This course provides information about induced seismic activity in the United States, specifically in the mid-continent. It includes information on mitigation planning, the state of seismic monitoring at the state level, and the challenges in communicating the science of the issue to the public and decision-makers.

Flooding is a perennial hazard for rivers and coasts alike. Every year, flooding results in billions of dollars of damage and the loss of dozens to hundreds of lives across the United States.

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.

This course provides insight into the technical writing skills that are needed by geoscience students pursuing careers in the environmental consulting industry.

No country in the world produces all of the mineral resources necessary for modern society. International trade plays a critical role in providing these raw materials, forming a global network of production, export, import, and use. This network must continuously adapt to national and international developments in science, technology, politics, and economics.

Communities that rely on surface water resources via sand and gravel wells are vulnerable to the impacts of drought on water supplies.

Construction of a computerized model to estimate mineral resources is a common practice in mineral exploration projects and mining operations. Many times a technical report is done as per international reporting standards such as NI-43-101 or JORC to meet the requirement of certain stock exchanges in the world.

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 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.

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 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.

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.

We will go on a tour of some selected outcrops of the Cretaceous System of central Texas. This general area constitutes one of the best exposures of Cretaceous strata anywhere around the globe. In the course, we will emphasize various aspects of the development, stratigraphy, sedimentology, structure, and paleontology of these Cretaceous units.

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 is designed to be an introduction to the subject of landslides or mass wasting. Landslides or mass wasting occur in both solid bedrock and in poorly-consolidated sediments. Concerning the latter, loose sands, clays and soft shales can prove to be quite problematic. These type of strata are highlighted in our discussions.

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.

This course introduces topics that contribute to workplace "climate" (e.g., microaggressions, implicit bias, empowering bystanders) and provides suggestions for personal and institutional actions that can be taken to ensure that everyone can succeed in the workplace environment. The course presenter is David W. Mogk, Professor of Geology at Montana State University.