Post on 20-May-2020
Introduction: GEOL 214 Course Description
Key Questions1. Who is teaching this course?
2. What is environmental geology?
3. Where is the web site for this course?
4. Prerequisites
5. Text book (optional)
6. Course topics
7. Assessment
8. Term Project
GEOL 214 - Environmental Geology
Dr. Robert Mitchell
http://kula.geol.wwu.edu/rjmitch/
I-5 overpass looking south Flooding in Chehalis
Kelso Landslide
What is environmental geology?
What is environmental geology?
1) Environmental geology concerns the impact of geologic hazards on humans and property
(earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, floods etc.)
What is environmental geology?
1) Environmental geology concerns the impact of geologic hazards on humans and property
(earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, floods etc.)
2) and, the effect of human society on the Earth
(resource consumption, pollution, waste storage, global warming)
GEOL 214 will examine
1) the “science” of geologic hazards
GEOL 214 will examine
1) the “science” of geologic hazards
2) ways to “mitigate” the “risks” associated with hazards
GEOL 214 requires either GEOL 101 or 211
Therefore, you may experience some overlap as I introduce a topic.
GEOL 214 is a GUR, so as I try to address the various levels there may be times when some of you are bored while others of you are overwhelmed.
The Textbook is optional
Lecture 1: Population and Sustainability
Key Questions1. How is the population growth rate determined?
2. What is an exponential growth rate?
3. Is the population currently rising exponentially?
4. What countries have the highest population growth rate?
5. Where are population densities with respect to natural hazards?
6. What is sustainability?
7. Is our population and life style sustainable?
POPULATIONS OUTRUNNING WATER SUPPLYAS WORLD HITS 6 BILLION
Lester R. Brown and Brian Halweil
As world population approaches 6 billion on October 12, water tables are falling on every continent, major rivers are drained dry before they reach the sea and millions of people lack enough water to satisfy basic needs.
Water tables are now falling in China, India, and the United States, which together produce half the world's food.
Hazard is falling “big” rocks
Risk is low (probability and loss)
Mitigation is a road sign
Hazard, Risk, and Mitigation
Review Plate Tectonics
Earthquakes
Tsunamis
Indonesia, December 26, 2004
DART
Coastal Hazards
Volcanoes
Hazards Mitigation
Lahars on Mt Rainier
Exam 1
Landslides, Subsidence, and Liquefaction
Landslide
Liquefaction
Subsidence
θ
.WFNFf
cohesion = c
Fp
Factor safety = W x cosθ xμ + c
W x sinθ
θ
Tons of earth and vegetation washed away from clear-cut hillsides into Stillman Creek, a tributary of the south fork of the Chehalis River.
Slope stability is controlled by Vegetation
Floods
Nooksack 100 year flood map
Chuckanut Creek January 7, 2009
What determines the magnitude and timing of runoff and streamflow in a watershed?
1. Basin size
2. Precipitation characteristics
3. Vegetation type and distributions
4. Soil type and thickness
5. Groundwater discharge
6. Topography
7. Artificial inputsQ = stream discharge
Groundwater
Groundwater Contamination
Hanford
Groundwater Contamination
Superfund Sites in Washington
Exam 2
Waste Storage
Yucca Mountain: 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas
1. Canisters of waste, sealed in special casks, are shipped to the site by truck or train.
2. The waste is placed in a steel, multilayered storage container.
3. An automated system sends storage containers underground to the tunnels.
4. Containers are stored along the tunnels, on their side.
http://www.nrc.gov/waste/hlw-disposal/design.html
Assessment
Three one-hour exams (2 midterms and a comprehensive final)
Term Project (10% of the grade)