A list of recommended electives is presented at the end of the Co-op program description. The atmospheric changes that have occurred since the industrial revolution have culminated in an urgent need for solutions to the problems brought on by human activity. From dramatic polar ozone depletion to tropospheric air pollution and the increasing evidence of climate change, the symptoms of extensive and possibly irreversible atmospheric damage are multiplying rapidly. This program provides an understanding of atmospheric processes at both the fundamental and applied levels that will allow students to participate in the solution of these important problems at a variety of levels. Employment opportunities in Atmospheric Science exist in the public sector, where emission regulations are developed; the private sector, where environmentally sound business practices are demanded and in the research community where atmospheric change is assessed and methods for the remediation of existing problems are developed.
Year 1A (Fall)
CHEM 120/120L Physical and Chemical Properties of Matter/Laboratory
EARTH 121/121L Introductory Earth Sciences/Laboratory
EARTH 123/123L Introductory Hydrology/Field Methods in Hydrogeology
MATH 127 Calculus 1 for the Sciences
PHYS 121/121L Mechanics/Laboratory
Year 1B (Winter)
CHEM 123/123L Chemical Reactions, Equilibria and Kinetics/Field Methods in Hydrogeology
EARTH 122/122L Introductory Environmental Sciences/Laboratory
MATH 128 Calculus 2 for the Sciences
PHYS 122/122L Waves Electricity and Magnetism/Laboratory
PHYS 236 Computational Physics 1
Year 2A (Fall)
CHEM 209 Introductory Spectroscopy and Structure
CHEM 240 Mathematical Methods in Chemistry or
MATH 114 Linear Algebra for Science
STAT 202 Introductory Statistics for Scientists
EARTH 231 Mineralogy
CHEM 28/28L Organic Chemistry for Engineering and Bioinformatics Students/Laboratory
Year 2B (Spring)
5CHEM 254 Introductory Chemical Thermodynamics
EARTH 221 Geochemistry 1
AMATH 250 Modelling with Ordinary Differential Equations
ARTS Core (0.5 units)
One Elective (0.5 units)
Year 3A (Winter)
CHEM 350 Chemical Kinetics
EARTH 281 Geology and Health
EARTH 358 Earth System Science
EARTH 361 Atmospheric Motions and Physics
GEOG 271 Earth from Space Using Remote Sensing
Year 3B (Fall)
EARTH 205 Introduction to Atmospheric Science
EARTH 359 Flow Through Porous Media
PHYS 242 Electricity and Magnetism 1
Two Electives (1.0 units)
Year 4 (Fall and Winter)
GEOG 309 Physical Climatology (F)
Three Electives (1.5 units) (F)
EARTH 305 Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (W)
EARTH305L Atmospheric Modelling Laboratory (W)
EARTH 436A/436B Honours Thesis or EARTH 499 Research Project plus one 300- or 400-level EARTH course or CHEM 494A /494B Research Project (F/W)
Three Electives (1.5 units) (W)
Recommended Electives: This list is provided for guidance only. Note that many of the recommended electives have prerequisites and it is the responsibility of the student, in consultation with the program advisor, to ensure that all pre-requisite requirements for selected electives are met.
AMATH 343 Discrete Models in Applied Mathematics
BIOL 354 Environmental Toxicology 1
BIOL 439 Environmental and Natural Products Biochemistry
BIOL 447 Environmental Microbiology
6CH 480 Special Topics (at WLU)
CHEM 220/220L Analytical Chemistry 1/Laboratory
CHEM 224L Analytical Chemistry Laboratory 2
CHEM 323 Analytical Instrumentation
CHEM 404 Physiochemical Aspects of Natural Water
EARTH 260 Applied Geophysics 1
EARTH 270 Disasters and Natural Hazards
EARTH 444 Applied Wetland Science
EARTH 456 Numerical Methods in Hydrogeology
EARTH 458/458L Physical Hydrogeology/Field Methods in Hydrogeology (F)
EARTH 459 Chemical Hydrogeology
ENVS 201 Introduction to Environmental and Planning Law
ERS 319 Approaches to Environmental Decision-Making
GEOG 101 Geography and Human Habitat
GEOG 102 Geography and Our Planetary Environment
GEOG 208 Human Dimensions of Global Climate Change
GEOG 281 Introduction to Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
GEOG 271 Earth from Space Using Remote Sensing
GEOG 409 Energy Balance Climatology
GEOG 455 Spatial Analysis Using Geographic Information Systems
GEOG 471 Remote Sensing Project
5EARTH 421 (F) may be substituted for CHEM 254 (W).
6Students must obtain a letter of permission from the Department of Earth Sciences to bring to the instructor at Wilfrid Laurier University.