Ut austin geosciences

Application of geophysical methods in hydrogeology. Modules include method theory and hydrogeological applications; using instruments in the field; and analysis of data, interpretation, and hydrogeological insights. Class discussions; field exercises and written field exercise summaries; individual and group reports. Four lecture hours a week for one semester, with field work hours to be arranged.

The study of karst landforms, processes, flow systems, and water resources. Three lecture hours a week for one semester, with additional fieldwork hours to be arranged.

Investigates the nature of earth's climate and examines the physical processes that maintain the climate system.

Assigned reading with written and oral report. Three lecture hours a week for two semesters. Supervised research project resulting in an honors thesis with an oral defense. For each semester hour of credit earned, the equivalent of one lecture hour a week for one semester. May be counted as three of the six geological sciences senior elective hours.

Restricted to hydrogeology majors. Special hydrogeological studies under the joint supervision of industry professionals and faculty members.

Students present a written report. Forty hours a week for one semester. Prerequisite: Geological Sciences K with a grade of at least C-, and consent of instructor. Special emphasis on recent developments in geosciences. Restricted to biology, geological sciences, and anthropology majors. Surveys the biology and evolutionary history of mammals. Introduction to the diversity of living mammals through the study of mammalian ecology, behavior, morphology, and taxonomy. Laboratory work focuses on the characters diagnosing the major mammalian clades and identifying the common recent mammals of Texas using skins and recent osteological specimens.

Fossils and the fossil record of mammals. Restricted to geological sciences and environmental science majors. Work experience in geological sciences under the joint supervision of industry professionals the employer and a supervising faculty member. Requires submission of a final report to the supervising faculty member at the end of the semester.

For N , twenty laboratory hours a week for one semester. For N , forty laboratory hours a week for one semester. Second course in a two-course sequence focused on supervised student research and preparation of a final report on research activities. Origin of earth structures, solution of advanced structural problems, newest techniques, field techniques, and field problems.

Prerequisite: Graduate standing and consent of instructor. Basic seismology theory and its application to the study of the interior of the Earth crust, mantle, and core , earthquakes, and plate tectonics. Prerequisite: Graduate standing, and Mathematics C or the equivalent. Uses three-dimensional volumes of basin-filling stratigraphy to explore how depositional landscapes are preserved in the sedimentary record and how sedimentary deposits can be analyzed to produce quantitative reconstructions of past environmental states.

Four lecture hours a week for one semester. Prerequisite: Graduate standing. A survey of mathematics for geoscientists that includes infinite series, complex variables, linear algebra, integral transforms, ordinary and partial differential equations, tenor analysis, and probability and statistics. Geological Sciences M and J may not both be counted.

Organization and interpretation of stratigraphic successions in time-bounded units of genetically related strata. Sequence stratigraphy, as a predictive branch of stratigraphic analysis, provides insight into the origin of the entire spectrum of siliciclastic, carbonate, and evaporite sediments from shallow to deep settings. Laboratory component involves the interpretation of sequences using outcrop measured sections, core data, wireline log sections, field trips, and 2D and 3D seismic data from modern and ancient settings.

Advanced instruction in the integration of geologic and engineering methods for building 3-D reservoir models of carbonate reservoirs. Offered in alternate years. Explores the fundamental concepts of transport systems at the Earth's surface, focusing on principles and quantitative aspects of fluid flow, sediment transport, and bedforms, as well as atmospheric and oceanic circulation, complex systems, and the integration of small-scale processes in developing quantitative stratigraphic models.

Prerequisite: Graduate standing and Geological Sciences R. Examines climate records encoded in sedimentary archives through geologic time. Prerequisite: Graduate standing or consent of instructor. Deformation processes from atomic to macroscopic level, resultant textures and fabrics, and conditions required to produce such deformation.

Prerequisite: Graduate standing and an undergraduate course in structural geology and petrology. Quantitative analysis of folding, faulting, and fracturing at all scales in the upper crust, with emphasis on cross-section construction, subsurface mapping, and fracture analysis.

