Defining Changes in Global Elemental Cycles
From major elements such as carbon and nitrogen to trace elements such as arsenic and uranium, faculty and students in the EESS department study the biological, chemical, and physical processes driving their cycling through land systems (including soils, lakes, streams, and groundwater), oceans, and atmosphere.
Related Courses
EESS 155. Science of Soils
Physical, chemical, and biological processes within soil systems. Emphasis is on factors governing nutrient availability, plant growth and production, land-resource management, and pollution within soils. How to classify soils and assess nutrient cycling and contaminant fate. Recommended: introductory chemistry and biology. GER: DB-NatSci 4 units, Spr (Fendorf, S)
EESS 259. Environmental Microbial Genomics
The application of molecular and environmental genomic approaches to the study of biogeochemically-important microorganisms in the environment without the need for cultivation. Emphasis is on genomic analysis of microorganisms by direct extraction and cloning of DNA from natural microbial assemblages. Topics include microbial energy generation and nutrient cycling, genome structure, gene function, physiology, phylogenetic and functional diversity, evolution, and population dynamics of uncultured communities. 1-3 units, Win (Francis, C)