ESE 1
Introduction to Environmental Science and Engineering
9 units (3-0-6)
|
third term
Prerequisites: Ph 1 ab, Ch 1 ab, and Ma 1 ab.
An introduction to the array of major scientific and engineering issues related to environmental quality on a local, regional, and global scale. Fundamental aspects of major environmental problems will be addressed with an overall focus on the dynamic interplay among the atmosphere, biosphere, geosphere, and hydrosphere. Underlying scientific principles based on biology, chemistry, and physics will be presented. Engineering solutions to major environmental problems will be explored. Not offered on a pass/fail basis. Satisfies the menu requirement of the Caltech core curriculum.
Instructor:
Leadbetter
ESE 90
Undergraduate Laboratory Research in Environmental Science and Engineering
Units by arrangement; any term
|
Approval of research supervisor required prior to registration
Independent research on current environmental problems; laboratory or field work is required. A written report is required for each term of registration. Graded pass/fail.
Instructor:
Staff
ESE 100
Special Topics in Environmental Science and Engineering
6 or more units as arranged
Prerequisites: instructor's permission.
Special courses of reading, problems, or research for first-year graduate students or qualified undergraduates. Graded pass/fail.
Instructor:
Staff
ESE 101
Current Problems in Environmental Science and Engineering
3 units
|
first term
A discussion course that focuses on current research by ESE faculty, and open research questions in the field. Required for first-year ESE graduate students.
Instructor:
Wennberg
ACM/ESE 118
Methods in Applied Statistics and Data Analysis
9 units (3-0-6)
|
first term
Prerequisites: Ma 2 or another introductory course in probability and statistics.
Introduction to fundamental ideas and techniques of statistical modeling, with an emphasis on conceptual understanding and on the analysis of real data sets. Simple and multiple regression: estimation, inference, model checking. Analysis of variance, comparison of models, model selection. Principal component analysis. Linear discriminant analysis. Generalized linear models and logistic regression. Resampling methods and the bootstrap.
Instructor:
Tropp
ESE 142
Aquatic Chemistry
9 units (3-0-6)
|
first term
Prerequisites: Ch 1 or instructor's permission.
Principles of inorganic and physical chemistry applied to natural and engineered aquatic systems. Biogeochemical processes controlling the major ion composition of aquatic systems and the behavior of the trace inorganic constituents of such systems are examined. Fundamental aspects of thermodynamics and quantitative description of the composition of natural waters are stressed.
Instructor:
Adkins
Ge/ESE 143
Organic Geochemistry
9 units (3-2-4)
|
first term
Prerequisites: Ch 41 a or equivalent.
Main topics include the analysis, properties, sources, and cycling of natural organic materials in the environment, from their production in living organisms to burial and decomposition in sediments and preservation in the rock record. Specific topics include analytical methods for organic geochemistry, lipid structure and biochemistry, composition of organic matter, factors controlling organic preservation, organic climate and CO2 proxies, diagenesis and catagenesis, and biomarkers for ancient life. A laboratory component (three evening labs) teaches the extraction and analysis of modern and ancient organic biomarkers by GC/MS. Class includes a mandatory one-day (weekend) field trip to observe the Monterey Fm. Given in alternate years; not offered 2009-10.
Instructor:
Sessions
ESE 144
Applications of Aquatic Chemistry
9 units (3-0-6)
|
second term
Prerequisites: ESE 142.
Case studies are used to illustrate the effects of biogeochemical processes on the composition of ground and surface waters. Systems to be examined include natural waters subject to varying levels of perturbations as a result of human activities, and engineered systems, such as constructed wetlands or water treatment systems. Quantitative equilibrium and kinetic modeling are emphasized. Not offered 2009-10.
Ge/ESE 145
Isotopic Biogeochemistry Seminar
6 units (3-0-3)
|
first term
Prerequisites: Ge 140 or instructor's permission.
Advanced seminar to discuss research and papers in stable isotope biogeochemistry and geobiology. Topics will vary from year to year, and may be taken multiple times for credit. Given in alternate years; offered 2009-10.
