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Geosciences About the Department Few disciplines have undergone more radical and fundamental changes in the last 40 years than the study of Earth. Two revolutionary advances in thought have shaped the geosciences: global plate tectonics (a comprehensive theory that explains how the features of planet Earth continuously change due to inexorable motion and interaction among fragments of the outermost shell of the planet) and the concept of Earth System Science (which holds that the planet is a unified entity with a complicated, interdependent series of interacting shells — the atmosphere, biosphere, lithosphere and hydrosphere.) Technological advances allow us to examine environments as different as deep ocean basins, the Earth's interior, the surface and dynamics of our moon, asteroids, and other planets and their moons. Geoscientists are concerned with problems of mineral, energy and water resources; environmental pollution; such geological hazards as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions as well as Earth's history and early life. Earlham's Geosciences Program is conducted in the classroom, the laboratory and the field. Geosciences courses provide basic knowledge of Earth materials and dynamics. Since geoscientists need to understand natural sciences other than Geology, Geosciences majors typically take related courses in Chemistry, Mathematics, Biology and/or Physics. Majors are encouraged to dig deeply into at least one other natural science and to incorporate that science into their major program. Geosciences also opens doors to a variety of careers for students seriously interested in environmental science, wilderness and the outdoors. Laboratory investigation, a key part of productive scientific activity, is emphasized in most Geosciences courses. All equipment in the Geosciences Department is available to students, including petrographic and binocular microscopes, rock preparation and thin-section equipment, a new Rigaku MiniFlex X-Ray Diffractometer with Jade 6.1 peak search / match software, an AMRAY 1810D scanning electron microscope with a Princeton Gamma Tech Sahara Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectrometer. The Department has an operating Geochemistry Laboratory for chemical sample preparation and analyses, and maintains portable seismic, gravity and rock resistivity field equipment. In addition, the Department possesses a Trimble GeoExplorer III Global Positioning System (GPS) transceiver with post-processing differential correction and ESRI ArcGIS 8.2 Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping software. Enjoying opportunities to study outdoors, Geosciences students at Earlham regularly visit nearby sites, and in many courses students take weekend trips to other regions. Earlham Geosciences professors have led May Term programs to New England, Canada, Bermuda and Scotland. Geoscience or geology has been taught continuously at Earlham since its founding, and the Geosciences Department and Joseph Moore Museum maintain excellent reference collections of rocks, minerals and fossils. Wildman Science Library's holdings of books, periodicals and maps are outstanding, and Earlham provides students broad access to electronic resources. Most Earlham Geosciences majors successfully complete graduate degrees in geology or in some closely related field such as engineering, hydrogeology, geochemistry or paleontology. Some graduates enter professional schools in such areas as environmental law or regional planning or pursue careers in outdoor education through further training or internships. Recent graduates have entered programs at Arizona State, Ohio State, Oregon State, Pennsylvania State and Texas A & M universities. Others have attended the universities of Arizona, California, Maryland and Utah. Earlham Geosciences graduates have settled into exciting careers with environmental assessment companies, government agencies, museums or private or public schools. |
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Earlham College · 801 National Road West · Richmond,
Indiana 47374-4095 |