1- Discussion section project (debate)

2- Review of conference in Colorado

3- Coastal Environmental Geology

Use campus, web, local resources to get familiar with various aspects of land fills (constuction, contents, regulations, contaminants, rectification and remediation)

Team efforts

Leading to:

Week 14 Discussion/Debate

Role playing debate to resolve issues related to a landfill leaking contaminants to the surrounding area

Relavance to Environmental Geology

• Groundwater, soil, fractured and porous rock interaction are the "venues" of fluid transport
• Mineral-water interaction controls the chemical changes in fluids
• Transport prediction (movement of fluids)
• Driven by various types of environmental problems
• Supported by federal, state agencies or consulting firms working with various companies and govermental units.
• Knowledge of the chemical and physical processes is important for prediction of the movement and reactions of groundwaters and soil waters.
• Mathematical modeling and field verification of models are an important activity of environmental geologists. Course work includes: differential calculus, differential equations, chemistry, geochemistry, mineralogy, physics, fluid dynamics, and hydrogeology.

• Coastal Hazards
• The Geologic and Environmental Setting
• Coastal Dynamics on many time scales
• Short term
• Long term
• Shore Processes

Major Hazards Divided into Three Major Categories

• Water Level Changes
• Material Transport (including mass wasting)
• Water and Pollutants

Water Level Changes

• Short and Long Term change
• Tides (twice daily)
• Seasons (storm frequency and intensity)
• Storms
• Tsunamis (earthquakes and submarine landslides)
• Land Subsidence (tectonic)
• Long-Term Sea Level (climate change)
• Effects
• Flooding
• Landslides
• Sand Transport
• Sand and Rock Erosion

Material Transport

• Erosion (headlands)
• Storm Surges sweep salty water over fresh water environment
• Longshore transport of sediment (see below)
• Seawater contamination of fresh water

Pollution and water effects in coastal environments

• Seawater Intrusion from wells
• Organic Matter Production in estuaries and Vulnerability to Pollution
• Sewage treatment outfalls into ocean
• Industrial outfalls
• Oil Spills
• Ships tend to wreck in shallow waters
• Shorelines are living habitats for many types of wild life (including humans)

Coastal Processes

• TIDES
• Sun and Moon control tidal cycle
• Monthly variation in tides (Spring and Neap tides)
• Variation over the world
• WAVES
• Wavelength and Amplitude of Waves
• Orbital motion of water particles in a wave
• Wave motion extends to depths abou 1/2 the lentgh of the wave
• Coastal zones shallow and when water depth shallows to about 1/2 the wave length the wave will "feel" the bottom
• Causes steepening of the shoreward front of the wave and collapse of the wave (Surf)
• The shore is, thus, a location of expenditure of energy from waves that causes damage and moves sediment
• LONGSHORE CURRENTS
• Waves rarely come directly toward shore; instead strike the shore at an oblique angle
• The uprush of a wave (and suspended sand grains) in the direction that the wave strikes the shore
• The downrush of a wave is directly down the shore slope at right angles to the shore
• The alternate oblique uprush and right angle downrush leads to the zig zag movement of the grains ALONG the shore.
• Sediment is, thus, transferred PARALLEL to the shore; the so-called RIVER OF SAND