Contact Information
Instructor: Robert Buchwaldt, Office: room 287 EPSc Building, phone: 314-935-7033, email: buchwaldt@levee.wustl.eduTeaching Assistant: Nancy Forsberg-Taylor, Office: room 189 EPSc Building, phone: 314-935-7033, email: nft@levee.wustl.edu
Lecture Schedule
For the lecture PDF click on the image| Week of: | Topic | Reading | Lectures |
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| Aug. 27 | Overview and Fundamental concepts | Chapter 1 |  |
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| Sep. 03 | Earth System Cycles | Chapter 1 |  |
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| Sep. 10 | Weather Fury | Chapter 7 |  |
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| Sep. 17 | Hurricane | Chapter 8 |  |
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| Sep. 24 | Drowning of the Land (Exam 1) |  |
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| Oct. 01 | The moving Land | Chapter 2 |  |
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| Oct. 08 | Earthquakes and Volcanoes | Chapter2 & Chapter 3 |  |
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| Oct. 15 | The erupting Earth | Chapter 3 |  |
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| Oct. 22 | Volcano mitigation & Wildfire | Chapter 3 & Chapter 10 | |
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| Oct. 29 |  |
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| Nov. 05 | The Unstable Earth | Chapter 5& Chapter 6 |  |
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| Nov. 12 | The Human Population Crisis |  |
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| Nov. 19 | Exam 2 (Thanksgiving break) |  |
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| Nov. 26 | The Global Record of Change | Chapter 9 |  |
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| Dec. 03 | The Nature of Risk | ||
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Text
Edward A. Keller, Robert H. Blodgett (2005): Natural Hazards: Earth's Processes as Hazards, Disasters, and Catastrophes.- Prentice Hall, ISBN-10: 0130309575
Grading
Your final grade will be based on your performance on the three exams, homeworks/ pop up quizzes and in-class participation. The grade will be calculated using the following break-down: Mid-term Exam = 30%, Final Exam = 30%, Homework/ Popup quizzes = 35%, Class Participation = 5%. I will drop the lowest of the two mid-term exam grades, but not the final. This will give you the chance to recover from a poor performance and minimize the need for any make-up exams. If a curve is needed, it will be based on the final averages of the class and therefore not decided until the end of the term. I curve based on the average of the entire class, making the median score equal to a C+/B- and adjusting all grades accordingly. Please do not ask me what the curve was after each exam!