GEOL 578 - Volcanology

Description:
Study of volcanoes and associated deposits, styles of eruption, physical and chemical controls on eruption mechanisms and volcanic hazards and hazard mitigation. Three hours lecture and four hours laboratory per week. Required field trips. GEOL 478 and GEOL 578 are layered courses; students may not receive credit for both. Offered in alternate years. By permission.

Credits:
(5)

Learner Outcomes:
Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:

Be familiar with Earth structure, geothermal gradient, mechanisms of heat transfer, mechanisms which generate magma, properties of magmas such as density and viscosity.
Understand the correlation between plate tectonic setting and composition of volcano, type of volcano, and mechanisms of eruption.
Identify the range of volcano types on Earth ( e.g., shield, stratocone ), the different types of eruptions ( e.g., Hawaiian, Plinian) and the particular deposits that results from these eruptions (e.g., lava flow, ignimbrite).
Comprehend and can quantify the controls ( e.g., volatile content, temperature, composition, presence/absence of water) on eruption type and magnitude.
Understand, and in some cases uses, modern methods of volcano hazard assessment.
Have knowledge of mitigation techniques and employ these in mock situations.
Gain experience working on a research project. In doing so, they gain experience in recognizing the critical components of identifying various types of volcanoes/deposits and in critically reading literature.
Gain experience collecting volcanological data in order to become familiar with data1collection and assessment methods and evaluation of uncertainties.

Learner Outcomes Approval Date:
1/20/2000

Anticipated Course Offering Terms and Locations: