Description:

Earth Science is an all-embracing term for the science related to the study of our planet and brings together aspects of chemistry, physics, mathematics and biology to understand the processes that shape it. Earth and Marine Sciences are central to many pressing issues of our time such as the supply of resources including energy and water, climate change and natural hazards.

The minor in Earth and Marine Sciences provides an overview on the multidisciplinary approach to understand the complex Earth systems. The evolution through time of rocks, the oceans and the atmosphere and how this made life on Earth possible are discussed.

The minor addresses the fundamental mechanisms driving global plate tectonics and how this is manifested in earthquakes, mountain belts and volcanos. An increasingly important aspect of Earth Science is the understanding of past and present climate systems through integrated studies of the interactions between the lithosphere, oceans, atmosphere and biosphere.

Studying the Earth involves “getting out” and test hypotheses and many opportunities arise in the minor for field studies. A minor in Earth and Marine Sciences can complement a major in any Science discipline and will broaden the skills and knowledge in dealing with complex systems.

Learning Goals:

On completing the minor in Earth and Marine Science students will be able to:

1. Draw on diverse learning environments, from the field to the laboratory to the classroom by individual and group learning, combining field observation with theory.
2. Interpret data from a wide range of Earth Science disciplines and relate them to current issues such as the supply of resources, climate change and natural hazards.
3. Apply an understanding of time (evolution of continents, oceans and life over billions of years) and space (nano to planetary scales) to a variety of contexts.
4. Analyse complex Earth systems by combining evidence from different science disciplines.