Department of Earth and Environmental Science

Alain F. Plante

Teaching

ENVS200: Introduction to Environmental Analysis
(Fall semesters)

Introduction to Environmental Analysis will expose the student to the principles that underlie our understanding of how the Earth works. The goal of Earth Science is to obtain a scientific understanding of the entire Earth system by describing its component parts (lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, biosphere) and their interactions, and describe how they have evolved, how they function, and how they may be expected to respond to human activity. Energy, both natural and human-generated, will be used as a unifying principle. Knowledge gained through this course will help you make informed decisions in all spheres of human activity: science, policy, economics, etc.

GEOL421: Elemental Cycling in Global Earth Systems
(Spring semesters, alternating with GEOL621)

Humans have an enormous impact on the global movement of chemical materials. Biogeochemistry has become the principal scientific discipline to examine the flow of elements through global earth systems and to examine human impacts on the global environment. This course will introduce and investigate processes and factors controlling the biogeochemical cycles of elements within and between the hydrosphere, lithosphere, atmosphere and biosphere. Students will apply principles learned in lectures by building simple computer-based biogeochemical models.

GEOL621: Advanced biogeochemistry
(Spring semesters, alternating with GEOL421)

First offering - Spring 2010