Course Descriptions
Department of Geology and Geophysics
W. M. Ahr, R. R. Berg, R. L. Carlson (Head), F. M. Chester, J. S. Chester, S. L. Dorobek, M. E. Everett, P. J. Fox, A. F. Gangi, J. R. Giardino, R. L. Gibson, Jr., E. L. Grossman, R. N. Guillemette, A. Hajash, B. E. Herbert, T. W. C. Hilde, J. R. Hopper, L. T. Ikelle, B. Johnson, A. K. Kronenberg, W. M. Lamb, C. C. Mathewson, J. T. McGuire, B. V. Miller, J. Newman, T. D. Olszewski, R. K. Popp*, D. B. Prior, P. D. Rabinowitz, A. L. Raymond, M. J. Richardson, J. E. Russell, W. W. Sager, R. Sassen, J. H. Spang, D. W. Sparks, V. P. Tchakerian, D. J. Thomas, B. J. Willis, D. V. Wiltschko, T. E. Yancey, H. Zhan
* Graduate Advisor
Geology
Graduate work in geology is offered at both the master’s and doctoral levels. Programs are designed to provide the student with an understanding of the fundamentals of geology and of related disciplines. Research investigations comprise a significant part of each program. The Department of Geology and Geophysics can also serve as the “home” department for the Master of Geoscience degree. The MGsc is a non-thesis degree that provides a multidisciplinary background in the geosciences, appropriate for science teachers in public schools, or for individuals interested in environmental issues, for example.
Opportunities for research at both the MS and PhD levels are available in ground-water investigations, sedimentation, mineralogy, paleontology and paleoecology, stratigraphy, structural geology, tectonophysics, petrology, field geology, engineering and environmental geology and geochemistry.
Current research areas of members of the department include studies in the origin and spatial distribution of reservoir porosity in depositional, diagenetic and fracture systems; field, theoretical and experimental study of the formation of faults and fault networks; fluid flow and deformation within thrust sheets; the hydrostatic and hydrodynamic trapping of oil and gas; carbonate platform-to-basin transitions; sandstone provenance and diagenesis; integrated quantitative basin analysis; archaeological palynology; isotope stratigraphy and global change; paleobiogeography of plants; how fossil assemblages form from and reflect living communities; water/rock interactions in flow-through experimental systems; fate and transport of organic pollutants in the unsaturated and saturated zones; composition of movement of crustal fluids; crystal chemistry, phase relations and thermodynamics of mantle-derived amphiboles and micas; diagenesis of clastic sediments in relation to reservoir rock potential and quality; metal contaminants in alpine systems; groundwater impacts of surface mining; groundwater interference in civil construction and mining; landslide mechanics; fluid-flow properties of faults and dynamics of faulted reservoirs; and groundwater flow in strongly heterogeneous media.
Equipment for graduate student and faculty research includes petrographic and research microscopes for fluid-inclusion, reflectance, cathodoluminescence and epifluorescence studies, as well as color and B/W image-analysis systems for petrographic observations. The department also has well-equipped laboratories for sample preparation and separation. Available for analyses of geological materials are a four-spectrometer Cameca SX50 electron microprobe, an automated Rigaku x-ray powder-diffraction unit with two goniometers, a Finnigan-MAT 251 stable-isotope-ratio mass spectrometer with a Kiel II automated carbonate reaction system, Hewlett-Packard 5890 and 6890 gas chromatographs with automatic samplers, roto-evaporators, Soxhlet extractors, a low-pressure liquid chromatography system, a Nicolet Magna 560 FTIR with DTGS and PbSe detectors, and a Spectra-Tech Nic-Plan FTIR microscope with an MTS detector. Additional facilities include a Dionex 4000 ion chromatograph, atomic absorption spectrophotometers, colorimetric spectrophotometers, gas chromatographs, Quantasorb surface-area analyzer and ancillary equipment for analysis of both standard and micro-sized fluid samples.
The department and the Center for Tectonophysics also have a wide variety of high-pressure/high-temperature triaxial deformation systems for studies of the effects of important physical and chemical variables on mechanical and transport properties and flow laws of rocks. In addition, the hydrothermal laboratory has standard and rapid- quench cold-seal vessels with a 0–2 kbar capability and five flow-through systems that can monitor fluid chemistry and deformation through time.
The department operates an extensive computer facility. Software and peripherals allow a wide variety of applications.
The Texas A&M Microscopy and Imaging Center houses additional transmission and scanning electron microscopes. The research reactor at the Nuclear Science Center provides facilities for neutron activation analysis, gamma-ray spectrometry and fission track imaging. An inductively coupled Ar-plasma emission spectrometer (ICP) and other analytical equipment are available in the Department of Chemistry and the Center for Trace Characterization.