Three lecture hours a week for one semester, and several field trips. Prerequisite: Graduate standing and a course in structural geology. Prerequisite: Graduate standing in geological sciences, or graduate standing and consent of instructor. Survey of the field of marine geology by exploring the structure and evolution of the ocean basins, oceanic islands, and island arcs, the chemistry of the oceans, the sediments in the marine environments, the products and processes of the land-air-sea interface, and the history of the oceans over geologic time.

Study of the tectonics of the earth. Topics include history of early concepts, ocean spreading ridges and ophiolites, rifting, core complexes, passive margins, subduction zones, trenches, volcanic arcs, collisional orogenesis, and transform margins. Prerequisite: Graduate standing in geological sciences. Geologic evolution of a region, with emphasis on factors that control the origin of selected mineral resources.

Study area varies according to the interests of participants and other factors. Explore the origin of regional structural features, complex and controversial structures, and the tectonic control of ore deposits. Prerequisite: Graduate standing in geological sciences and consent of instructor. Basic field methods used in evaluation of groundwater conditions, with emphasis on field interpretation and on hands-on experience with geophysical, geochemical, stream-gauging, and pump test methods.

Forty-five hours of field and laboratory work in a three-week period. Prerequisite: Graduate standing, and Geological Sciences C or consent of instructor.

Designed to provide a technical foundation for exploring how fluids drive fundamental geologic processes in sedimentary basins. Includes characterizing pressure and stress in sedimentary basins, exploring the origin of overpressure through theory and characterization, and examining how pressure and stress couple. Problems include how sedimentation generates overpressure, how hydrocarbons are trapped in the subsurface, how mud volcanoes form, how submarine landslides are generated, and the origin of methane hydrates.

Three lecture hours per week for one semester, with a four-day field trip to be arranged. Introduction to the physics of flow in fractured rocks and soils, fracture mechanics, fracture skins, analysis of solute transport, and methods of characterizing and modeling fractured systems. Class field trips are an integral part of the class.

Prerequisite: Graduate standing and consent of instructor; previous coursework in advanced calculus differential equations, vector spaces and Fourier series , and hydrogeology. Restricted to students in the Department of Geological Sciences. Flow and transport phenomena within an earth science context.

Prerequisite: Graduate standing, previous coursework in advanced calculus differential equations, vector spaces and Fourier series , and Geological Sciences C , D or E ; non-majors also require consent of instructor. Prerequisite: Graduate standing, and Mathematics D or the equivalent. Comprehensive treatment of modern conceptual and methodological approaches to hydrological science.

Combines qualitative understanding of hydrological processes with quantitative representation, approaches to measurement, and treatment of uncertainty. Major components of the hydrological cycle. Three lecture hours a week for one semester, with fieldwork hours to be arranged.

Geological Sciences W and Topic: Hydrogeophysics may not both be counted. River-, wave-, tide-, and gravity-driven processes are examined in modern depositional systems and considered in relation to sediment-flux, base-level, and autogenic changes.

Application to the development of dynamic facies models and alluvial-shoreline-shelf-deepwater transitions in stratigraphic data.

The equivalent of four lecture hours a week for one semester, including a four to five day field seminar. Study of the interaction of fluids with the rock matrix, with emphasis on the role of hydrology in geologic processes and the role of geology in affecting hydrologic processes.

Prerequisite: Graduate standing and a course in hydrogeology or hydrology. A survey of geophysical data analysis methods, with a focus on time series, including sampling and aliasing, convolution and correlation, statistics, linear digital filters, properties and applications of the discrete Fourier transform, and least squares. Applications of mathematical software to earth science problems, with emphasis on hydrogeologic problems.

Includes a brief introduction to numerical methods. Prerequisite: Graduate standing, previous coursework in advanced calculus differential equations, vector spaces and Fourier series , and Geological Sciences C.

Investigation of the broad range of depositional environments of the Caicos Platform through mapping exercises using state of the art digital imagery and lidar datasets, lab exercises, core workshops and a week-long field trip. Study of the evolution of the Caicos Platform carbonate system from modern sediments to complex stratigraphic records including grain types, sedimentary structures, and facies successions from the tidal flats, salinas, high-energy shoreline, and grainy back reef environments.

Two lecture hours and two laboratory hours a week for one semester; field trip to Caicos Platform also required. The hydrologic cycle, the early diagenesis, carbonate sediments, chemical sediments, and burial processes.

