Environmental Geology

Learning Outcomes: 

Α) Knowledge-based
• Environmental geology as a science
• The concept of sustainability and important factors related to the environmental crisis
• Knowing the interactions of water in soil processes.
• Knowing the more important engineering properties of soil.
• Understand relationships between land use and soils.
• Knowing the stages of recovery following natural disasters and catastrophes
• Understanding the nature and extent of the flood hazard
• Knowing the major adjustments to flooding and which are environmentally preferable
• Knowing the potential adverse environmental effects of channelization and the benefits of channel restoration
• Understanding basic slope processes and the causes of slope failure
• Knowing methods of identification, prevention, warning, and correction of landslides
• Understanding processes related to land subsidence
• Understanding the relationship of earthquakes to faulting
• Understanding the methods that could potentially predict earthquakes

• Knowing the major types of volcanoes, the rocks they produce, and their plate tectonic setting
• Knowing the major processes related to coastal erosion
• Understanding the various engineering approaches to shoreline protection
• Understanding the water cycle and basic surface water and groundwater processes
• Understanding environmental impact analysis

General Skills: 
• Introduce you to our natural environment and the human interactions and everyday problems with our environment and global community from a geological perspective.
• Develop greater self-awareness of your personal role regarding environmental issues.
• Increase awareness of environmental issues and how they affect society.
• Develop skills and insight into critical thinking and situational awareness of your surrounding environment.
• Gain an understanding of the physical processes that operate in and on earth.
• Understand the interactions between humans and these geological processes.
• Understand past, present, and future environmental issues and how they affect the earth and our society.

Course Content:
Foundations of Environmental Geology: Philosophy and Fundamental Concepts, Population Growth, Sustainability, Systems, Limitation of Resources, Uniformitarianism, Hazardous Earth Process, and Geology as a Basic Environmental Science, Earth Materials and Process, Soils and Environment, Geology and Ecosystems. Hazardous Earth Processes: Introduction to Natural Hazards, Rivers and Flooding, Landslides and Related Phenomena, Earthquakes and Related Phenomena, Volcanic Activity, Coastal Hazards: Coastal Erosion. Resources and Pollution: Water Resources, Water Pollution, Mineral Resources and Environment, Energy and Environment. Global Perspective and Society: Global Climate Change, Geology and Society.

Suggested Bibliography:  

1. Environmental Geology: An Earth System Science Approach, 2014, by D. Merritts, A. De Wet and K. Menking, W.H. Freeman, Second Edition, ISBN-13: 13: 978-1429237437
2. Environmental Geology, 2013, by C. Montgomery, McGraw-Hill, 10th edition, ISBN-13: 978-0073524115
3. Environmental Geology, 2010, by E.A. Keller, Prentice Hall, 9th Edition, ISBN-13: 978-0321643759.
4. Environmental Geology – Study Guide, 1995, by B.W. Murck, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 96 edition, ISBN-13: 978-0471310334