The department benefits from the close association with the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP). Located in the Texas A&M Research Park adjacent to campus, this $42 million-per-year basic research program is operated by the College of Geosciences, Texas A&M. The IODP facilities include a large core-storage station and physical-properties, petrography and sedimentary laboratories. Many scientific staff members of the IODP hold adjunct faculty positions in the Department of Geology and Geophysics. The facilities both in the department and elsewhere in the University provide students with an excellent opportunity to use state-of-the-art equipment in their research.
Although degree level is not a requirement for professional practice in geology, the BS should usually be considered as preparatory, the MS should be considered the professional degree and the PhD should be considered the teaching and research degree. The MS degree is granted thesis option only.
In addition to graduate studies requirements for the PhD, the student’s committee chair, with advice from the other committee members, will determine, on an individual basis, the student’s needs in either foreign language or other broadening areas of study.
Geology
(GEOL)
609. Field Geology. Credit 1 to 6.
Individual instruction in advanced and specialized field methods, geologic interpretation and field evaluation procedures. Choice of topics and locations of field studies will vary depending upon individual and specific needs. Prerequisite: GEOL 300 or approval of instructor.*
610. Field Methods in Hydrogeology. (1-6). Credit 3.
Field methods in hydrogeology; including ground water drilling technology and law; investigation and planning of well sites; installation of ground water wells; field testing of aquifer properties and analysis of field data. Field trips may be required for which departmental fees may be assessed to cover costs. Prerequisite: GEOL 410 or approval of instructor.
612. Structural Geology. (3-0). Credit 3.
Mechanical principles important to structural geology and experimental results relating to rock deformation followed by applications to natural deformation; mechanisms, rather than geometries. Primarily for students not concentrating in structural geology but who desire an advanced general course. Prerequisite: Approval of instructor.
619. Petroleum Geology. (3-0). Credit 3.
Properties of reservoir rocks; origin, migration and accumulation of petroleum; geologic interpretation of borehole logs and fluid-pressure measurements and the role of hydrostatic and hydrodynamic pressures in oil accumulation. Prerequisite: Approval of instructor.
621. Contaminant Hydrogeology. (3-0). Credit 3.
Physical concepts of mass transport; dispersion; diffusion; advection; geochemical processes including surface reaction; hydrolysis; biodegradation; aspects of modeling; process and parameter; and remediation. Prerequisite: GEOL 410 or approval of instructor.
622. Stratigraphy. (3-0). Credit 3.
Principles for correlating and naming stratigraphic units; controls on stratigraphic development (sediment supply, base-level change, subsidence, climate, and compaction); principles and application of sequence stratigraphy; subsurface stratigraphy; facies analysis and stratigraphic architecture. Prerequisite: Graduate classification or approval of instructor.
623. Carbonate Rocks. (3-0). Credit 3.
Principles of carbonate sedimentology; carbonate depositional sequences defined in modern environments and utilized to interpret the rock record; introduction to depositional and diagenetic microfacies; shelves, ramps and isolated platforms and their tectonosedimentary significance; suggested for geoscience majors. Prerequisites: A basic understanding of sedimentology and the associated terminology; graduate classification.
624. Carbonate Reservoirs. (3-0). Credit 3.
Recognition and description of hydrocarbon reservoirs in carbonate rocks; classification of carbonate porosity; capillary pressure curves and pore types; pore characteristics as proxies for permeability in reservoir modeling; techniques for mapping flow units. Prerequisites: Graduate classification and approval of instructor.
625. Applied Ground Water Modeling. (3-0). Credit 3.
Concept of groundwater flow and contaminant transport; numerical simulations of solving flow and transport equations; finite difference and finite element methods; software structures of groundwater flow, contaminant transport, density-dependent fluid flow and hydrocarbon remediations; real case applications of software including geological, physical, chemical, biological and hydrological information. Prerequisite: GEOL 410 or approval of instructor.
629. Regional Geology of North America. (3-0). Credit 3.
Regional geology of North America, examining the accumulation and deformation of the rock units involved; structural form and style emphasized; entire geologic history investigated. Prerequisite: Graduate classification or approval of instructor.
631. Engineering Geomorphology. (3-0). Credit 3.
Active surface processes as they influence engineering construction; erosion, rivers and floods, slope processes, subsidence, coastal processes, ice, weathering and ground water. Prerequisites: Graduate classification in engineering or geosciences; GEOG 331 or approval of instructor.
