Geoscience course catalog

All 83 recorded UW–Madison courses in this department, including courses not offered this term. Open a course for prerequisites, historical grades and instructors.

• ASTRON/GEOSCI 160: Life in the Universe

  Credits unavailable

  An examination of the origin and evolution of life in the universe based on our knowledge of astronomy, biology, and geology. Includes discussions on the search for extraterrestrial life and the history of life in our solar system.

• ATMOCN/BOTANY/CIVENGR/ENVIRST/GEOSCI/ZOOLOGY 911: Limnology and Marine Science Seminar

  1 credits

  Sections in various fields of zoological research.

• ATMOCN/BOTANY/ENVIRST/GEOG/GEOSCI/ZOOLOGY 980: Earth System Science Seminar

  Credits unavailable

  Topics in earth system science. Emphasis on the coupling between atmospheric, oceanic and land surface systems, involving physical geochemical and biological processes, and including interactions with human systems.

• ATMOCN/ENVIRST/GEOG/GEOSCI 335: Climatic Environments of the Past

  3 credits

  Climate change at timescales from the last several million years to the last 100 years, with emphasis on more recent timescales. Examines how climate variability arises from interplay between external forcings, feedbacks within the earth system, and (more recently) human activity.

• ATMOCN/ENVIRST/GEOSCI 102: Climate and Climate Change

  3 credits

  Describes the basic climate principles governing the climate system. It describes the climate and climate variability at present, climate evolution in the past, and the projected climate change into the future. The scientific principles underlying the natural and anthropogenic greenhouse effect and climate model forecasts are elucidated.

• ATMOCN/ENVIRST/GEOSCI/ZOOLOGY 750: Problems in Oceanography

  3 credits

  Introduction to techniques used in the study of the biology, chemistry, geology, and physics of the marine environment.

• ATMOCN/GEOSCI 105: Survey of Oceanography

  Credits unavailable

  Nature and behavior of ocean water, interaction of oceans and atmosphere, structure of the ocean floor, life in the oceans, our relationship to the marine environment.

• ATMOCN/GEOSCI 140: Natural Hazards and Disasters

  3 credits

  An exploration of the science behind natural disasters including earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, landslides, tornadoes, hurricanes, and floods. Why, where, and when do these events occur, and why are some predictable but others are not? Addresses hazard assessment, forecasting, and mitigation to lessen their impact on society.

• ATMOCN/GEOSCI 353: Programming for Earth Scientists

  Credits unavailable

  Introduction to scientific programming with a focus on geoscience applications, utilizing Python as the primary programming language. Focus on gaining practical skills applicable to geoscience datasets such as analytical model implementation, time series analysis, and geospatial data visualization. Includes elementary topics in numerical computing and machine learning. The use of hands-on exercises, real-world datasets, and collaborative projects will be used to explore how to address geoscience problems with computational solutions.

• ATMOCN/GEOSCI 762: Ice and Climate Dynamics

  Credits unavailable

  Introduction to the role of ice in the climate system. Review main components of the cryosphere (Arctic and Antarctic sea ice, Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, mountain glaciers, snow cover, and permafrost), with particular focus on recent and future changes as documented in recent publications. Consider different methods to study the cryosphere and its role in the climate system, such as remote sensing and in situ observations, state estimates and reanalyses, with a particular focus on idealized and comprehensive global climate models. Covers fundamental physical concepts as well as unresolved research questions such as the debates surrounding potential instabilities in the climate system and uncertainties in future projections of ice loss, teleconnections, and sea level rise.

• CIVENGR/ENVIRST/GEOSCI/GLE 444: Practical Applications of GPS Surveying

  Credits unavailable

  Global positioning system surveying for field applications. Signals. Coordinate systems. Datums. Cartographic projections. Satellite orbits. Choosing hardware. Strategies for data collection and analysis. Assessing uncertainty. Geocoding satellite images. Integrating data with Geographic Information Systems. Emerging technologies.

• CIVENGR/GEOSCI/GLE/MS&E 474: Rock Mechanics

  Credits unavailable

  Classification of rock masses, stress and strain in rock, linear and non-linear behavior of rock, failure mechanisms, state of stress in rock masses, lab testing, geological and engineering applications.