Instructor:
Sessions
ESE/Ge 148 abc
Global Environmental Science
9 units each term
Prerequisites: Ch 1, Ma 2, Ph 2, or equivalents.
Global change on time-scales of years to centuries.
Ge/ESE 149
Marine Geochemistry
9 units (3-0-6)
|
third term
Introduction to chemical oceanography and sediment geochemistry. We will address the question "Why is the ocean salty?" by examining the processes that determine the major, minor, and trace element distributions of seawater and ocean sediments. Topics include river and estuarine chemistry, air/sea exchange, nutrient uptake by the biota, radioactive tracers, redox processes in the water column and sediments, carbonate chemistry, and ventilation. Given in alternate years; not offered 2009-10.
Instructor:
Adkins
ESE 150 abc
Seminar in Environmental Science and Engineering
1 unit
|
first, second, third terms
Seminar on current developments and research within the field of environmental engineering science, with special consideration given to work at the Institute. Graded pass/fail.
Instructor:
Wennberg
ESE/Ge 152
Atmospheric Radiation
9 units (3-0-6)
|
third term
Prerequisites: ESE/Ge 148 a or instructor's permission.
The basic physics of absorption and scattering by molecules, aerosols, and clouds. Theory of radiative transfer. Band models and correlated-k distributions and scattering by cloud and aerosol particles. Solar insolation, thermal emission, heating rates, and applications to climate and remote sensing.
Instructor:
Yung
ESE/Ge 153
Atmosphere and Ocean Dynamics
9 units (3-0-6)
|
second term
Prerequisites: ESE 148 b or an introductory fluid dynamics course.
Fluid dynamics of the atmosphere and oceans, beginning with linear wave dynamics and leading to theories of the maintenance of large-scale circulations. Topics include barotropic Rossby waves, flow-over topography; shallow-water dynamics and potential vorticity; quasi-geostrophic theory; barotropic and baroclinic instability; wave-mean flow interaction; maintenance of the global-scale circulation of the atmosphere; structure of wind-driven ocean circulation.
Instructor:
Schneider
Ge/ESE 154
Readings in Paleoclimate
3 units (1-0-2)
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second term
Prerequisites: instructor's permission.
Lectures and readings in areas of current interest in paleoceanography and paleoclimate.
Ge/ESE 155
Paleoceanography
9 units (3-0-6)
|
third term
Evaluation of the data and models that make up our current understanding of past climates. Emphasis will be placed on a historical introduction to the study of the past ten thousand to a few hundred thousand years, with some consideration of longer timescales. Evidence from marine and terrestrial sediments, ice cores, corals, and speleothems will be used to address the mechanisms behind natural climate variability. Models of this variability will be evaluated in light of the data. Topics will include sea level and ice volume, surface temperature evolution, atmospheric composition, deep ocean circulation, tropical climate, ENSO variability, and terrestrial/ocean linkages. Given in alternate years; offered 2009-10.
Instructor:
Adkins
ChE/ESE 158
Aerosol Physics and Chemistry
9 units (3-0-6)
|
second term
Prerequisites: Open to graduate students and seniors with instructor's permission.
Fundamentals of aerosol physics and chemistry; aerodynamics and diffusion of aerosol particles; condensation and evaporation; thermodynamics of particulate systems; nucleation; coagulation; particle size distributions; optics of small particles.
Instructor:
Seinfeld
ESE 159
Environmental Analysis Laboratory
9 units (1-6-2)
|
third term
Prerequisites: any 100-level ESE course or instructor's permission.
Introduction to modern laboratory techniques and basic sampling principles in environmental water, air, and biological analysis. Modular experiments will address sampling, measurement, and data analysis based around a region of local environmental interest. Regions may include the Arroyo Seco watershed, San Gabriel Mountains, or Caltech campus. Principles of basic experimental design, laboratory technique, elementary statistics, and scientific writing will be emphasized. Not offered 2009-10.
