Introduction: GEOL 214 Course Description

Key Questions1. Who is teaching this course?

2. What is environmental geology?

3. Where is the web site for this course?

4. Prerequisites

5. Text book (optional)

6. Course topics

7. Assessment

8. Term Project

GEOL 214 - Environmental Geology

Dr. Robert Mitchell

http://kula.geol.wwu.edu/rjmitch/

I-5 overpass looking south Flooding in Chehalis

Kelso Landslide

http://kula.geol.wwu.edu/rjmitch/

What is environmental geology?

What is environmental geology?

1) Environmental geology concerns the impact of geologic hazards on humans and property

(earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, floods etc.)

What is environmental geology?

1) Environmental geology concerns the impact of geologic hazards on humans and property

(earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, floods etc.)

2) and, the effect of human society on the Earth

(resource consumption, pollution, waste storage, global warming)

GEOL 214 will examine

1) the “science” of geologic hazards

GEOL 214 will examine

1) the “science” of geologic hazards

2) ways to “mitigate” the “risks” associated with hazards

GEOL 214 requires either GEOL 101 or 211

Therefore, you may experience some overlap as I introduce a topic.

GEOL 214 is a GUR, so as I try to address the various levels there may be times when some of you are bored while others of you are overwhelmed.

http://kula.geol.wwu.edu/rjmitch/214cd.html

The Textbook is optional

Lecture 1: Population and Sustainability

Key Questions1. How is the population growth rate determined?

2. What is an exponential growth rate?

3. Is the population currently rising exponentially?

4. What countries have the highest population growth rate?

5. Where are population densities with respect to natural hazards?

6. What is sustainability?

7. Is our population and life style sustainable?

Population and Sustainability

POPULATIONS OUTRUNNING WATER SUPPLYAS WORLD HITS 6 BILLION

Lester R. Brown and Brian Halweil

As world population approaches 6 billion on October 12, water tables are falling on every continent, major rivers are drained dry before they reach the sea and millions of people lack enough water to satisfy basic needs.

Water tables are now falling in China, India, and the United States, which together produce half the world's food.

Hazard is falling “big” rocks

Risk is low (probability and loss)

Mitigation is a road sign

Hazard, Risk, and Mitigation

Review Plate Tectonics

Earthquakes

Tsunamis

Indonesia, December 26, 2004

DART

Coastal Hazards

Volcanoes

Hazards Mitigation

Lahars on Mt Rainier

Exam 1

Landslides, Subsidence, and Liquefaction

Landslide

Liquefaction

Subsidence

θ

.WFNFf

cohesion = c

Fp

Factor safety = W x cosθ xμ + c

W x sinθ

θ

Tons of earth and vegetation washed away from clear-cut hillsides into Stillman Creek, a tributary of the south fork of the Chehalis River.

Slope stability is controlled by Vegetation

Floods

Nooksack 100 year flood map

Chuckanut Creek January 7, 2009

What determines the magnitude and timing of runoff and streamflow in a watershed?

1. Basin size

2. Precipitation characteristics

3. Vegetation type and distributions

4. Soil type and thickness

5. Groundwater discharge

6. Topography

7. Artificial inputsQ = stream discharge

Groundwater

Groundwater Contamination

Hanford

Groundwater Contamination

Superfund Sites in Washington

Exam 2

Waste Storage

Yucca Mountain: 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas

1. Canisters of waste, sealed in special casks, are shipped to the site by truck or train.

2. The waste is placed in a steel, multilayered storage container.

3. An automated system sends storage containers underground to the tunnels.

4. Containers are stored along the tunnels, on their side.

http://www.nrc.gov/waste/hlw-disposal/design.html

Assessment

Three one-hour exams (2 midterms and a comprehensive final)

Term Project (10% of the grade)

http://kula.geol.wwu.edu/rjmitch/214cd.html