Three lecture hours a week for one semester, with laboratory hours to be arranged. Relationships of fossil animals and plants to their environments and to the sedimentary deposits in which they occur. Three lecture hours a week for one semester, with one optional field trip. Interpretation of microscale features of sandstones to decipher the paleogeographic, tectonic, and postdepositional controls on sandstone composition and texture. Examines the effects of chemical and mechanical processes in the subsurface on sandstone properties, including porosity.

Two lecture hours and three laboratory hours a week for one semester. Description and interpretation of carbonate and evaporite rock deposition and paragenesis. Essentials of petrology; petrography, including identification of grain types, cement types, recrystallization, and dolomitization; and porosity evolution.

Global geochemical signals in carbonate sediments, and geochemical processes of early and late diagenesis. Analysis of carbonate and evaporite depositional systems from sedimentary structures, faunal and ichnofaunal associations, grain types, vertical and lateral facies successions within time-significant packages, and sediment body geometries. Analysis of geologic controls on composition and architecture of oil and gas reservoirs, with emphasis on reservoir heterogeneity resulting from depositional and diagenetic processes.

Geological and petrophysical determinants of fluid flows and behavior. Prerequisite: Graduate standing; and credit or registration for Geological Sciences N , , and N , or consent of instructor. Quantitative and applied study of basin subsidence and sediment accumulation. The first half of the course considers theoretical basin evolution due to flexural, thermal, dynamic, and fault-related subsidence. The second half of the course involves analysis of selected basin systems and includes student research projects and presentations on assigned topics.

Integration of recent advances in foreland basins and adjacent orogenic belts, with emphasis on sedimentation, quantitative basin models, regional and global climate change, and the geometry and kinematics of fold-thrust belts. Field-based evaluation of the dynamics of the stratigraphic record, with implications for sedimentary, tectonic, and climatic processes.

Seismic, gravity, magnetic, electrical, and electromagnetic methods of exploration for petroleum and minerals. Geophysics of the whole Earth: seismic methods of inferring Earth structure, chemical makeup of Earth, tides and rotational variations, geomagnetism, heat flow, earthquakes, and seismicity.

Use of the acoustic or elastic wave equation to construct subsurface images in seismic processing. Different methods of solution and data domains employed in routine applications. Investigates integral, implicit, and explicit finite differences and Fourier methods for the imaging and inversion of seismic reflection data.

Numerical methods for solution of partial differential equations arising in continuum geophysics and geodynamics. Focuses on finite element methods and their application to heat conduction, viscous flow, wave propagation, and transport problems in geophysics. Introduction to basin analysis, subsurface mapping, and petroleum exploration using a workstation. Subjects may include common tectonic settings of petroleum basins, seismic stratigraphy, structural styles, and petroleum systems.

Workstation techniques include well log editing, lithology interpretation, correlation of tectonic events, integration of seismic and subsurface well data, interpretation of two- and three-dimensional seismic reflection data and structure, and isopach and seismic attribute mapping. Extracting multidimensional patterns from data, data reconstruction and registration, signal and noise separation.

Elements of geostatistics, linear estimation, image analysis, and multidimensional sparsity-promoting transforms with applications to large-scale geoscientific data. Vector spaces; model parameter estimation methods from inaccurate, insufficient, and inadequate measurements; linear, quasi-linear, and highly non-linear problems; local and global optimization methods.

Emphasis on practical problem solving. Prerequisite: Graduate standing and knowledge of linear algebra, basic calculus, and statistics. Focuses on how rocks, pore fluids, and physical conditions of temperature, stress, diagenesis, and geological processes impact wave propagation, with an emphasis on how laboratory and theoretical results can be applied to field data. Presentation of case studies that outline strategies for seismic interpretation, site characterization, and recovery monitoring.

Upscaling seismic and rock properties from the laboratory scale to borehole and reservoir scales. Multidisciplinary approaches to combination of geostatistical and stochastic methods, seismic-to-rock property transforms, and geologic information for reservoir characterization.

Surveys the following topics in time series analysis with geophysical applications: Fourier transforms, linear digital filters and their design, frequency domain analysis methods power and coherence spectrum estimation , least squares and related methods with time series applications.

