Geoscience is essential to our understanding and management of produced water, an inevitable byproduct of oil and gas development. This course provides a scientific and regulatory background of produced water, how it is commonly disposed, what opportunities exist for the re-use of produced water, and what the environmental and regulatory challenges for re-using produced waters are.

This course provides insight into the professional and technical writing skills that are needed by geoscience students pursuing careers in state government agencies.

This course focuses on the qualification requirements to get a Professional Geologist (PG) license in California and upcoming changes that applicants should understand. It will also provide an overview of the California laws and regulations that govern the practice of geology.

This course focuses on the adoption of and changes in geoscience-related ethics codes over the years. Many geological and related engineering professional associations were founded in the 19th and early 20th centuries but ethics codes were generally not adopted until after WWII. The AAPG Code of Ethics was the first code and was adopted in 1924.

This course covers what it takes to succeed while working for yourself. Topics include why consultants get hired, the pros and cons of consulting, and whether or not you might be a good fit.

Fresh water is an increasingly scarce resource in an increasingly populous and water-intensive world. Maintaining an adequate supply of fresh water both nationally and globally will be one of the largest challenges of the 21st century. Desalination of salty water, from both the ocean and the ground, represents a huge potential source of fresh water.

Communicating results of geoscience investigations to a diverse set of audiences will grow in importance in our 21st century world.

This course delves into the key factors involved in ethical fieldwork: values, integrity, and perception, and how these affect not only fieldwork research, but also the geoscience community as a whole.

The surge in recent years of earthquake activity associated with some oil and gas operations, most notably in Oklahoma, has spurred a range of actions and responses from state geoscientists and regulators. States have taken measures to monitor these earthquakes and moderate the activities that may be causing them, particularly the deep underground injection of large volumes of wastewater.

As the amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide has increased over recent history, so has the acidity of oceans worldwide. The changing acidity of the ocean has many ecological and economic impacts, one of the most serious being its effects on marine life and fisheries.

This course is designed to provide water utility personnel, engineers, hydrogeologists, regulatory officials, and other interested persons an understanding about the sand and gravel and bedrock aquifers in New England, how and why well performance declines over time, and information about available options for rehabilitating these wells.

This course will provide an overview of the writing skills that geoscience students develop during their undergraduate and graduate academic training, the skills and tools that are needed for non-academic careers, and advice for students on how to acquire the needed writing skills as they prepare for and pursue their career path.

This course is intended as a basic review of seismic prospecting methods for locating and extracting oil and gas global resources. It begins with a review of world hydrocarbon reserves, production and consumption, as well as overall goals and methods which apply to petroleum exploratory efforts.

Everyone is in favor of good moral and professional ethical behavior but few have thought about them rigorously. What constitutes common morality and professional ethics? This course explores the basic concepts and definitions of, and the differences between, common morality and professional ethics. This includes the distinction between moral rules and moral ideals.

Coastal hazards are a widespread challenge that cost millions (and sometimes billions) of dollars in the U.S. every year due to property loss and spending on mitigation measures. Based on the most recent U.S. Census, over 39% of the U.S. population lives in areas that may undergo significant coastal flooding during a 100-year flood event.

The purpose of professional licensing is to ensure a minimum level of competency for practitioners in a given field in order to protect the public. Having a license to practice geology is a requirement in the majority of United States, Canada and several other countries. In contrast to other professions, a disconnect has developed between applied geologists and academia.