Effective: Fall 2002

Course Number: * GEOGRPY352

Cross Listed Number: GEOLGY352

Course Title: Geohazards

15 Character Abbreviation: Geohazards
25 Character Abbreviation:  Geohazards
 

Sponsor: Dr. David Travis		E-mail Address: travisd@mail.uww.edu
Department: Geography and Geology		College: Letters and Sciences
Co-sponsor: Dr. Rex Hanger		E-mail Address: hangerr@mail.uww.edu
Department: Geography and Geology		College: Letters and Sciences

Other Programs Affected:
 
Check if course is to meet any of the following requirements:
  X   None __ Writing __ Computer __ Diversity __ General Ed: Area

Credit/Contact Hours: (per semester)
 

Total lab hours:	0	Total lecture hours:	48
Number of credits:	3	Total contact hours:	48

Check if course is repeatable: ____ No ___ Yes If "Yes", answer the following questions:
 

No of times in major	________	No of credits in major	________
No of times in degree	________	No of credits in degree	________

Enter the appropriate titles if the course is required in any of the following:

Major Title(s):                                                                                                 
Minor Title(s):                                                                                                  
Emphasis Title(s):                                                                                             

1. Course justification:

This course is necessary to fulfill a critical area within the new environmental studies minor (and potential major) as well as to provide an alternative course selection within the geography major and geology minor. Student interest in this topic is quite high as demonstrated by the large enrollments during the previous two times it has been taught as a special studies summer course (20-25 students each time). Initially the course will be taught solely by a geographer, Dr. David Travis, with the intent of it eventually becoming team-taught with a geologist, pending future hiring decisions.
 
2. Relationship to program assessment objectives:

This course will be an optional course for all Geography majors and Geography or Geology minors, but particularly ideal for those students in the Physical Environmental Track of the Geography major and students minoring in Environmental Studies. Students will have more flexibility by providing them with more course options. Students will be advised to take the course if their goals are to work in the field of Environmental Hazards as well as those interested in pursuing graduate school.

Relationship to Departmental Goals:
"Due to the broad and integrative nature of the discipline the Department of Geography and Geology offers courses, which satisfy both natural, and social science requirements. Many upper level courses serve as electives for majors in international studies, sociology, biology, history, and economics" (Goal 1). The proposed course will serve students within the department as well as majors and minors in other physical and social sciences. "Develop critical thinking and analytical skills, be able to integrate and synthesize knowledge, and draw conclusions from complex information" (Goal 2). Since the course will focus on discussion of geographic concepts, use essay exams, and require a critical paper, it will allow students to develop their ability to communicate effectively both in oral and in written format. Goal 3 requires students "to develop a basic understanding of at least one systematic or topical area of geography". The proposed course will meet the requirement by emphasizing the physical processes by which environmental hazards occur. In addition, emphasis will be placed upon how past human decision-making has placed certain populations in a more vulnerable position to the influences of environmental hazards. This also fulfills Goal 4 of the department objectives, which is to "Develop a basic understanding of the human-environmental conditions of at least one major world region."

3. Budgetary impact:

Due to recent faculty hirings in the department the budgetary impact of this new course should be minimal. The primary instructor of this courses, Dr. David Travis, previously taught human-environmental problems on a semi-regular basis. Dr. Travis will teach this course instead and his previously taught sections of human-environmental problems covered by new faculty.
 
4. Course description:

The proposed course will focus on the physical processes that create environmental hazards (e.g. earthquakes, volcanoes, severe weather), the primary controls on their frequency and intensity, and how human decision-making can influence the magnitude of impact that they have when they inevitably occur. Comparisons are made between impacts of hazards on developing versus developed countries.
 
5. Course requisites: The pre-requisite for this course is Physical Geography (GEOGRPY210) or Principles/Elements of Geology (GEOLGY100/101), or an approved equivalent lab course from another discipline.

6. Course objectives and tentative course syllabus

Objectives: Upon completion of this course the successful student will have a thorough knowledge of the physical processes behind the occurrence of most natural hazards as well as a measure of the variations in their frequency and intensity. In addition, the student will be knowledgeable about human activities that either make them more vulnerable to, or better able to mitigate, the effects of environmental hazards.

Textbook: Natural Disasters (Abbott)
 
 

Section 1- Tectonic, Ocean, and Geomorphological Hazards	Readings
Introduction to Environmental Hazards	Chapters 1-8
The Earth’s Interior
Earthquakes
Tsunamis
Volcanoes
Exam 1
Section 2- Climate Hazards and Severe Weather
Natural and Anthropogenically-Induced Climate Change	Chapters 9-12
The Atmosphere
Severe Thunderstorms and Tornadoes
Hurricanes
Floods
Exam 2
Section 3- Anthropogenic, Biological, and Space Hazards
Population Growth	Chapters 13-16
Fire
Mass Extinctions
Asteroids and Comets
Final Exam

Grading Procedure
 

3Exams @ 25% each	=75%
Term Paper or 4 Exercises (@ 5% each	= 20%
Class Participation	= 5%*
	100%

* Class participation is a subjective measure of the combination of the following: (1) Regular student attendance, (2) Active student participation in class discussions and group projects, and (3) Punctuality in turning in exercises and/or term paper on or before assigned due dates.

Bibliography: Examples of Reference Material Available in the UW-Whitewater Library
Earthquake shaking: finding the "hotspots." Reston, Va.: U.S. Dept. of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, 2001.

SCIGN: new southern California GPS network advances the study of earthquakes. Reston, Va.: U.S. Dept. of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, 2001.

What are volcano hazards? Reston, Va.? : U.S. Dept. of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, 1998.

Debris-flow hazards in the San Francisco Bay region, Reston, Va. : U.S. Dept. of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, 1997.

Landslides and landslide hazards in Washington State due to February 5-9, 1996 storm / by Edwin L. Harp et al. Reston, Va.: U.S. Dept. of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, 1997.

Volcanic air pollution: a hazard in Hawaii, Jeff Sutton, et al. , Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, HI : U.S. Geological Survey, 1997.

El Niño storms erode beaches on Monterey Bay, California, Reston, Va., U.S. Dept. of the Interior, U.S. Geologic Survey, 2000.

Inland flood hazards: human, riparian, and aquatic communities, edited by Ellen E. Wohl, Cambridge; New York, NY, Cambridge University Press, 2000.

Environmental hazards & human health, Richard B. Philip, Boca Raton: Lewis Publishers, c1995.

Environmental hazards and mud volcanoes in Romania. Boulder, Colo. (325 Broadway, Boulder 80303): U.S. Dept. of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Geophysical Data Center, 1993.

Mudflow hazards along the Toutle and Cowlitz Rivers from a hypothetical failure of Spirit Lake blockage, Charles H. Swift III and David L. Kresch; prepared in cooperation with the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Tacoma, Wash.: U.S. Dept. of the Interior, Geological Survey, 1983.

Coastal flood hazards and the national flood insurance program, H. Crane Miller [Washington]: Office of Federal Insurance Administration, U. S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development, 1977.

Geologic hazards, Golden, Colo.: U.S. Geological Survey, Central Region, 1996.

Earthquake and atmospheric hazards: preparedness studies, edited by M.I. El-Sabh et al., Dordrecht; Boston: Kluwer, 1998.

Environmental hazards: air pollution: a reference handbook, E. Willard Miller, Ruby M. Miller, Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-Clio, 1989.