Earth and Environment

Stream Leader

Professor Pieter Vermeesch: p.vermeesch@ucl.ac.uk

Aims

Students following the Earth and Environment stream will focus on the surface and the environment including past life and climate. We observe processes operating at the surface today preserved in the geological record and view the evolution of the life through fossil right up to the present day.

Objectives

Students who complete this stream will understand:

• How the Earth and life came to be
• What is Earth made of? How do we know?
• How has Earth’s environment changed?
• How did volcanoes make Earth’s atmosphere?
• How is that reflected in the rocks and sediments at the surface?
• How has life changed?
• How is that reflected in the fossil record?
• Geological data, computation, equipment and analysis

• A comprehensive view of Earth’ system and its chemical and life evolution

Year 1

All Earth and Environment stream students must take:

• The Earth (GEOL0007)
• History of Life (GEOL0003)

and choose 15 credits from:

• From Petrology to Petrogenesis (GEOL0002)
• Dynamic Earth (GEOL0004)
• Surface Processes (GEOL0006) (includes a field trip)

Year 2

All Earth and Environment stream students must take:

• Vertebrate Palaeontology and Evolution (GEOL0009)

and choose 30 - 45 credits from:

• Earth Materials (GEOL0001)
• Geochemistry (GEOL0008)
• Sedimentology and Stratigraphy (GEOL0010) (includes a field trip during the Easter break)
• Maps, Images and Structures (GEOL0015) (includes a field trip during the Easter break)
• Isotope Geology (GEOL0017)
• Introduction to Astrobiology (XBK0023, Birkbeck College - evening course)

Year 3

All Earth and Environment stream students majoring must take:

• Biodiversity and Macroevolutionary Patterns A (GEOL0021)
• Earth Resources and Sustainability (GEOL0025)

Students majoring take 30 - 45 credits and students minoring take 0 - 15 credits of the following:

• Crustal Dynamics, Mountain Building and Basin Evolution (GEOL0023) (field course)
• Geological and Environmental Mapping (GEOL0024)
• Groundwater Science (GEOL0027)
• Advanced Geochemistry (GEOL0031)
• Statistics for Geoscientists (GEOL0061)

Year 4

All Earth and Environment stream students must take:

• Independent MSci Project (GEOL0072) - Msci Research Project
• Earth Resources and Sustainability (GEOL0025)

Students majoring can take 30 - 60 credits and students minoring can take 0 - 30 credits of the following:

• Earth and Planetary Materials (GEOL0026)
• Sustainable Management of the Environment (GEOL0035)
• Palaeoceanography (GEOL0044)

The Earth and Environment stream combines with:

Genetics, Evolution and Environment

History, Philosophy and Social Studies of Science