Courses taught at SUNY New Paltz:
Field Excursion: Colorado (Spring 2019)
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Gain fundamental knowledge about the regional geologic history of Colorado with an emphasis on selected local sites around Colorado’s Front Range.
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Apply knowledge and concepts from Historical Geology and Physical Geology to interpret Colorado’s geologic history within the broad context of the geologic evolution of the North American continent.
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Learn to read and interpret geologic maps and cross-sections including the Geologic Map of Colorado and other selected regional geologic publications.
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Get a hands-on experience collecting and recording geologic data in the field encompassing a diversity of igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks.
Physical Geology (Fall 2019)
Students who successfully complete this course will,
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Gain fundamental knowledge about active Earth processes including plate tectonics, the rock cycle, hydrologic cycle, atmospheric circulation and climate processes.
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Identify common rocks and minerals using diagnostic physical properties.
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Learn the principles of measuring geologic time, and apply these principles to estimate the age of rocks and fossils and geologic events.
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Identify and interpret common geologic structures using 3D block models and diagrams and 2D cross-sections.
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Gain a geologic perspective on human civilization through an understanding of natural hazards (e.g. earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, floods) and their relationship to geologic processes and factors that control hazard risk and vulnerability (e.g. population density, climate change).
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Develop a unified understanding of scientific theory and practice in modern natural science.
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Demonstrate an understanding of the development of science as an intellectual pursuit and of the ways in which scientific ideas are formulated, modified, and accepted.
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Demonstrate skill in the application of scientific techniques and methods, including the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data, and communication of results.
Mineralogy Laboratory (Fall 2019)
Minerals are an essential ingredient of civilization. In this course students will (1) acquire a basic knowledge of crystal chemistry and crystallography; (2) learn the fundamentals of transmitted polarized light microscopy; (3) learn the compositions of rock-forming, accessory, and ore minerals, how they form, their occurrence and importance; and (4) learn how to identify these minerals in rocks.