635. Engineering Geology. (3-0). Credit 3.
Geological principles applied to the investigation design, construction and maintenance of engineering projects; history, development and role of engineering geologic practice as applied to dams, waste disposal, surface and ground water, tunneling, quarrying and construction materials.
641. Environmental Geochemistry. (3-0). Credit 3.
Geochemical processes affecting the fate and transport of inorganic and organic pollutants in terrestrial systems; equilibrium and kinetic modeling. Prerequisite: GEOL 451 or approval of instructor.
646. Biogeochemical Cycling in Subsurface Systems. (3-0). Credit 3.
Fundamental concepts and research techniques in the study of coupled biogeochemical cycles; focus on connections between major elemental cycles of carbon oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, sulfur, phosphorus, and metals including biotic and abiotic transformations in subsurface systems. Prerequisite: Graduate classification.
648. Stable Isotope Geology. (2-3). Credit 3.
Stable isotopes of oxygen, carbon, sulfur and hydrogen applied to problems in paleontology and paleoecology, carbonate diagenesis, petroleum exploration, and igneous and metamorphic petrology; isotopic paleotemperatures; analytical methods; theory of isotopic fractionation. Prerequisite: GEOL 451 or approval of instructor.
650. Paleoecology. (2-3). Credit 3.
Interrelationships of organisms and environment in the fossil record; methods and criteria available for interpreting ancient environments; critical review of classical studies and current research in paleoecology. Prerequisite: Approval of instructor.
654. Evolutionary Patterns and Theory. (3-0). Credit 3.
Evolutionary patterns in the fossil record and application of evolutionary theory to understanding these patterns; comparisons of neo-Darwinian and punctuational hypotheses; events and processes pertaining to microevolutionary and macroevolutionary change; and methods of determine phylogenies of organisms. Prerequisite: Graduate classification in geological or biological sciences.
658. Earth Systems Through Deep Time: Global Change, Paleoclimate and Life. (3-0). Credit 3.
History and cause of global change in the earth system, Archean to Holocene; Impact of biotic change on the earth system; influence of tectonics on paleochemistry and climate change; influence of climate on tectonics; methods and models for evaluating global change. Prerequisite: Graduate classification.
663. Fracture and Faulting of Rocks. (3-0). Credit 3.
The structure of fractures and faults in the Earth’s crust at the macroscopic and microscopic scale; formation and evolution of faults, faults networks and fault zones; fault-related rocks and faulting mechanisms; influence of faults on fluid flow properties; seismic faulting and creep; current problems and research opportunities. Prerequisite: Graduate classification.
664. Mechanical Analysis in Geology. (3-0). Credit 3.
Mechanical analysis of geological problems based on concepts of stress, strain, strength, elasticity, viscosity and plasticity; folding, faulting, dike formation, hydraulic fracturing, magma and glacial flow, and cooling of magmatic bodies. Prerequisites: MATH 253; approval of instructor.
665. Structural Petrology. (3-3). Credit 4.
Mechanisms of rock deformation from single crystal to mountain range; techniques for mapping stresses and strains and for inferring physical conditions and mechanical behavior at time of deformation; laboratory assignments on descriptive techniques include petrographic microscope-universal stage methods, field procedures and data analysis. Prerequisite: Approval of instructor.
667. Structural Geology II. (3-0). Credit 3.
Application of theoretical and experimental results to problems in natural rock deformation; structural mechanisms on the phenomenological, laboratory and natural scales with emphasis on the genesis of structural features in layered rocks. Prerequisites: GEOL 665, GEOP 611, 615.
668. Clastic Sedimentology and Sedimentary Petrology. (3-3). Credit 4.
Detailed analyses of clastic sedimentary rocks: relationships of facies and depositional environments with emphasis on continental, coastal and shallow shelf clastic sediments; petrography and diagenesis of modern and ancient clastic sediments. Prerequisites: Optical mineralogy course and sedimentology (undergraduate); graduate classification.
681. Seminar. (1-0). Credit 1.
Reports and discussions of current research and selected topics from geologic literature. Prerequisite: Graduate classification.
685. Directed Studies. Credit 1 or more each semester.
Enables graduate students to undertake limited investigations not within their thesis or dissertation research and not covered in established curricula. Prerequisites: Graduate classification and approval of instructor.
689. Special Topics in... Credit 1 to 4.
Selected topics in an identified area of geology. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: Approval of instructor.
691. Research. Credit 1 or more each semester.
Original research on problems in various phases of geology. Research for thesis or dissertation.
* Field trips required for which departmental fee may be assessed to cover costs.