Physical and chemical nature of the Earth and dynamic processes that shape it; plate tectonics, Earth’s interior, materials it is made of, age and evolution, earthquakes, volcanism, erosion and deposition; introduces physical and chemical principles applied to the Earth. Not open to students who have taken GEOL 103 or 104.
Earth materials, structures, external and internal characteristics; physical processes at work upon or within the planet; required for students in geology, geophysics and petroleum engineering. A working knowledge of high school chemistry and mathematics is required.*
Hypotheses of Earth’s origin; age dating of geologic materials; development and history of life; plate tectonic reconstructions, geologic history, and paleogeography, with emphasis on the North American plate. Prerequisite: GEOL 101 or equivalent.
Crystallography, crystal chemistry, mineral chemistry, optical crystallography, physical properties, and geologic occurrence of rock-forming and economic minerals. Prerequisites: GEOL 101, 104 or 320; CHEM 101; MATH 131 or 151 or approval of instructor.
Research conducted under the direction of faculty member in geology. May be repeated 2 times for credit. Registration in multiple sections of this course is possible within a given semester provided that the per semester credit hour limit is not exceeded. Prerequisites: Freshman or sophomore classification and approval of instructor.
Origin, identification and classification of igneous and metamorphic rocks; genetic processes inferred from laboratory studies and field occurrences. Prerequisites: GEOL 302 and 309 or approval of instructor.*
Principles of paleobiology; study of organisms important in the marine fossil record; application of paleontology to geologic problems. Prerequisite: GEOL 106 or approval of instructor.
Evolutionary development of dinosaurs and Mesozoic geography, climate and terrestrial environments including dinosaur morphology; evolutionary relationships; dinosaur metabolism; and constraints imposed by gigantism; their latitudinal distribution; causal mechanism for dinosaur extinction.
Principles of writing for geological reports; format and style for abstracts, grant proposals, journal manuscripts and industry reports; evaluating written reports for revision and editing; using proper referencing and citation style; methods of maintaining clarity in documents; using web tools for geological communication.
Principles of physical and engineering geology; properties of minerals, rocks and soils; active surface and subsurface processes; applications to the siting, design, construction, operation and maintenance of engineered works and the protection of the environment. A three-day field trip is required (a field trip fee is charged at registration). Prerequisite: Sophomore classification.*
Field trips to observe, analyze and interpret the geology and geophysics of selected localities in Texas and adjacent regions; complements classroom experience. Trip frequencies, duration, dates and study localities vary with semester. Prerequisite: GEOL 101 or 104 or approval of instructor. May be repeated for credit.*
Origin, migration and accumulation of petroleum; typical U.S. oil and gas fluids; laboratory work in subsurface geology. Prerequisites: GEOL 312; senior classification in geology.
Geologic conditions determining the distribution and movement of ground water and their effect on the hydrologic properties of aquifers. Prerequisite: Junior or senior classification or approval of instructor.
Fundamentals of soil, rock and fluid mechanics and basic engineering practices as applied to the analysis of the geologic environment for engineering uses. Designed for geoscience majors who have not had engineering courses. Prerequisites: GEOL 312 or approval of instructor; PHYS 218.*
Introduction to the structure, composition and evolution of the Earth as inferred by geophysical methods; seismology, gravity and geodesy, magnetics, heat flow and concepts of plate tectonics. Prerequisites: GEOL 101 or 104; MATH 131 or 151; or approval of instructor.
Physical principles behind seismic acquisition; acoustic/elastic, homogeneous/heterogeneous, onshore/offshore/transition zones; description of seismic data, pre- and post- critical reflections, multiples, ground roll; signal processing for seismic data analysis; Fourier transforms, wavelet transform, correlation and smoothness; least squares optimization; forward and inverse problems fitting a Fourier series, deconvolution. Prerequisites: MATH 151 and 152 or approval of instructor.
Advanced problems in geophysics.