Prerequisite: Graduate standing, and Geological Sciences R. How seismic waves propagating through earth materials respond to relevant rock, reservoir, and fluid properties in the subsurface, and how seismic data recorded on the surface are used to describe, discriminate, and estimate these rock, reservoir, and fluid properties in the subsurface.

Seismic reflection imaging for visualizing the interior of Earth's upper crust. Study of fundamental imaging concepts from a unified geometrical point of view. Hands-on practical experience with imaging seismic data in an open-source software environment. Prerequisite: Graduate standing; programming experience and familiarity with seismology are helpful.

Emphasis on open channel flow, sediment transport, fluvial and hillslope processes, and tectonic controls on landscape evolution.

Metamorphism as a record of processes in the Earth's deep crust; phase equilibria among minerals and fluids at elevated temperatures and pressures; tectonometamorphic regimes; petrographic interpretation of metamorphic mineral assemblages and textures; and secular evolution of metamorphic patterns during Earth's history. Origin of economic mineral concentrations within the context of their overall geologic settings; geologic aspects of economic evaluation, mining, and mineral processing; and mineral exploration.

Subjects include map projections; datums and reference frames; cartographic principles; remotely sensed data satellite and aerial photos, image radar ; vector- and raster-based image formats; geospatial data resources; GIS software applications; surveying principles; GPS constellation and data structure; differential GPS; data logging schemes; GPS postprocessing software; integration of GPS and GIS in mapmaking; extant GIS applications in geology and hydrogeology.

Offered in the fall semester only. Origin, differentiation, and crystallization of igneous rocks. Prerequisite: Graduate standing, and Geological Sciences M or the equivalent.

Same as Energy and Earth Resources Topic 5. Study of geologic, economic, societal, and environmental issues related to the production and consumption of energy, metal, industrial mineral, and water resources.

Emphasizes the descriptive geology and origin of earth resources within the context of their overall geologic settings. May not be counted toward a graduate degree in geological sciences or petroleum engineering. Prerequisite: Graduate-standing. Explores the physical and chemical processes involved in the eruption, transport, and deposition of volcanic material through the use and study of field measurements, fluid dynamics, petrology, and geophysical observations. Geological Sciences T and Topic: Volcanology may not both be counted.

Introduction to the chemistry of water in the subsurface. Topics include basic thermodynamics and kinetics of rock-water interaction, acid-base theory, redox, and coordination chemistry. Prerequisite: Graduate standing and consent of instructor; previous graduate-level coursework in hydrogeology and at least two semesters of college chemistry. Studies features of the climate system and the basics of climate system dynamics.

Subjects may include climate variability, radiation and heat budgets, atmospheric and ocean circulation systems, and the physics of climate change. Prerequisite: Graduate standing and two semesters of calculus and one semester of physics.

Environmental and organic chemistry of organic contaminants in groundwater and soils. Study of fluid dynamics as applied to the atmosphere and oceans. The fundamental equations that govern atmospheric and ocean circulations are derived from first principles. Applications to the study of climate and weather. Prerequisite: Graduate standing and two semesters of calculus and one semester of calculus-based physics. Prerequisite: Graduate standing, basic knowledge of Unix, and programming experience in Fortran.

Investigates the nature of Earth's climate and examines the physical processes that maintain the climate system. Topics include the energy balance, the hydrological cycle, general atmosphere circulation, and how they all interact and vary at various spatial and temporal scales.

Discusses human-induced modifications to the climate system, such as urbanization, anthropogenic global warming, desertification, and tropical deforestation.

Focuses on descriptive, analytical, programming, and modeling skills. Examination of the major reservoirs, fluxes, and processes controlling the distribution of biologically active chemical constituents of the earth. The importance of these biogeochemical cycles in the geologic past and the effects of human perturbation of these cycles. Covers mass spectrometry, geochronology and thermochronology, cosmogenic nuclides, radiogenic geochemistry, isotopic fractionation, traditional and non-traditional stable isotope geochemistry and its applications to the hydrologic cycle, low-temperature geochemistry, magmatic and metamorphic processes, thermometry, fluid-rock interactions, tectonics, crust-mantle evolution, and extraterrestrial materials.

