Earth & Environment

View courses in

  • CAS EE 371: Introduction to Geochemistry
    Chemical features of Earth and the solar system; geochemical cycles, reactions among solids, liquids, and gases; radioactivity and isotope fractionation; water chemistry; origins of ore deposits; applications of geochemistry to regional and global problems. Effective Spring 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Scientific Inquiry I, Oral and/or Signed Communication, Research and Information Literacy.
    • Scientific Inquiry I
    • Oral and/or Signed Communication
    • Research and Information Literacy
  • CAS EE 375: Introduction to Quantitative Environmental Modeling
    Introduces students to quantitative models of environmental systems. Emphasizes application of quantitative models to environmental problem solving. Includes computer exercises with examples from current environmental issues such as population growth, pollution transport, and biodiversity. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub areas: Digital/Multimedia Expression, Quantitative Reasoning II.
    • Quantitative Reasoning II
    • Digital/Multimedia Expression
  • CAS EE 394: Environmental History of Africa
    Focus on the African environment and ecological systems over the past 150 years. Topics include climatic change, hydrography, agriculture, deforestation, soil erosion, disease, conservation, famine, and the role of colonialism and government policy in environmental change. Also offered as CAS HI 351. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Scientific Inquiry II, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Research and Information Literacy.
    • Scientific Inquiry II
    • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
    • Research and Information Literacy
  • CAS EE 395: Sustainability Science: Earth House Practicum 1
    This seminar-style course is designed for residents of BU's Earth House. The course is intended to enrich student residents' living/learning experience through exploring the theory and practice of sustainability, with 7 Buswell Street serving as the principle object of inquiry. Through guided discussions and student-led research, we will examine the three pillars of sustainability - social, environmental, economic - across four resource domains of food, water, energy, and materials, and consider how these multiple pillars and domains overlap and interact as a nexus. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: Scientific Inquiry II.
    • Scientific Inquiry II
  • CAS EE 396: Sustainability Science: Earth House Practicum 2
    This seminar-style course is designed for residents of BU's Earth House. The course is intended to enrich student residents' living/learning experience through exploring the theory and practice of sustainability, with 7 Buswell Street serving as the principle object of inquiry. Through guided discussions and student-led research, we will examine the three pillars of sustainability - social, environmental, economic - across four resource domains of food, water, energy, and materials, and consider how these multiple pillars and domains overlap and interact as a nexus. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: Ethical Reasoning.
    • Ethical Reasoning
  • CAS EE 400: Environment and Development: A Political Ecology Approach
    Theory and practice of development with an explicit focus on environmental issues. Introduces history of development and the environment; explores select themes in development and environmental studies (e.g. rural livelihoods, conservation, urbanization, and climate change); and considers alternative development paradigms.
  • CAS EE 422: Aquatic Optics & Remote Sensing
    An introduction to the use of optical measurements and remote sensing to study the biogeochemistry and water quality of aquatic environments. Covers fundamental concepts and measurements in optics/remote sensing and provides hands-on experience with real data. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Oral and/or Signed Communication, Quantitative Reasoning II, Research and Information Literacy.
    • Quantitative Reasoning II
    • Oral and/or Signed Communication
    • Research and Information Literacy
  • CAS EE 423: Marine Biogeochemistry
    Oceanic nutrient and biogeochemical cycling in the context of the marine response to global change. Links between local and global scales are emphasized. Topics include oceanic productivity, iron limitation, oceanic glacial carbon dioxide budget, biogenic particle fluxes, oceanic glacial- interglacial biogeochemistry. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings, Scientific Inquiry II, Research and Information Literacy.
    • Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings
    • Scientific Inquiry II
    • Research and Information Literacy
  • CAS EE 443: Terrestrial Biogeochemistry
    The patterns and processes controlling carbon and nutrient cycling in terrestrial ecosystems. Links between local and global scales are emphasized. Topics include net primary production, nutrient use efficiency, and biogeochemical transformation. Also offered as BI 443. Meets with GRS EE 643.
  • CAS EE 444: Digital Image Processing - Remote Sensing
    At least introductory statistics (and preferably multivariate statistics) recommended. This course pursues both the algorithms involved in processing remote sensing images and their application. Topics include preprocessing, image transformations, image classification and segmentation, spectral mixture analysis, and change detection. Examples cover a wide range of environmental applications of remote sensing. Students do a project. Meets with GRS EE 644.
  • CAS EE 445: Physical Models in Remote Sensing
    Devoted to understanding the physical processes involved in remote sensing. Emphasis based on topics of radiative transfer in the atmosphere, at the surface, and in sensors. Reflectance modeling, advanced sensor systems, and geometric effects. Meets with GRS EE 645.
  • 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 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: Resource Economics and Policy
    Economic and policy analysis of food, energy, and water, and the management of food, energy, water and land resources. Introduces resource economics and static and dynamic optimization as analytical frameworks for understanding the optimal management of scarcity, externalities, and impacts of environmental change on, and adaptation/vulnerability of resource use.
  • 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. Effective Spring 2022, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Scientific Inquiry II, Teamwork/Collaboration.
    • Historical Consciousness
    • Scientific Inquiry II
    • Teamwork/Collaboration
  • CAS EE 483: Environmental and Geophysical Fluid Dynamics
    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 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.

Back to full list of Courses