Geological Sciences: Marine Geology emphasis

Type of degree: B.S.

Brief overview of program: The department offers a major in geological sciences with a Bachelor of Science degree in applied arts and sciences. Students entering this program will choose one of the following emphases, depending on their specific interests: general geology, engineering geology, geochemistry, geophysics, hydrogeology, marine geology or paleontology. Each emphasis shares many course requirements in common, but has unique individual requirements appropriate to the particular discipline. Requirements for all emphases are listed in the General Catalog. A beginning student uncertain of future interests might best choose the general geology option. Seven options are offered within the framework of the Bachelor of Science degree. These options are not degrees themselves, but are advising schedules that allow the students to select the courses best suited to a particular subdiscipline. There is a planned overlap in all options so that the basic courses for a classical education in geology are taken by all students regardless of the option selected. The options in general geology and hydrology are the most popular. Most of our entering majors do not have firm career goals and use the general geology option to guide them in planning their undergraduate career. It allows them considerable latitude in selecting courses and learning about all of the subdisciplines within the geological sciences.

Website: Click here for program website

Description of Facilities: Facilities include laboratories, open to students, with major facilities in X-ray diffraction and fluorescence, paleomagnetism, geochronology, isotope geology, geophysics (including gravity, magnetics, magnetotellurics, and seismology), geochemistry, soils, hydrology, computing, and microscopy, as well as equipment for fieldwork. The Edwin C. Allison Center for Historical Science under the Department of Geology maintains a collection of fossils and vertebrates, invertebrates, and plants. The construction of an Immersive Visualization Center has been completed and is housed within the Chemical Sciences Laboratory. The facility allows display and analysis of large data sets on a 3.2 megapixel curved display screen from Panoram Technologies (18 feet across). Powered by an SGI computer, this visualization center is unique in being optically connected via fiber optic services provided by Cox Communications, with another Panoram visualization center at Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO), through networking facilities at the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC). Optical transport equipment by TeraBurst Networks connects the two visualization centers at about 16 times the general peak use of the entire Internet by SDSU at any one time, which allows the transmission of 3-D stereoscopic images between facilities. Applications in crisis management, oil exploration and development, remote sensing-GIS, manufacturing, life sciences, security, performing arts and sports are being run on the system.

Program Faculty: Earthquake research at SDSU is closely aligned with the work of the Southern California Earthquake Center (SCEC), of which SDSU is a Core Institution. Dr. Steven Day has served as leader of SCEC Working Groups in Strong Ground Motion (1993-1998) and Earthquake Physics (1998-2002), and Dr. Tom Rockwell has been Working Group Leader of Earthquake Geology and member of the SCEC Board of Directors since 1998. A major research theme of Day’s and Dr. Kim Olsen, a new member of our faculty, is the development, validation, and application of computer simulations of the earthquake process. The major research thrust of Rockwell’s is the development of long and precise earthquake histories for individual faults, as well as fault systems. SDSU has taken the leading role with SCEC in organizing field efforts for Southern California faults and establishing these long records. International collaborations have also been initiated in tectonically similar regions to increase the observational base of long-term earthquake recurrence, especially in areas of long historical records where individual earthquakes can be dated precisely. Current collaborations include funded studies in Mexico, Turkey, Israel, Jordan, and India, as well as the United States. The Geology Department recently purchased a multi-collector inductively coupled plasma (ICP) mass spectrometer. Newly hired isotope specialist Aaron Pietruszka, along with our new Multicollector ICP-MS greatly expands the current geological applications of the Chemical Sciences Laboratory, including U-series disequilibrium, stable isotope studies, Pb, Os, Hf, Nd radiogenic isotopes and others. Additionally, Dr. Barry Hanan has negotiated an agreement with Nu Instruments, the supplier of the ICP-MS, to provide, within two years, one of only two NU 1700 MC-ICP-MS in the world, making this isotope facility one of the best in the world.

Email: department.office@geology.sdsu.edu