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Courses

The listing of a course description here does not guarantee a course’s being offered in a particular term. Please refer to the published schedule of classes on the MyBU Student Portal for confirmation a class is actually being taught and for specific course meeting dates and times.

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  • CAS EE 446: Remote Sensing of the Lower Atmosphere
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: CASEE 302 and CASEE 310 or consent of instructor - 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. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: Quantitative Reasoning II.
    • Quantitative Reasoning II
  • CAS EE 460: Resource Economics and Policy
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: CAS MA 121 or MA 123 or MA 124, or equivalent; EC 101 or equivalent; or consent of instructor. - 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
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: (CASEE100 OR CASEE101) and one of the following: CAS BI 306, CAS BI 443 or GRS BI 643, CAS EE 456 or GRS EE 656, or CAS BI 530 or CAS EE 530; or consent of instructor. - 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. 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
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: CASPY211 & (CASMA123 OR CASMA127 OR CASMA129) or consent of instructor . - 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.
    • Critical Thinking
    • Quantitative Reasoning II
    • Scientific Inquiry II
  • CAS EE 501: Advanced Topics in Remote Sensing
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: CASEE 302 - 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
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: CASEE 310, CASMA 121, and CASPY 211. - 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
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: CASMA 122 or MA124, and CASPY 211; or consent of the instructor. - 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)
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: CASEE 365 and CASMA 213. - 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 507: Dynamical Oceanography
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: MA 124 or MA 127; and PY 211 - 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
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: CAS EE 270 or other intro to statistics; EE 375 or other intro to prog ramming. Recommended: EE 365, EE 505, or other intro to geospatial dat a. - 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.
    • Digital/Multimedia Expression
    • Quantitative Reasoning II
    • Research and Information Literacy
  • CAS EE 509: Applied Environmental Statistics
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: Introductory statistics (CAS MA 115/116 or MA 213/124 or equivalent), Calculus I (CAS MA 121 or CAS MA 123 or equivalent), and First-Year Writing Seminar (e.g., WR 100 or WR 120. - 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
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: GE/EE 310; 2 semesters of calculus (MA 123 and 124, or 127, or 129), 1 semester of statistics (MA 213, or GE/EE 270, or equivalent), 1 semester of physics (PY 211 or 251); or consent of instructor. - 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
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: CASEE 310, 2 semesters of calculus (CASMA 123 & 124, or 127, or 129), 1 semester of statistics (CASMA 213 or CASEE 270, or equivalent), 1 semester of physics (CASPY 211 or 251); or instructor consent. - 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.
    • Quantitative Reasoning II
    • Research and Information Literacy
    • Scientific Inquiry II
  • CAS EE 512: Urban Climate
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: one semester of physics (PY 211, 212 or 251) is required, one semester of calculus (MA 123 or 124, or 127, or 129) is recommended, prior coding experience is strongly encouraged, or consent of instructor - 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.
    • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
    • Research and Information Literacy
    • Scientific Inquiry I
  • CAS EE 514: Dynamic Landsurface Hydrology
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: MA 121 or MA 123 or MA 127 and one of: CH 101, CH 111, CH 131, CH 171, or PY 105, PY 211, PY 251. - 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.
  • CAS EE 516: Multivariate Analysis for Geographers
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: CASEE 270 or CASMA 214 or equivalent, and CASEE 375, or consent of instructor. - Applications of multivariate techniques to problems in spatial context, emphasizing interpretation. Review of regression and analysis of variance. Introduction to topics including canonical correlation, factor analysis, discriminant and clustering analyses
  • CAS EE 518: Environmental Risk Governance and Society
    Drawing on insights from across the social and environmental sciences, this course explores the relationships between risk, governance and society in a variety of international contexts (USA, Europe, and China especially) and policy domains.
  • CAS EE 519: Energy, Society, and the Environment
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: CASEE 309 or equivalent. - Examination of the role of energy in meeting human needs and environmental change. Topics include the history of energy, climate change, energy and climate justice, energy and the economy, and sustainable development.
  • CAS EE 521: Law for Sustainability
    Survey of the major features of environmental law and relevant procedural and constitutional issues. Comparison of practical realities (political, economic, social, geographic, biological) with the ideal context for what should be. Projects include legal research and mock advocacy.
  • CAS EE 522: The Development of Sustainable Environmental Responsibility
    In-depth look at environmental policy and decision-making: how society addresses environmental problems. Includes discussion of the environmental movement, law, science, technology, economics, and international relations. Examines new issues facing environmental professionals and approaches to creating a sustainable world. Effective Spring 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: The Individual in Community, Historical Consciousness, Creativity/Innovation.
    • Creativity/Innovation
    • Historical Consciousness
    • The Individual in Community

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