Instructors:
Leadbetter, Flagan
ESE/Bi 166
Microbial Physiology
9 units (3-1-5); first term
|
Recommended prerequisite: one year of general biology
A course on growth and functions in the prokaryotic cell. Topics covered: growth, transport of small molecules, protein excretion, membrane bioenergetics, energy metabolism, motility, chemotaxis, global regulators, and metabolic integration.
Instructor:
Leadbetter
ESE/Bi 168
Microbial Metabolic Diversity
9 units (3-0-6)
|
second term
Prerequisites: ESE 142, ESE/Bi 166.
A course on the metabolic diversity of microorganisms. Basic thermodynamic principles governing energy conservation will be discussed, with emphasis placed on photosynthesis and respiration. Students will be exposed to genetic, genomic, and biochemical techniques that can be used to elucidate the mechanisms of cellular electron transfer underlying these metabolisms. Not offered 2009-10.
Ge/ESE 170
Microbial Ecology
9 units (3-2-4)
|
third term
Prerequisites: ESE/Bi 166.
Structural, phylogenetic, and metabolic diversity of microorganisms in nature. The course explores microbial interactions, relationships between diversity and physiology in modern and ancient environments, and influence of microbial community structure on biogeochemical cycles. Introduction to ecological principles and molecular approaches used in microbial ecology and geobiological investigations.
Instructor:
Orphan
ESE/Ge/Ch 171
Atmospheric Chemistry I
9 units (3-0-6)
|
third term
Prerequisites: Ch 1 or equivalent.
A detailed course about chemical transformation in Earth's atmosphere. Kinetics, spectroscopy, and thermodynamics of gas- and aerosol-phase chemistry of the stratosphere and troposphere; sources, sinks, and lifetimes of trace atmospheric species; stratospheric ozone chemistry; oxidation mechanisms in the troposphere.
Instructors:
Seinfeld, Wennberg
ESE/Ge/Ch 172
Atmospheric Chemistry II
3 units (3-0-0)
|
first term
Prerequisites: ESE/Ge/Ch 171 or equivalent.
A lecture and discussion course about active research in atmospheric chemistry. Potential topics include halogen chemistry of the stratosphere and troposphere; aerosol formation in remote environments; coupling of dynamics and photochemistry; development and use of modern remote-sensing and in situ instrumentation. Graded pass/fail.
Instructors:
Seinfeld, Wennberg
ESE/Ge 173
Topics in Atmosphere and Ocean Dynamics
9 units (3-0-6)
|
first term
Prerequisites: ESE/Ge 153 or equivalent.
A lecture and discussion course on current research in atmosphere and ocean dynamics. Topics covered vary from year to year and may include geostrophic turbulence, atmospheric convection and cloud dynamics, wave dynamics and large-scale circulations in the tropics, middle-atmosphere dynamics, dynamics of El Niño and the southern oscillation, maintenance of the ocean thermocline, and dynamics of the southern ocean.
Instructor:
Schneider
ESE/Ch/Ge 175 ab
Environmental Organic Chemistry
9 units (3-0-6)
|
second, third terms
A detailed analysis of the important chemical reactions and physicochemical processes governing the behavior and fate of organic compounds in the surface and subsurface aquatic environments. The course is focused on physical organic chemistry relevant to natural waters. Fundamental aspects of thermodynamics, kinetics, mechanisms, and transport are stressed.
Instructor:
Hoffmann
ESE 200
Advanced Topics in Environmental Science and Engineering
Units by arrangement, any term
Course to explore new approaches to environmental problems. The topics covered vary from year to year, depending on the interests of the students and staff.
ESE 250
Advanced Environmental Seminar
Units by arrangement, not to exceed 4 units (2-0-2)
|
first, second, third terms
Prerequisites: instructor's permission.
A seminar course for advanced graduate students and staff to discuss current research and technical literature on environmental problems. As the subject matter changes from term to term, it may be taken any number of times. Not offered 2009-10.
Published Date:
July 28, 2022