2021-2022 Pierce College Catalog 
    
    Mar 28, 2024  
2021-2022 Pierce College Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

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GEOL 112 Geohazards and Natural Disasters (5 credits)



Distribution Area Fulfilled Natural Sciences; General Transfer Elective
Course Description
A study of the causes, impacts, and mitigation of natural disasters. Topics may include earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanism, floods, landslides, subsidence and expansive soils, coastal hazards, tornadoes and other severe weather, hurricanes and extratropical cyclones, wildfires, global climate change, and meteor impacts and space weather. Appropriate for non-science and science majors. May include optional field trip.

Student Outcomes
1. Describe Earth as a system that includes its solid, water, atmosphere, and life components and their interactions
2. Evaluate the value of understanding natural hazards and hazard mitigation
3. Apply the scientific method and relate scientific processes to Earth processes.
4. Discuss plate tectonic processes and explain how they relate to geologic hazards
5. Describe the origin, occurrence, monitoring, and mitigation of hazards related to plate tectonic processes and how these hazards may be linked to other natural hazards.
6. Describe the origin, occurrence, monitoring, and mitigation of hazards related to the hydrologic cycle and how these hazards may be linked to other natural hazards.
7. Evaluate the origin, effects, and mitigation of wildfire hazards and indicate the links to other natural hazards
8. Evaluate Earth global climate changes throughout geologic time and relate this to anthropogenic global climate change and other natural hazards.
9. Evaluate the political, social, and scientific aspects of global climate change hazard mitigation.
10. Evaluate the probability, effects, and mitigation of meteor impact, airburst, and space weather hazards and indicate the links to other natural hazards.
11. Integrate experience, reason, and information to draw scientific conclusions about natural hazards.
12. Appropriately communicate geologic and environmental data to an audience through reports and presentations
13. Evaluate and use appropriate tools and sources in order to access and manipulate geologic and environmental information including library research, the Internet, and field research
14. Understand, appreciate, and discuss the different environmental viewpoints of various world cultures
15. Examine the relationship between self and the environment, evaluate potential impacts of actions, and make choices based on that examination and evaluation



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