GEOL 325 - Volcanoes and Plate Tectonics

Units: 3 ; Breadth Area: GE-UDB
An introductory geology course exploring volcanoes and volcanic eruptions on Earth and in the solar system. How volcanoes work and how they affect environment, life, and society. Recent volcanism and ancient examples of mega-eruptions, and challenges of predicting future eruptions.

Strongly Recommended Preparation: Upper division status (greater than 60 earned semester units) and completion of lower division Areas B1-B3.
Prerequisites: Completion of GE Areas A1, A2, A3 and B4 with grade C- (CR) or better.
Credit Restrictions: Not for Geology or Enviornmental Science major or minor credit.

Possible Instructional Methods: On-ground or Hybrid.
Grading: A-F or CR/NC (student choice).
Breadth Area(s) Satisfied: GE-UDB - Upper Division Science Inquiry and Quantitative Reasoning
Course Typically Offered: Variable Intermittently

Student Learning Outcomes - Upon successful completion of this course students will be able to:

Explain how the Earth formed, how its structure evolved, and how these factors together are responsible for the dynamic and continuous process of plate tectonics.
Describe the plate tectonics controls on the locations of magmatism and volcanism, how volcanoes work, and how magma composition controls eruptive behavior and products.
Identify and compare magmatic and volcanic processes in the five principal tectonic settings of volcanism, and understand how subaqueous and subglacial volcanic processes differ from subaerial volcanic processes.
Understand and evaluate volcanic hazards, and the current state of the art for hazard mitigation and prediction.
Recognize the strong relationship between volcanic activity and climate, and the ways in which volcanism has influenced the course of human history.
Compare and contrast active California volcanism and extraterrestrial volcanism.

UD-B. Upper-division Science Inquiry and Quantitative Reasoning Learning Outcomes

demonstrate advanced and/or focused science or quantitative content knowledge in a specific scientific field, using appropriate vocabulary and referencing appropriate concepts (such as models, uncertainties, hypotheses, theories, and technologies);
apply advanced quantitative skills (such as statistics, algebraic solutions, interpretation of graphical data) to scientific problems and evaluate scientific claims;
demonstrate understanding of the nature of science and scientific inquiry and the experimental and empirical methodologies used in science to investigate a scientific question or issue; and
apply science content knowledge to contemporary scientific issues (e.g., global warming) and technologies (e.g., cloning), where appropriate.