Earth & Environment

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  • CAS EE 446: Remote Sensing of the Lower Atmosphere
    Remote sensing has transformed the study of Earth's atmosphere. Learn the principles of retrieving meteorological parameters (humidity, temperature, precipitation) and key atmospheric constituents (clouds, greenhouse gases, aerosol) from satellite observations. Explore applications to climate change, disaster monitoring, and public health. Meets with GRS EE 646. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: Quantitative Reasoning II.
    • Quantitative Reasoning II
  • CAS EE 447: Marine Geology
    Examines the evolution of ocean basins and marginal seas, changes in structure and composition of ocean basins throughout the last billion years, and the contribution of oceanic geological processes to the chemistry and biochemistry of Earth.
  • CAS EE 456: Terrestrial Ecosystems and the Carbon Cycle
    The course is directed at graduate students interested in global environmental change and undergraduates with a solid science background interested in pursuing an environmental career. In this class we will focus on applying the fundamentals of climate science, ecosystems ecology, and biogeochemistry to explore the past, present, and possible future dynamics of the carbon cycle. Meets with GRS EE 656.
  • CAS EE 460: Food, Energy, and Water Policy
    Economic and policy analysis of how to manage ecosystems for the provision of food, energy, and water. Introduces cost-benefit analysis, dynamic optimization, and ecosystem service valuation as tools for understanding the optimal management of ecosystems and tradeoffs. Meets with GRS EE 660.
  • CAS EE 475: Urban Ecology
    This course explores the biophysical environments and ecology of urban settlements. Key topics covered include the physical environment (particularly climate & water), patterns in human population growth and development, ecosystem structure and function (net primary productivity, soils, nutrients cycling, organismal populations), global change (urban growth, disturbance, climate change), urban environment pollution and management (air and water quality), and sustainable urban development policies and regulations. Also offered as BI 475. Meets with GRS EE 675.
  • CAS EE 483: Geodynamics II: Fluids and Fluid Transport
    Large- and small-scale phenomena in oceanic, atmospheric, and landsurface fluids. Properties of gases and liquids; surface body forces; statics; flow analysis; continuity and momentum conservation. Darcy's Law; potential, open channel, and geostrophic flow; dimensional analysis; diffusion, turbulence. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Quantitative Reasoning II, Scientific Inquiry II, Critical Thinking.
    • Scientific Inquiry II
    • Quantitative Reasoning II
    • Critical Thinking
  • CAS EE 491: Directed Study in Earth & Environment
    Students may pursue specific interests on an individual basis with supervision and guidance of a faculty member.
  • CAS EE 492: Directed Study in Earth & Environment
    Students may pursue specific interests on an individual basis with supervision and guidance of a faculty member.
  • CAS EE 501: Advanced Topics in Remote Sensing
    Examines advanced concepts in radiative transfer and information extraction relevant to remote sensing. Emphasis on applications of digital image processing to remote sensing problems.
  • CAS EE 503: Micrometeorology: Energy and Mass Transfer at the Earth's Surface
    Modern theories and techniques for measurement and analysis of physical processes occurring at the Earth's surface: radiation regimes; energy and mass exchange; agricultural and forest micrometeorology, remote sensing and modeling of land surface properties and processes.
  • CAS EE 504: Physical Climatology
    Physical factors and processes operating in the earth-atmosphere boundary zone. Solar radiation, expotranspiration, and water balance studies for various natural and cultural environments. Examples include bioclimates of vegetation, air-sea interaction, urban climate, physiologic climatic parameters, and climatic change.
  • CAS EE 505: Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
    Provides a theoretical and practical introduction to Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Introduces the essentials in GIS, methods of data capture and sources of data, nature and characteristics of spatial data and objects, data structures, modeling surfaces, volumes and time, and data uncertainty. Emphasis is on applications. Laboratory exercises included.
  • CAS EE 506: Global Resource Geopolitics
    Students explore in-depth the relationship between conflict, natural resources, development, and security, and practice developing solutions to complex problems. Analyzes the most contentious themes in the political economy of resources: violence, population, energy, and agro-food production. Also offered as CAS IR 512.
  • CAS EE 507: Dynamical Oceanography
    Introduction to the physical ocean system. Physical properties of seawater; essential ocean dynamics; mixing and stirring in the ocean; simple waves; observed current systems and water masses; and coupled atmosphere-ocean variability.
  • CAS EE 508: Data Science for Conservation Decisions
    Application of quantitative methods to support conservation decisions. Ecosystem value mapping, systematic conservation planning, policy instrument design, rigorous impact evaluation, decision theory, data visualization. Implementations in state-of-the-art open-source software. Real-life case studies from the U.S. and abroad. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub areas: Digital/Multimedia Expression, Quantitative Reasoning II, Research and Information Literacy.
    • Quantitative Reasoning II
    • Digital/Multimedia Expression
    • Research and Information Literacy
  • CAS EE 509: Applied Environmental Statistics
    Survey of modern probability-based statistical methods in environmental science. Core concepts in likelihood and Bayesian approaches are used to address spatial, time-series, and latent variable models and non-Gaussian, non-linear, heterogeneous, and missing data. Project-based course focused on applications to data. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings, Writing-Intensive Course.
    • Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings
    • Writing-Intensive Course
  • CAS EE 510: Physical Principles of the Environment
    Principles and concepts underlying the physical and ecological forces that cause environmental change. Topics include soil erosion, acid rain, thermal pollution, greenhouse effect, stratospheric ozone depletion, and loss of biodiversity.
  • CAS EE 511: Introduction to the Atmospheric Boundary Layer
    Covers the basic dynamics of the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL), with a focus on the ABL processes and modeling. Introduces statistical descriptions of turbulent flows in the atmosphere and the connection between the ABL and other environment/climate system processes. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Quantitative Reasoning II, Scientific Inquiry II, Research and Information Literacy.
    • Scientific Inquiry II
    • Quantitative Reasoning II
    • Research and Information Literacy
  • CAS EE 512: Urban Climate
    Introduction to urban microclimate within the context of global climate change. Basic climate processes in urban systems; urban heat islands; mixing and dispersion; modeling and observational techniques; anthropogenic emissions; climate change impacts on cities; mitigation and adaptation. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Scientific Inquiry I, Research and Information Literacy.
    • Scientific Inquiry I
    • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
    • Research and Information Literacy
  • CAS EE 514: Dynamic Landsurface Hydrology
    Land surface hydrology with emphasis on the unsaturated zone. Development and applications of physics governing transport of water, vapor, and heat in soils and the near surface atmosphere. Effects of vegetation, topography, and water table on runoff, evapotranspiration, and recharge.

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