Related Links:

Overview of the Pilot Curriculum General Education Requirement
Current Pilot Curriculum General Requirement Course Descriptions

• Past Pilot Curriculum General Requirement Courses
• Past Faculty

Faculty:

Meeting Times:

Course Description:

Natural disturbances play a fundamental role in sculpturing landscapes and structuring natural and human-based ecosystems. This course will explore the natural and social science of natural disturbances by analyzing their geophysical causes, their ecological and social consequences, and the role of human behavior in causing and mitigating natural disasters. The spatial distribution and frequency, geologic, ecosystem, and social consequences of volcanoes, earthquakes, floods, droughts, fires, and extraterrestrial impacts will be analyzed with case studies and primary readings.

Assignments will include quantitative homework problems, midterms, and a final report.

(Back to Course Descriptions Menu)