• ENVIRST/GEOG/GEOSCI/GLE/LANDARC 371: Introduction to Environmental Remote Sensing

  Credits unavailable

  Introduction to the Earth as viewed from above, focusing on use of aerial photography and satellite imagery to study the environment. Includes physical processes of electromagnetic radiation, data types and sensing capabilities, methods for interpretation, analysis and mapping, and applications.

• ENVIRST/GEOSCI 106: Environmental Geology

  3 credits

  Application of geology to problems resulting from the ever more intense use of the earth and its resources.

• ENVIRST/GEOSCI 411: Energy Resources

  Credits unavailable

  A critical examination of the full spectrum of renewable and nonrenewable energy options, from the unifying perspective of the Earth systems that govern their use. Energy conversion and efficiency, consumption patterns and trends, and environmental consequences of energy production and use.

• GEOG/GEOSCI 320: Geomorphology

  Credits unavailable

  Principles and analysis of geomorphic processes and resulting land forms.

• GEOG/GEOSCI 420: Glacial and Pleistocene Geology

  Credits unavailable

  Principles, characteristics and work of glaciers; events of the Pleistocene. Field trip.

• GEOSCI 100: Introductory Geology: How the Earth Works

  3 credits

  Geologic processes; structure and history of the earth; earthquakes, volcanos, glaciers, groundwater, minerals, rocks, deserts, fossils; topographic and geologic maps; climate change on geologic and human time scales.

• GEOSCI 109: Three Billion Years Beneath Your Feet: Geology of the National Parks

  3 credits

  Famously called "America's best idea", the National Parks of the US record two-thirds of Earth's history, from the most ancient mountains to active volcanic eruptions. The geologic story of the National Parks is explored in the framework of physiography, tectonics, time, and fundamental geologic processes, highlighting the major parks from Hawaii, to Alaska, to the conterminous US. Provides a view of the geological evolution of the Earth using specific examples.

• GEOSCI 110: Evolution and Extinction

  4 credits

  Contemporary views of the origin and diversification of life and evolutionary processes; crises in the history of life, with emphasis on controversies regarding evolution, mass extinctions, and the co-evolution of Earth and life.

• GEOSCI 117: Ex-files: Life in the Earth's Extreme Environment

  2 credits

  Explores the diversity of microbial life forms in modern and ancient geological environments, with a focus on extreme environments of geological origin or relevance. Includes exploration of unusual aspects of microbial life in everyday settings.

• GEOSCI 118: Eye in the Sky: Monitoring the Earth by Satellite

  Credits unavailable

  Fundamentals of satellite imagery applied to the earth sciences. Basics of image interpretation. Multitemporal data. Resolution and uncertainty. Existing and emerging technologies. Orbits, wavelengths, and satellites. Socio-economic impact of remotely-sensed data.

• GEOSCI 198: Directed Study

  1–3 credits

  Independent study as arranged with a faculty member.

• GEOSCI 199: Directed Study

  1–3 credits

  Independent study as arranged with a faculty member.

• GEOSCI 202: Introduction to Geologic Structures

  4 credits

  Introduction to recognition and mapping of geologic structures in the field. Landforms, folds, faults, tectonics, geologic maps, and field instrumentation.

• GEOSCI 203: Earth Materials: a Systems Approach

  Credits unavailable

  Introduction to earth systems and earth materials that form as a result of earth processes. Focus on identification of igneous, sedimentary, metamorphic, and structural rock types in hand sample, core, and outcrop. Topics include: structure and composition of the earth; fundamentals of mineralogy and crystallography; magmatism; sedimentary deposition; metamorphism and deformation; water and the hydrosphere; mineral deposits; energy resources; basic principles of rock mechanics.

• GEOSCI 204: Geologic Evolution of the Earth

  Credits unavailable

  Physical evolution of the earth and its relationship to the development of life through geologic time. Includes field trip.

• GEOSCI 304: Geobiology

  3 credits

  An integrative approach to studying the interaction between the atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and geosphere as they have evolved during earth history. Overarching theme includes ocean-climate system changes, biogeochemical cycles, evolution from microbes to mammals, and critical events in life history.

• GEOSCI 331: Gems: the Science Behind the Sparkle

  1–2 credits

  Explores the formation, collection, properties, and treatment of many popular gemstones.

