LANDSCAPES AND WATER: GEOG 1011

MCOL W100

MWF 2-2:50 pm

Instuctor: MARK WILLIAMS

Telephone:492-8830

Office Hours: MW 1:00-2:00 pm

Room: Buchanan's Coffee Pub

E-mail: markw@snobear.colorado.edu

Web Address: snobear.colorado.edu/Markw/mark.html

Teaching Assistants

• Adina Racoviteanu (racovite@snobear.colorado.edu)
  • Phone: 303/492-3684
  • Room: Gugg 314
  • Office hours: M 12-2 pm
• Susan Riggens (Susan.Riggins@colorado.edu)
  • Phone: 303 492-4279
  • Room: Gugg 311
  • Office hours: M 10-11 am, Tues 1-2, and by appointment
• Kristina Wynne (Kristina.Wynne@colorado.edu)
  • Phone: 303/492-3728
  • Room: Gugg 312
  • Office hours: W 10-12 and by appointment

ABOUT THE CLASS

The course will focus on physical, chemical and mechanical processes that shape the earth's surface. We will first build the earth's surface, investigating such processes as plate tectonics, mountain building, volcanism and earthquakes. We will then erode these structures with water, glaciers and wind, to form soils, river valleys, and other landscape features. We will also discuss the importance of natural hazards. Throughout the course we will weave in information on the consequences to the natural environment of our ongoing manipulation of these processes.

The role of water will be a consistent theme througout the class. Additionally, we will talk about avalanches, hydrogeology of beer, and the extinction of dinosaurs. Geography 1011 has no prerequisites. There is a MANDATORY LABORATORY CLASS; all students in Geography 1011 MUST take the lab class.

Exams will cover material from lectures, text, and supplemental readings. Supplemental readings are on reserve at the new Earth Sciences Library. Exams will emphasize lecture material and there will be some questions from the assigned readings that are not covered in lecture. Test questions will be muliple choice, true-false, and matching. There are NO make-up tests for the midterms.

Tests are scantron. Bring a #2 pencil, an eraser, and your student ID number to each test. You do not have to show your student ID. However, you must put your student ID number on the scantron test.

GOALS FOR THE CLASS

For many of you, this class meets a core scientific requirement and will be the only science class that you take. This class is required for Geography majors. Others are looking for interesting majors. My goals for this class are to:

• Improve your ability to read the newspaper and appreciate some of the scientific background behind events like the eruption of Mount St. Helens, why earthquakes are more common in Japan than Missouri, and what is the source of drinking water in Colorado.
• Provide a bit of a scientific background to help you make informed decisions as voters and as involved citizens. For example, what are the pros and cons of clear-cutting Colorado's forests to increase water yield in times of drought, as proposed by the $2,000,000,000 Referendum A that was on the ballot two years ago (and defeated).
• Cool uses of the course information not covered in the textbook, such as a CSI approach to why the dinosaurs went extinct and the hydrogeology of beer.
• Expand your geographic knowledge of the world by providing case histories about avalanches in the Cordillera Blanca of Peru, John Wayne movies in the Alabama Hills, and why marine fossils are found on the summit of Mt. Everest.
• Excite you about the magic and wonder of environmental sciences, and to perhaps stimulate you to take more courses in Geography and other environmental sciences.

There are two Internet-Based Laboratory Exercises:

• Soils Lab
• Hydrology Lab

TEXTBOOKS AND OTHER READINGS

• Text: Christopherson Geosystems; 6th edition
  
• Lab Manual: Pitlick et al. Lab Manual for Environmental Systems
  
• There are two copies of both the textbook and the lab manual on 2-hr reserve at the Earth Sciences library.

The questions and grading are designed so that someone who spends some time reading the textbook and going to lectures can get a C. Most questions simply ask you to repeat material from the textbook and lectures, such as defining definitions. There is a reward structure for students who both study hard and are attentive in class. A small number of harder questions are asked to separate the B's from the C's. A couple of critical thinking questions are asked (where you apply knowledge from the class in a new context) to separate A's from B's.

Tests are qualitative rather than quantitative. There are few equations in this class.

LAB SCHEDULE and TA's

TA's for Labs ( update for this year

• Monday 8-9:50 #017 Susan
• Tuesday 8-9:50 #016 Adina
• Tuesday 10-11:50 #011 Adina
• Tuesday 12-1:50 #012 Adina
• Tuesday 2-3:50 #014 Susan
• Thursday 8-9:50 #015 Kristina
• Thursday 12-1:50 #013 Kristina

• Adina's lab schedule
• Susan's lab schedule
• Kristina's lab schedule

STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES

If you qualify for testing accommodations because of a disability, please submit to me a letter from Disability Services in a timely manner so that your needs may be addressed. Disability Services determines accommodations based on documented disabilities. (303-492-8671, Willard 322, www.Colorado.EDU/disabilityservices). Similarly, if you have problems with the field portion of the class, please contact me about accomodations unique to your personal situation.

STUDENTS WITH RELIGIOUS CONFLICTS

Please notify me of potential conflicts with religious schedules as early in the semester as possible so that there is adequate time to make necessary arrangements.

HONOR CODE

The University has recently adopted a student Honor Code. Information on the Honor Code can be found at http://www.colorado.edu/policies/honor.html and at http://www.colorado.edu/academics/honorcode/