Overview and application of laboratory techniques used for in-depth investigation of the systematics of vertebrates. Application of radiogenic isotopes to tectonic problems. Particular attention is given to methods and tools in thermochronology and geochronology for understanding thermal histories, uplift rates, slip rates, timing relationships, landform development, and provenance. An introduction to the application of isotope and trace element geochemistry in the modern geological sciences, with emphasis on problems related to the origin and evolution of the Earth's interior.

Three lecture hours a week for one semester; required field trip date s to be arranged. Exploration of the transitions in the history of life, including mass extinctions, climactic perturbations, and environmental changes and their impact on the Earth's biota. Rules of nomenclature: preparation, illustration, and description of Paleozoic invertebrate fossils.

Comparative osteology and phylogenetic history of the living and extinct mammals. Two lecture hours and four laboratory hours a week for one semester. Prerequisite: Graduate standing in geological sciences and Geological Sciences V. The use of digital multimedia for analysis of paleontological problems, with emphasis on three-dimensional high-resolution CT data. One lecture hour and three laboratory hours a week for one semester.

Topics include the skeletal systems of fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. Prerequisite: Graduate standing in geological sciences, and Geological Sciences or the equivalent; or consent of instructor.

Provides students with an opportunity to explore, discuss, and demonstrate issues designing, acquiring, manipulating, authoring, and publishing digital content. Students work toward completing a specific project. Comparative osteology and phylogenetic history of the living and extinct fishes, amphibians, and reptiles.

Prerequisite: Graduate standing in geological sciences, and Biology or the equivalent. Advanced treatment of elastic wave propagation in heterogeneous anisotropic media, vectors and tensors, Christoffel equation, group and phase velocities, invariant embedding reflectivity , finite difference, finite elements, and spectral elements.

Prerequisite: Graduate standing, and Geological Sciences F or the equivalent. Applications of physical chemistry to natural systems; interactions of minerals, solutions, and the atmosphere. Geological Sciences Q and Topic: Morphodynamics may not both be counted. An introduction to electron-microbeam instruments and their applications in the earth sciences. Lectures on relevant theory and concepts are supplemented by hands-on experience.

Prerequisite: Graduate standing in geological sciences or graduate standing and consent of instructor. Explore cutting-edge and debated concepts and processes governing plate tectonics, the unifying concept of solid Earth Sciences, in both the marine and continental realms. Investigate and test the validity of processes-oriented concepts in subduction, rift, and collision tectonics settings.

Study regional and global tectonic problems through an interdisciplinary structural, petrological, geochemical, sedimentological, and geophysical approach. For each semester hour of credit earned, the equivalent of one class hour a week for one semester; additional hours may be required for some topics. Prerequisite: Graduate standing in geological sciences; additional prerequisites vary with the topic.

Geological controls on groundwater resources; evaluation of aquifers, geothermal systems, and contamination problems; natural hazards caused by human use of groundwater. Three lecture hours a week for one semester, with discussion hours to be arranged.

Prerequisite: Graduate standing and concurrent enrollment in Geological Sciences W. Development of tectonic theory culminating in the new global tectonics, and application of theory to selected orogenic areas. Interdisciplinary analysis of Quaternary chronology, environments, climatic changes, and erosional-depositional processes. Seminar reviewing recent publications on evolutionary and ecologic theories applied to the fossil record.

Techniques of aquifer evaluation, including pumping tests, laboratory techniques, field mapping, and numerical analysis. Two laboratory hours a week for one semester. Prerequisite: Graduate standing, and concurrent enrollment in Geological Sciences C or consent of instructor. Covers fundamentals of technique, applications, and capabilities of ICP-MS through hands-on lab experience. Prerequisite: Graduate standing; and working knowledge of MS Excel, including manipulation of rows and columns of data, application of basic algebraic functions to derive statistics, sorting and filtering of data.

General discussion of the entire spectrum of geological sciences. Explore Python 3 programming language for application to scientific research. Overview of mass spectrometers, which are analytical balances that operate at molecular and atomic levels, used for gathering compositional data both isotopic and elemental. Prerequisite: Graduate standing; and for non-geological sciences majors, consent of instructor.

Attendance required of all graduate students in geological sciences. Two lecture hours a week for one semester. Additional hours may be required.

