Undergraduate courses in Environmental Earth System Science

The evolution of Earth's systems from formation to the present. Couplings and relationships among biosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere. Topics include the evolution of life, origin of the oceans, atmosphere and continents, and changes in climate. Modern climate change and anthropogenic effects. GER: DB-NatSci

3 units, Win (Chamberlain, P)

EESS 37N. Energy and the Environment on the Back of an Envelope

Preference to freshmen. How quantitative understanding of the Earth helps inform decisions about energy supply. How can enough energy be provided to support future growth and development throughout the world without damaging the natural environment? Focus is on simple quantitative observations and calculations that facilitate evaluation of potential solutions to this problem; algebra only, no calculus. GER: DB-NatSci

3 units, alternate years, not given this year

EESS 39N. The Carbon Cycle: Reducing Your Impact

(F,Sem) Stanford Introductory Seminar. Preference to freshmen. Changes in the long- and short-term carbon cycle and global climate through the burning of fossil fuels since the Industrial Revolution. How people can shrink their carbon footprints. Long-term sources and sinks of carbon and how they are controlled by tectonics and short-term sources and sinks and the interaction between the biosphere and ocean. How people can shrink their carbon footprints. Held at the Stanford Community Farm. GER: DB-NatSci

3 units, Spr (Chamberlain, P)

EESS 46N. Exploring the Critical Interface between the Land and Monterey Bay: Elkhorn Slough

(F,Sem) Stanford Introductory Seminar. Preference to freshmen. Field trips to sites in the Elkhorn Slough, a small agriculturally impacted estuary that opens into Monterey Bay, a model ecosystem for understanding the complexity of estuaries, and one of California's last remaining coastal wetlands. Readings include Jane Caffrey's Changes in a California Estuary: A Profile of Elkhorn Slough. Basics of biogeochemistry, microbiology, oceanography, ecology, pollution, and environmental management.

3 units, Spr (Francis, C)

EESS 101. Environmental and Geological Field Studies in the Rocky Mountains

(Same as GES 101.) Three-week, field-based program in the Greater Yellowstone/Teton and Wind River Mountains of Wyoming. Field-based exercises covering topics including: basics of structural geology and petrology; glacial geology; western cordillera geology; paleoclimatology; chemical weathering; aqueous geochemistry; and environmental issues such as acid mine drainage and changing land-use patterns.

3 units, Aut (Chamberlain, P; Graham, S)

EESS 134. Stable Isotopes in Biogeochemistry

(Same as EESS 234.) Light stable isotopes and their application to geological, ecological, and environmental problems. Isotopic systematics of hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and sulfur; chemical and biogenic fractionation of light isotopes in the atmosphere, hydrosphere, and rocks and minerals. GER: DB-NatSci

3 units, Spr (Chamberlain, P)

EESS 141. Remote Sensing of the Oceans

(Same as EESS 241, EARTHSYS 141, EARTHSYS 241.) How to observe and interpret physical and biological changes in the oceans using satellite technologies. Topics: principles of satellite remote sensing, classes of satellite remote sensors, converting radiometric data into biological and physical quantities, sensor calibration and validation, interpreting large-scale oceanographic features. GER: DB-NatSci

3-4 units, alternate years, not given this year

EESS 143. Marine Biogeochemistry

(Same as EESS 243.) (Graduate students register for 243.) Processes that control the mean concentration and distribution of biologically utilized elements and compounds in the ocean. Processes at the air-sea interface, production of organic matter in the upper ocean, remineralization of organic matter in the water column, and processing of organic matter in the sediments. Cycles of carbon, oxygen, and nutrients; the role of the ocean carbon cycle in interannual to decadal variability, paleoclimatology, and the anthropogenic carbon budget. GER: DB-NatSci

3-4 units, Spr (Arrigo, K)

EESS 155. Science of Soils

Physical, chemical, and biological processes within soil systems. Emphasis is on factors governing nutrient availability, plant growth and production, land-resource management, and pollution within soils. How to classify soils and assess nutrient cycling and contaminant fate. Recommended: introductory chemistry and biology. GER: DB-NatSci

4 units, Spr (Fendorf, S)

EESS 156. Soil Chemistry

(Same as EESS 256.) (Graduate students register for 256.) Practical and quantitative treatment of soil processes affecting chemical reactivity, transformation, retention, and bioavailability. Principles of primary areas of soil chemistry: inorganic and organic soil components, complex equilibria in soil solutions, and adsorption phenomena at the solid-water interface. Processes and remediation of acid, saline, and wetland soils. Recommended: soil science and introductory chemistry and microbiology. GER: DB-NatSci

4 units, Win (Fendorf, S)

EESS 160. Statistical Methods for Earth and Environmental Sciences: General Introduction

Extracting information from data using statistical summaries and graphical visualization, statistical measures of association and correlation, distribution models, sampling, error estimation and confidence intervals, linear models and regression analysis, introduction to time-series and spatial data with geostatistics, applications including environmental monitoring, natural hazards, and experimental design. GER:DB-Math

3 units, Spr (Switzer, P)

EESS 161. Statistical Methods for the Earth and Environmental Sciences: Geostatistics

(Same as ENERGY 161.) Statistical analysis and graphical display of data, common distribution models, sampling, and regression. The variogram as a tool for modeling spatial correlation; variogram estimation and modeling; introduction to spatial mapping and prediction with kriging; integration of remote sensing and other ancillary information using co-kriging models; spatial uncertainty; introduction to geostatistical software applied to large environmental, climatological, and reservoir engineering databases; emphasis is on practical use of geostatistical tools. GER: DB-NatSci

3-4 units, Win (Boucher, A)

EESS 162. Remote Sensing of Land Use and Land Cover

(Same as EARTHSYS 142, EARTHSYS 242.) The use of satellite remote sensing to monitor land use and land cover, with emphasis on terrestrial changes. Topics include pre-processing data, biophysical properties of vegetation observable by satellite, accuracy assessment of maps derived from remote sensing, and methodologies to detect changes such as urbanization, deforestation, vegetation health, and wildfires.

4 units, not given this year

EESS 164. Fundamentals of Geographic Information Science (GIS)

(Same as EARTHSYS 144.) Survey of geographic information including maps, satellite imagery, and census data, approaches to spatial data, and tools for integrating and examining spatially-explicit data. Emphasis is on fundamental concepts of geographic information science and associated technologies. Topics include geographic data structure, cartography, remotely sensed data, statistical analysis of geographic data, spatial analysis, map design, and geographic information system software. Computer lab assignments. GER: DB-NatSci

4 units, Aut (Reilly, M)

EESS 241. Remote Sensing of the Oceans

(Same as EESS 141, EARTHSYS 141, EARTHSYS 241.) How to observe and interpret physical and biological changes in the oceans using satellite technologies. Topics: principles of satellite remote sensing, classes of satellite remote sensors, converting radiometric data into biological and physical quantities, sensor calibration and validation, interpreting large-scale oceanographic features. GER: DB-NatSci

3-4 units, alternate years, not given this year

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Stanford Bulletin, Archive 2008-09

Stanford Bulletin, Archive 2008-09

Alphabetical Index

Bulletin Archive

Undergraduate courses in Environmental Earth System Science