• GEOSCI 340: Geoscience Data Analysis

  Credits unavailable

  Introduction to the fundamentals of applied geoscience data analysis, focusing on solving practical problems using real real-world data. Covers applied data analysis topics that are essential across a wide range of geoscience fields, including geophysics, geochemistry, hydrogeology, structural geology, sedimentology, geochronology, glacial geology, and geomorphology. Covers the use of example geoscience data sets to display and describe data; calculate and propagate uncertainties; test hypotheses; fit functions to data with linear regression and multiple linear regression; account for artifactual and serial correlation; analyze time series and directional data; and design experiments to optimize collection of rock, soil, and water samples.

• GEOSCI 375: Principles of Geochemistry

  Credits unavailable

  Provides a chemical basis for understanding the origin, evolution, distribution and interactions of chemical elements and isotopes between the lithosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and atmosphere in geological and environmental processes.

• GEOSCI 376: Topics in Geology

  Credits unavailable

  Special topics or discussions of recent research in Geoscience.

• GEOSCI 402: Research and Communication in the Geological Sciences

  Credits unavailable

  Skills and strategies to conduct research in the geological sciences, including collection of data, analysis of the data, generation of models to explain the data, and clear communication of both the research process and results. As part of the research process, find, evaluate, and utilize information in the existing scientific literature. Practice effective scientific communication skills, including writing, oral presentations, and producing effective visualizations.

• GEOSCI 430: Sedimentology and Stratigraphy

  Credits unavailable

  Comprehensive survey of the processes and products of sedimentation, including depositional environments, sedimentary tectonics, sequence stratigraphic principles, and analytical methods.

• GEOSCI 456: Geologic Field Methods

  Credits unavailable

  Theory and techniques of geologic mapping; field trips.

• GEOSCI 457: Conducted Field Trip

  Credits unavailable

  Study of the principles and methods of geologic mapping.

• GEOSCI 515: Principles of Economic Geology

  Credits unavailable

  Composition, structure, occurrence, origin, and economic investigation of important groups of mineral deposits; problems of mineral deposition.

• GEOSCI 551: Paleoceanography

  Credits unavailable

  Investigates the history of the Earth's oceans, focusing on the last 65 million years, with discussion of the chemical and physical methods through which oceans are studied and the role of oceans in the climate system.

• GEOSCI 556: Mountain Belts

  Credits unavailable

  Examination of interaction of tectonic plates and the resulting structures.

• GEOSCI 557: Structural Petrology

  3 credits

  Petrographic investigation of rock fabrics and deformation using thin sections. Use of petrographic microscopes and Scanning Electron Microscopes (SEMs).

• GEOSCI 610: Geochronology, Timescales, and Rates of Geologic Processes

  3 credits

  Application of radioisotopic (Ar-Ar, U-Pb, U-Th, U-He) and cosmogenic (He, Ne, Cl, Be, C) dating methods. Status of geologic, astronomic and paleomagnetic timescales, Chronology of flood basalts, impacts, extinctions, glaciations. Constraints on rates of magmatism, mountain uplift, deformation, erosion, sedimentation.

• GEOSCI 681: Senior Honors Thesis

  3 credits

  Individual mentored study for seniors completing theses for Honors in the Major as arranged with a faculty member.

• GEOSCI 682: Senior Honors Thesis

  3 credits

  Individual mentored study for seniors completing theses for Honors in the Major as arranged with a faculty member.

• GEOSCI 691: Senior Thesis

  3–4 credits

  Mentored individual research and study for students completing a senior thesis.

• GEOSCI 692: Senior Thesis

  3–4 credits

  Mentored individual research and study for students completing a senior thesis.

• GEOSCI 698: Directed Study

  1–6 credits

  Independent study as arranged with a faculty member.

• GEOSCI 699: Directed Study

  1–6 credits

  Independent study as arranged with a faculty member.

• GEOSCI 701: Quantitative Geomorphology

  4 credits

  Quantitative study of processes that shape Earth's surface. Use theory and field observations to investigate major components of continental geomorphic systems, including hillslopes, rivers, and glaciers. Understand how the major factors that shape Earth's surface-tectonics, climate, and life-create the landscapes we observe.

