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The Certificate in Hydrogeology

This certificate provides Geology majors with the information and skills necessary to become certified hydrogeologists in the State of California. Before beginning the certificate, students must have completed the following courses with a minimum GPA of 2.5: CHEM 111, CHEM 112, GEOS 102, GEOS 306, PHYS 202A or PHYS 204A, PHYS 202B or PHYS 204C, MATH 120.

Course Requirements for the Certificate: 24 units

The following courses, or their approved transfer equivalents, are required of all candidates for this certificate.

Lower-Division Requirements: 1 units

1 course required:

SUBJ NUM Title Sustainable Units Semester Offered Course Flags
Prerequisites: MATH 109 or MATH 120 (may be taken concurrently) or faculty permission.
Develop skills in applying common computer software, including data analysis, presentation, graphics, and others. Use of this software as applied to selected problems in environmental sciences and geosciences. 2 hours activity. (004133)

Upper-Division Requirements: 23 units

8 courses required:

SUBJ NUM Title Sustainable Units Semester Offered Course Flags
Prerequisites: PHYS 202A or PHYS 204A (may be taken concurrently).
A survey of the mass transfer processes and storage elements within the hydrologic cycle: precipitation, interception, surface runoff, infiltration, evapo-transpiration, soil water and groundwater. Quantitative methods for estimating flow and storage, use of probability concepts to predict extreme hydrologic events in a time series. 2 hours lecture, 3 hours laboratory. (004150)
Prerequisite: GEOS 380 (may be taken concurrently) or faculty permission.
Develops field and related laboratory skills in performing common measurements in surface water and soil water components of the hydrologic cycle. Students learn to critically evaluate the theoretical basis for field methods and hydrologic characterization approaches. 3 hours laboratory. (020641)
Prerequisite: GEOS 380 (may be taken concurrently), GEOS 415 or faculty permission.
Develops field and related laboratory skills in performing common measurements of precipitation and groundwater. Students learn to critically evaluate the theoretical basis for field methods and hydrolgic characterization approaches. 3 hours laboratory. (020642)
Prerequisites: MATH 120; either PHYS 202A or PHYS 204A.
A survey of the processes governing uplift and denudation of landscapes, including isostasy, chemical and physical weathering, mass movements, surface water erosion, formation of channels, and flow and sediment transport. 2 hours lecture, 3 hours laboratory. (004152)
Prerequisites: CHEM 111, GEOS 306, GEOS 380, MATH 120; PHYS 202A or PHYS 204A. Recommended: GEOS 307.
Theory and analysis of groundwater flow, including fluid physics, aquifer properties, soil water, groundwater recharge, hydrogeologic environments, aquifer mechanics, and water quality degradation. 2 hours lecture, 3 hours laboratory. (004102)
Prerequisite: GEOS 380.
Water-resources, management plans of world; emphasis on California and Israeli plans. Water plans in primitive, agrarian, and industrial societies. Data gathering and interpretation, regulation of water resources, and control of water pollution. 3 hours lecture. (004168)
Prerequisites: CHEM 112; GEOS 330 or faculty permission; MATH 120; either PHYS 202B or PHYS 204C.
Physical principles, theory and analysis techniques for computer modeling in the geosciences. Methods of estimation and error analysis, boundary values and initial conditions, steady-state and time-dependent models. Emphasis on problems relating to air and water pollution and hydrologic cycle. 3 hours discussion. (004163)
Prerequisites: One year of physics, GEOS 102, or faculty permission.
Introduction to solid-earth geophysical exploration techniques and data analysis. Includes electrical, electromagnetic, gravimetric, and seismic surveying, and wireline well logging. Concentration on problems in environmental science, hydrology, mineral prospecting, and oil exploration. 3 hours discussion. (004112)

1 course selected from:

SUBJ NUM Title Sustainable Units Semester Offered Course Flags
Prerequisites: CHEM 111, GEOS 315.
Fundamentals of processes in environmental aquatic systems emphasizing acid-base and pE-pH relationships, solubility of carbon species in natural waters, and interactions at the solid-liquid interface. 3 hours lecture. (020287)
Prerequisites: CHEM 111, GEOS 102. Recommended: GEOS 306.
Investigation of the chemistry of minerals, rocks, and natural waters. Provides students with interests in geology, hydrology, environmental science, and other disciplines a background on the chemical compositions of rocks, minerals, and natural waters; chemical processes in the formation of rocks and waters; principles of reaction chemistry, thermodynamics, and kinetics applied to geochemical systems; and migration of chemical contaminants in the environment. 3 hours lecture. (004115)
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