Restricted to graduate students in geological sciences. For each semester hour of credit earned, the equivalent of one class hour a week for one semester.

Offered every semester. Discuss the numerical solution of both the elliptic equations governing the flow of groundwater and the hyperbolic equations governing solute transport. Three lecture hours and one and one-half laboratory hours per week for one semester. Addresses interpretation of 2D and 3D seismic reflection data for unraveling the geometry and kinematic evolution of crustal structures, principally in sedimentary rocks.

Foundational subjects include understanding how structures manifest themselves in seismic data, and approaches to effective interpretation and kinematic analysis. Covers structural systems including extensional, fold and thrust belts, salt tectonics, and inversion.

Applied subjects include computer workstation interpretation and analysis approaches, determination of geologic and basin history, fault system analysis, fault permeability structure, and geomechanical evaluations such as in situ stress determination and application to induced seismicity risking. Explore measurement and error theory; motivations, methods, and techniques to measure field and lab physical quantities; theory and design of sensors and instruments; microcontroller programming; and 3D design and printing.

Includes classroom, laboratory, and field components in Austin and at sea. Offered between the spring semester and the summer session; limited class meetings may begin in the spring semester. Examine kill mechanisms e. Explore biotic crises in the past, with an eye to future ecosystem collapse, as well as the environmental and paleobiological responses to these events.

Covers development of numerical tools to quantitatively understand sediment transport and stratigraphic development in sedimentary basins. Focus on applications of the principles in fluid mechanics, sediment transport, and depositional mechanics to one-dimensional and quasi-two dimensional numerical modeling of sediment morphodynamics in various depositional settings such as river deltas, carbonate platforms, and submarine fans.

Two lecture hours and two laboratory hours a week for one semester; three week field trip to the Southwestern United States also required; offered in summer session only. Examine the academic and research career track, including a number of different career paths. Participate in a workshop covering all application materials for these kinds of jobs. The equivalent of three lecture hours a week for two semesters. Prerequisite: For A , graduate standing in geological sciences and consent of the graduate adviser; for B , Geological Sciences A.

Geared toward graduate students from the Earth sciences and related fields in the natural sciences including physics, computer science, and engineering. Prerequisite: Graduate standing and knowledge of programming in Matlab, vector calculus, and ordinary differential equations. Preparation of a report to fulfill the requirement for the master's degree under the report option.

Prerequisite: Graduate standing in geological sciences and consent of the graduate adviser. Open to graduate students engaged in laboratory instruction under close supervision of the course instructors. Topic 1: Vadose Zone Hydrology. Topic 2: Paleoclimate. Topic 3: Dynamics of Polar Systems. Prerequisite: Admission to candidacy for the doctoral degree. Environmental Science Professionalism I. Mineral Resources, Society and the Environment. Introduction to Physical and Chemical Hydrology.

Gems and Gem Minerals. Marine Geology and Geophysics Field Course. Environmental Science Professionalism II. Physics of Earth. Field Methods. Applied Karst Hydrogeology. Field Stratigraphy: Guadalupe Mountains. Environmental Isotope Geochemistry. Offered jointly by the College of Engineering and the Jackson School, this quantitatively rigorous degree is concerned with the behavior of fluids, both within the Earth and upon its surface.

The first two years are spent in the Department of Geological Sciences and the final two years in the Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering. Graduates seek employment with environmental, water resource management, and energy companies in addition to many government agencies.

See the educational objectives and program outcomes for this degree. This option allows students to complete two majors.

It can be tailored to meet interests ranging from musical study or the liberal arts to upper-division math, physics, or biology. While this degree forms an excellent starting point for other endeavors such as business management, environmental law, or medicine, students can also use the major to specialize more deeply in particular areas of the geosciences.

GEO K. GEO M. GEO U. GEO G. GEO N. GEO P. List of additional upper-division course options available on the JSG website. GEO L. GEO T. GEO C. GEO S. GEO W. GEO Q. GEO E. GEO One of the following four courses:.

Registration for any of these courses requires that existing prerequisite course requirements are adequately met. Petitions to substitute another course to use toward any requirement must be submitted to the JSG Advising Office prior to the start of the semester in question.

One of the following three courses:.