• GEOSCI 720: Glaciology

  3 credits

  Addresses the fundamentals of glaciology and glacier landform mechanics: mass balance, ice deformation, basal slip, temperature structure, glacial hydrology, sediment deformation and deposition, and landform building processes. Emphasizes an understanding of the mathematical principles that dictate how glaciers function. Begins with a classical treatment of the mechanics of glaciers and moves onto fundamental advances in the field of glaciology.

• GEOSCI 727: Advanced Hydrogeology

  Credits unavailable

  Advanced topics in Hydrogeology.

• GEOSCI 731: Carbonate Geology

  Credits unavailable

  Carbonate rocks and sediments are crucial components of the Earth's surface environment and they play a central role in the regulation of Earth's global carbon cycle and climate system. Provides a comprehensive survey of the processes and products of carbonate sedimentation.

• GEOSCI 732: Geochemistry of Sediments

  Credits unavailable

  Processes involved in the origin of chemical sediments; shales, carbonates, and evaporites.

• GEOSCI 755: Advanced Structural Geology

  3 credits

  Structures in layered, intrusive, and metamorphic rocks; structural analysis.

• GEOSCI 758: Mechanics of Earthquakes and Faulting

  Credits unavailable

  Addresses current topics and controversies on fault mechanics, earthquake physics, and the rock record of seismicity. Emphasizes critical reading and in-depth discussion of recent publications drawn from a variety of disciplines, including geophysical, geological, and geochemical studies and approaches.

• GEOSCI 765: Crystal Chemistry

  Credits unavailable

  Principles of crystal chemistry, emphasizing the structure and behavior of rock forming minerals.

• GEOSCI 771: Igneous Petrology

  Credits unavailable

  Classification, characteristics, and petrogenesis of igneous rocks. Representative rock suites studied in lab.

• GEOSCI 777: Electron Microprobe Analysis

  3 credits

  Proper use and functioning of electron probe and SEM, their use in microanalysis (WDS, EDS), range of applications, and limitations.

• GEOSCI 793: Geophysical Inverse Theory

  Credits unavailable

  Application of inverse methods to geophysical measurements of the structure of the earth.

• GEOSCI 796: Physics of the Earth II

  Credits unavailable

  Theory and observations of earthquakes, seismic waves and plate tectonics.

• GEOSCI 875: Advanced Topics in Geology

  1–3 credits

  Special topics in Geoscience.

• GEOSCI 920: Seminar in Glacial and Pleistocene Geology

  1–3 credits

  An exploration of modern glacial, glaciology, and Pleistocene geology literature. Includes a field trip to explore local glacial geology.

• GEOSCI 929: Seminar-hydrogeology

  Credits unavailable

  Special topics in Hydrogeology.

• GEOSCI 970: Seminar-geochemistry

  Credits unavailable

  Exploration of topics in the field of Geochemistry with an emphasis on engagement with recent literature.

• GEOSCI 990: Research

  1–12 credits

  Research supervised by individual faculty members.

• GEOSCI 999: Advanced Independent Reading

  1–3 credits

  Advanced level mentored reading and research for students with dissertator status.

• GEOSCI/GLE 314: Introduction to Applied Hydrogeology

  Credits unavailable

  Introduction to concepts relevant to studying water and its movement in Earth's shallow subsurface. Examines geologic materials through the lens of groundwater and solutes in groundwater to build an understanding of how water is stored, flows through, and reacts with geological materials. Beyond groundwater (the largest available store of freshwater on Earth), the porous crust of the Earth also provides numerous resources, such as hydrocarbons, geothermal energy, and waste storage. Emphasizes understanding fundamental concepts for studying these fluid reservoirs. Discuss hydrogeologic basics, work with hydrogeologic methods and instrumentation, conduct data analysis with real-world data, and have an introduction to groundwater quality.

• GEOSCI/GLE 350: Introduction to Geophysics: the Dynamic Earth

  Credits unavailable

  Methods of geophysics applied to earth structure and plate tectonics. Principles of seismology, gravity, geodesy, magnetism and heat flow.

• GEOSCI/GLE 360: Principles of Mineralogy

  3 credits

  Minerals, their physical and chemical properties, crystallography, and geologic significance.

• GEOSCI/GLE 370: Elementary Petrology

  Credits unavailable

  Igneous and metamorphic rocks, studied in hand sample and thin section.

