Description

This introductory course is for nonscience students, including freshmen, and satisfies a CORE Research Natural Sciences Requirement. The Yellowstone region is an unparalleled laboratory for earth scientists. The volcanic, glacial, climatic, and ecological processes that shaped the region will be introduced through lecture, discussions, and projects. Recitation sections and field trips provide additional hands-on experiences.

The course focuses on the discoveries and debates in geology, geography, and conservation that make Yellowstone a world-class place for research. It introduces basic information on the geological/geographical processes that created the Yellowstone region, sculpted the landscape, and established the present environment. We will examine the interplay between natural processes and human activities in the past, present, and future in the Yellowstone region and use the setting as a microcosm for understanding global phenomena.

Through discussions of scientific literature, hands-on field and lab experiences, participation in current scientific debates, and interviews with Yellowstone scientists, students will gain an understanding of the geology and geography of the Yellowstone region and the scientific tools and approaches used in research. Students will learn to appreciate why Yellowstone is truly a unique place, and they will develop an understanding for the importance of scientific research and its application to broader societal questions.

4 credits.