Introduction to Geology & GIS

Discover geology and geographic information systems as a comprehensive review of geology's scope, methods, and time-scale, from earth formation to past and future processes.

Explore deep geological time, learn how Earth's history is divided into eons, eras, and periods, and see how dating methods and fossil records reveal slow, vast processes.

Learn how seismology reveals Earth's interior by analyzing P- and S-waves, their speeds across crust, mantle, and core, and what shadow zones tell us about the core.

Explore mineral resources, their crystal structures and bonding in geology, from ionic and covalent bonds to silicate and oxide minerals, and how magma cooling, precipitation, and metamorphism form minerals.

Explore igneous rocks within the rock cycle, from magma formation and crystallization to intrusive and extrusive textures, and study Bowen reaction series and partial melting.

Examine metamorphic rocks formed by burial and heating under varying temperatures and pressures, driven by parent rock composition and fluids, and distinguish textures and mineral stability across different metamorphic environments.

Explore how sedimentary rocks form through erosion, transport, deposition, and burial, becoming cemented clastic or chemical rocks with varied grain sizes from boulders to clay.

Explore the hydrology of the water cycle, groundwater flow, and aquifers, detailing porosity, permeability, unsaturated and saturated zones, water tables, and how wells create cones of depression.

Explore how scientists measure and predict earthquakes to minimize damage and casualties, and examine faulting, aftershocks, stress transfer, and magnitude.

Explore planetary geology from nebula collapse to the formation of rocky and gas giants, and examine Earth-like worlds in habitable zones for potential life.

Master the basics of geographic information systems, including raster and vector data, coordinate reference systems, and common map projections like Mercator, UTM, and Albers.