General

Example Question 1: Can we maintain our present level of energy consumption?

Example Question 2: What short/long term solutions for energy production are viable?

Geol G334 Principles of Sedimentology and Stratigraphy
Geog G434 Air Pollution
Meteorology Phys/SPEA P211/E200 Global Energy Problems
Phys P3XX Scientific Measurement and Instrumentation
Phys P301 Quantum Mechanics
Phys P310 Environmental Physics
Phys P453 Nuclear Physics
SPEA EXXX Atmospheric Chemistry

Example Question 3: What changes are taking place in the global environment?

Biol L318 Evolution
Geog G305 Environmental Change (1^st)
Geog G475 Climate Change (2^nd)
Geol G302 Development of the Global Environment
Geol G5XX Global Geochemical Records
SPEA E455 Limnology
SPEA E451/400 Atmospheric Chemistry

NOTE: In most instances, it would be advisable to include at least one tool course from the list below

James Boswell "Analysis of a two-dimensional finite difference groundwater model and its applications to Bass Lake Indiana." (Advisor Greg Olyphant, Geological Sciences)

Figure 1. This figure shows the actual and modeled lake levels. Both time series are plotted on the same scale, and the difference in magnitude of the lake-level drop during the drought years is easily seen. Note the small range in annual fluctuation. The bar graph at the bottom of the page shows evaporation (in.). Years with greater than 40 in. of evaporation are shown in red, while years with less than 40 in. of evaporation are shown in yellow.

ABSTRACT
Bass Lake has shown significant water level drops of up to three feet during the years of 1999 and 2000. Similar, but more extreme lake level drops occurred between 1963 and 1965. The hydrology of Bass Lake and the surrounding area was simulated using a two-dimensional finite-difference groundwater model, in an attempt to identify the causes of these drops. The results of the model show that the flow in the area surrounding Bass Lake is predominantly from the southeast to the northwest. Therefore, the dunes to the southeast could be considered a main recharge zone for this aquifer system. The model also accurately depicts times of drought and associated decreasing lake levels. The model simulated the drop between 1964 and 1966 as well as the recent lowering in 1999 and 2000. However, the model over-estimates the drops in the water table. Although this model did not show a high degree of accuracy when comparing the actual lake level elevations to the modeled lake-level elevations, it did show the correct regional groundwater flow pattern as well as the increasing/decreasing trends in lake level. The trends in the modeled values were similar to the trends in the actual values, showing that drought or dry years can lead to large drops in lake level and thus lake area. The fact that the model overestimated these drops based only on precipitation and evaporation data suggests that this system is sensitive to these hydrologic fluxes. Therefore, withdrawals of water from increased pumping would cause additional lake-level decreases. The surrounding wells generally protrude into the deeper aquifers. However, the deeper aquifer material is connected to the shallow aquifer material. Therefore, as this area becomes more populated, increased pumping of these deeper aquifers could lead to even higher drops in lake level.

Tools

Geographic Information Systems] Geog G438 Intro. To Geographic Information Systems
Geog G439 Advanced Geographic Information Systems
SPEA E418 Vector-Based Geographic Information Systems [Remote Sensing]
Geog G336 Environmental Remote Sensing
SPEA E419 Applied Remote Sensing of the Environment [Data Manipulation, Storage, and Display]
Geog G 488 Applied Spatial Statistics
Geog G 489 Atmospheric Data Analysis

In addition to the questions given above, all of the questions given in the other concentration pages might be pursued in such a way that the student would investigate the problem in its entirety, rather than focusing in on a specific topic. In these cases, the general concentration would be most appropriate.