• GEOSCI/GLE 431: Sedimentology & Stratigraphy Lab

  1 credits

  Covers Sedimentology and Stratigraphy; emphasizes qualitative and quantitative description and interpretation of sediments and sedimentary deposits.

• GEOSCI/GLE 455: Structural Geology

  Credits unavailable

  Principles of rock deformation, structures in layered rocks, structural analysis, intrusive structures. Lab: three-dimensional problems involving structural concepts; field trip.

• GEOSCI/GLE 537: Quantitative Methods for Geoscience

  Credits unavailable

  MATLAB is a powerful, high-level programming language and integrated development environment (IDE) that is used across a broad variety of scientific disciplines for tasks including data visualization, modeling, and application development. Focus on the active use of MATLAB for developing practical programming and data analysis skills that can be applied across a range of geoscience- relevant problems. Applications will include: data visualization and publishable figure development; automation of data processing; statistical and time-series analysis; image processing and mapping; and optimization. Additional topics may be guided by student interest.

• GEOSCI/GLE 594: Introduction to Applied Geophysics

  3 credits

  Survey of applied geophysics, including seismic refraction, seismic reflection, electrical resistivity, gravity, and magnetics methods. Basic physics of each method and modeling techniques and field procedures.

• GEOSCI/GLE 595: Field Methods in Applied and Engineering Geophysics

  1 credits

  The application of geophysical field methods for delineating near-surface features and/or structures as applied to engineering, environmental and exploration problems.

• GEOSCI/GLE 596: Geomechanics

  3 credits

  Observation, description, and prediction of deformation of geomechanical systems at depth, and the forces (stress) causing those deformations, relevant for petroleum/geothermal reservoirs and studies of earthquake mechanics. Emphasis on computational exercises using datasets from the petroleum industry and earthquake catalogues, as well as prediction of ground deformation.

• GEOSCI/GLE 627: Hydrogeology

  3–4 credits

  Mathematical treatment of the physical principles governing the flow of groundwater; emphasis on well hydraulics and flow system analysis.

• GEOSCI/GLE 629: Contaminant Hydrogeology

  Credits unavailable

  Physical and chemical processes governing the transport of solutes in groundwater; application of hydrogeologic and geochemical theory and practice to the protection of aquifers from contamination.

• GEOSCI/GLE 724: Groundwater Flow Modeling

  Credits unavailable

  An introduction to the principles of modeling groundwater flow systems, with emphasis on regional flow system analysis. Conceptual understanding of governing equations, and the use of finite difference techniques to solve such equations are stressed. Develop codes and become introduced to packaged models, including those developed by the U. S. Geological Survey. Knowledge of hydrogeology [such asG L E/​GEOSCI  627or629] required.

• GEOSCI/GLE 747: Tectonophysics

  Credits unavailable

  Elasticity and flexure of the earth's lithosphere, heat conduction, mantle convection, earthquake mechanisms, rock rheology, and fluid migration in the earth's crust; integration of geophysical observations, laboratory experiments, and theoretical models.

• GEOSCI/GLE 757: Advanced Rock Mechanics

  Credits unavailable

  Experimental rock mechanics, rock mechanics apparatus design, static and dynamic rock friction, rate and state friction, crack phenomena and rock fracture mechanics, earthquake energy budget, elastic/viscoelastic/plastic behavior of rocks, engineering and geological applications. Knowledge of introductory rock mechanics [such as M S E/GEOSCI/​CIV ENGR/​G L E/​M S & E  474] required.

• GEOSCI/GLE 780: Geodynamic Modeling

  Credits unavailable

  Introduction to modeling in geoscience, focusing on the process of turning geoscientific observations into numerical models, and the interpretation and characterization of these results. Sample problems from geoscientific topics will be used to illustrate the formulation, simplification, solution, and analysis of typical problems encountered in modeling in geosciences. Different techniques that arise in the solution of these problems will be introduced and practiced on typical geodynamic problems, with particular focus on problems arising in modeling of the Earth's interior and surface.

• GEOSCI/HISTSCI 514: History of Geologic Thought

  Credits unavailable

  Major concepts from earliest to modern times.

• GEOSCI/ZOOLOGY 542: Invertebrate Paleontology

  3 credits

  The evolutionary history, morphology, and ecology of fossil invertebrates. Labs emphasize fossil identification and recognition of basic morphological features.