, mineralogy, geophysics, and paleontology. This course is dual-listed with GLY 529.

Examines the distribution, tectonic setting, and morphology of volcanoes. Includes investigations into effusive and explosive eruptions, emplacement of eruptive products, and eruption mechanisms.

Selected topics related to the genesis, field description, eruption mechanism, and emplacement process of volcanic rocks. Coursework includes theoretical and practical applications including quantitative analysis of data.

Stratigraphy emphasizes the analysis of sedimentary strata, the layers of sedimentary (and some volcanic) rocks that cover about 3/4 of the earth's surface. Stratigraphy is the backbone of the geological sciences; it brings together sedimentology, paleontology, petrology and structural geology to reconstruct Earth history. Sequence Stratigraphy goes even further by integrating additional disciples such as geophysics, geomorphology, isotope geochem, and basin analysis through application of integrated data. In this course we will survey the impact of sea-level change, tectonics, and climate on sediment accumulation, with emphasis on sequence stratigraphy and integration of seismic data/techniques and core analysis. This course will cover basics of fluid flow and sediment transport, sedimentary structures and textures, and forming the bridge between modern landforms and ancient rocks' depositional sedimentary environments. This course is dual-listed with GLY 538.

Explores the spectacular landscapes created by glaciers and ice sheets. The course provides students with knowledge to understand present and past glacier and ice sheet processes, based on the most up-to-date findings and state-of-the-art techniques. Students get hands-on experience by studying the rich ice sheet history of the Buffalo area. This lecture and lab combination provides students with a comprehensive knowledge base with which they can interpret glacier processes and history from a variety of landform assemblages and surficial sediments found across the northern United States. This course is dual listed with GLY 545.

This course covers the fundamentals of glaciology. It gives students a basic understanding of the main cryospheric processes with a focus on glacier and ice sheet dynamics and the key surface and subsurface processes that control ice motion. It provides insight into the responses of glaciers to climate change and explores the challenges of predicting glacier and ice sheet dynamics, mass loss, and related sea level rise. Throughout the labs, the participants will be engaged in rigorous hands-on exercises that will introduce them to the use of remote sensing observations for monitoring glacier and ice sheet changes and to investigate the forces causing these changes. This course is dual-listed with GLY 547.

This course teaches the fundamentals of geodynamics to understand the structure and evolution of the solid Earth. The principles of stress and strain, elasticity and flexure, heat transfer, gravity, rock rheology, and fluid mechanics will be applied to understand Earth processes, including plate tectonics and mantle convection, mountain building, earthquakes and faulting, volcanic eruptions, and glacial flow and erosion. In this way, solid Earth processes will be quantified through a combination of observations and theory. The course will also explore the similarities and differences between the structure and dynamics of the Earth with that of the other planets and moons in the solar system.

Explores the Earth's large swings in climate over the past 2 million years, how they are documented, the various dating techniques used to place them into a chronological framework, and the implications for how the Earth's climate system operates. Focuses on marine sediment, ice core, and terrestrial archives of glacial and interglacial cycles, abrupt climate change, past warm periods analogous to our future world, and techniques used to date these records.

Students learn about the processes involved in the formation of the Solar System, and the generation and evolution of planetary surfaces. Primary data, collected by past and present spacecraft and landers is used to demonstrate how geologic processes are both similar and distinct throughout the Solar System. This course is dual-listed with GLY 554.

Principal issues of macroevolutionary theory (i.e., issues at the species level and above, which are manifest on the scale of geological time) and hones analytical skills as preparation for undertaking graduate research. Evolutionary theory is an interdisciplinary topic that draws on information from ecology, population biology, systematics, anthropology, and paleobiology, and the course presumes prior study of evolutionary aspects of at least one of these areas as preparation.

Presents the chemical principles governing natural water chemistry and the behavior of anthropogenic pollutants. Emphasizes topics such as the evolution of groundwater chemistry, thermodynamics of water-rock interactions at low temperatures, and prediction of pollutant fate in aquatic systems.

Covers the fundamentals of remote sensing, extraction of geological, biophysical, or land use/land cover information from remote sensing data, and provides guidance as to how remote sensing data can be used to solve real world environmental and geological problems. Throughout the course the participants will be engaged in rigorous hands-on exercises that will introduce them to digital image processing techniques as well. The participants will learn how to extract and integrate lithologic and environmental information from a wide range of remote sensing data, digital elevation models, and maps. This course is dual listed with GLY 565.

This course bridges the gap between traditional descriptive techniques of geo-material characterization and advanced quantitative and experimental geoscientific methods. The course introduces state-of-the-art techniques used in structural geology, rock mechanics, volcanology, and petrophysics for the characterization and simulation of geologic processes. It covers the fundamentals of experimentation on rocks, minerals, magmas, and fluids and how to employ their results to understand and simulate geologic processes. The course is aimed at advanced undergraduate students as well as graduate students interested in learning common experimental techniques, why they are useful and where the limitations to experimental geosciences lie. Topics include the rheology of magmas and lavas, rock deformation and failure, and fluid flow in porous media. The course is accompanied by hands-on lab work where students apply the theoretical knowledge covered in the lectures in experimental campaigns. This course is dual listed with GLY 570.

Teaches students to map, analyze, evaluate and interpret field data related to complex geological stratigraphy and structures, natural hazards, and Quaternary deposits. Students study the relationship of their geological work to cultural activities, particularly the exploitation of solid-earth resources and risk assessment. The course consists of in-depth mapping exercises in the field coupled with lectures.

This interdisciplinary seminar-style science course relies on subject matter experts from across the UB campus and beyond, encouraging lively discussion of both current events and past developments relevant to our nation's energy and climate future. The main student activity will be a semester-long "Carbon Reduction Challenge", in which student teams apply their scientific knowledge and compete to reduce carbon footprints of partner businesses by the end of the semester. Students will also learn how to communicate the science effectively with stakeholders. This course is dual-listed with GLY 579.

Provides students with a familiarity of the elements that support the concepts inherent in plate tectonics. Demonstrates the application of tectonics to the geological history of eastern North America, primarily the Appalachians. Illustrates the multidisciplinary nature of geological synthesis through in-depth studies of classic areas in the Appalachians. Involves an optional spring field trip to the central and southern Appalachians. This course is dual listed with GLY 580.

Familiarizes senior geology students with a broad range of topics that are of current interest to professional geologists. The course also acquaints students with professional presentations. The course consists of a weekly colloquium presented by a researcher active in a field of present import. Preceding the colloquium, readings from scientific journals introduce students to the topic to be discussed.

Undergraduate teaching assistant (UTA) positions are available for certain geology courses to those students who have completed the course or its equivalent with a grade of A-, achieved junior status, and earned a minimum overall GPA of 3.0. Students must apply for UTA positions with the appropriate instructor.

Accepted seniors pursue a specialized, independent study leading to an Honors Thesis. The Department of Geology requires maintenance of a 3.25 or higher GPA, two adjacent semesters of Honors Thesis coursework (3 credits each), and a writing product (term paper, senior thesis) as a result of the effort.

Students collaborate with faculty research mentors on an ongoing project in a faculty member's laboratory or conduct independent research under the guidance of a faculty member. This experience provides students with an inquiry based learning opportunity and engages them as active learners in a research setting.

Selection and study of topics not offered as regular courses.