Department of Earth and Environmental Science

Sarah A. Willig

MES Lecturer
Department of Earth and Environmental Science
University of Pennsylvania
240 S. 33rd Street
Hayden Hall 254b
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6316

Tel. (215) 8985724

E-mail: sawillig@verizon.net

Education

A.B. in Geology from Princeton University (1983)
Ph.D. in Geology from University of Pennsylvania (1988)

Master of Environmental Studies Courses

Sarah Willig teaches and develops the following courses for the Master of Environmental Studies Program:

Environmental Geology

Environmental geology explores interactions between humans and geology with the aim of decreasing threats to human health and safety from geologic hazards and minimizing environmental degradation resulting from resource use.  We will begin with a review of plate tectonics and proceed to the study of geologic hazards including earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, subsidence, river flooding, and coastal flooding and erosion.  Student presentations of case histories of different geologic disasters will deepen our understanding of these events.  For the second half of the course, we will look at the nature of various geologic resources including soils, surface and ground water, rocks and minerals, and energy resources and the environmental consequences of their utilization from extraction through processing to consumption.  Students will research a particular resource topic. Guest speakers working in the broad interdisciplinary field of environmental geology will expand our investigation.  In the spring of 2007, guest speakers included a tsunami researcher, a geographer remapping the floodplain boundaries of the Pennypack Creek watershed, and the founders and farmer of the Charlestown Cooperative Farm, a sustainable agricultural operation.  The ultimate goal of the course will be to heighten awareness of the critical role that geology plays in our lives.

Regional Field Ecology

This field course aims to 1) introduce students to the varied environments and plant communities of the region and 2) provide a qualitative approach to site analysis that identifies connections between climate, geology, topography, hydrology, soils, vegetation, wildlife, and disturbance, both natural and anthropogenic.  Over the course of six Sunday field trips including one Saturday-Sunday overnight trip, we will visit sites representative of the physiographic provinces crossing the region and complete a transect extending from the barrier islands of New Jersey to the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania.  At each site we will study and consider the interactions between site factors.  Students will summarize background material and field trip observations in a weekly written report.  Seven Wednesday evening class meetings will provide an opportunity to review completed field trips, preview upcoming trips, and focus on a particular ecological concept.  The final two classes will be devoted to student presentations of topics that pertain to some aspect of the field trips.

Wetlands

Wetlands, characterized by extended flooding or saturation, hydric soils, and vegetation adapted to low oxygen levels, are important ecosystems occurring around the globe.  Differences in geomorphology and climate produce great variation in wetland structure and function.  Intensive human use of wetlands through time has led to large-scale loss and degradation.  Recognition of the many important functions wetlands provide has led to their regulation, conservation, management, and restoration, though much remains to be done.  The course will provide an introduction to and overview of the broad field of wetland study.  Students will research the natural history of a key plant or animal species, the structure and function of a wetland system, and an issue related to the human-wetland interaction.  Guest speakers involved with scientific research, regulation, or conservation and field trips to local wetlands, both tidal and nontidal, will expand our understanding of these remarkable systems.