The Earth & Geographic Sciences Department

Earth and geographic sciences are broadly based disciplines that seek to understand the relationships between physical and human environments. Earth science examines the processes that affect the earth and human environment, and uses the scientific method to explain the natural aspects of the earth and how they are constantly changing. Geographic science involves spatial analysis of the earth's features as well as human interaction with those features; and it examines the earth as a physical environment where humans live, and as a place where environments are modified by human habitation.

As environmental systems of all types are increasingly affected, both by human and natural causes, the understanding of earth and geographic science becomes more central to an understanding of the world. Department facilities include specialized laboratories for earth sciences, mineralogy/ petrology, hydrogeology, and information technology. The department facilities include a state of the art geographic information technologies laboratory. Lab facilities include:

• more than 30 DEC and Sun UNIX workstations
• more than 30 Pentium II and other PCs
• a variety of input and output devices
• a number of the most commonly used mapping, image
• processing, GIS, database management, word processing,
• and statistical analysis software packages
• Trimble navigation and Garmin GPS receivers.

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