STIA 2270: Earth and Planetary Science

How did Earth become the planet we know today, and what can it teach us about worlds beyond our own? In this course, we’ll explore Earth as a dynamic system, from the crust that records our geologic history to the movement of water through aquifers, glaciers, and oceans, to the circulation of air that drives weather and climate.

We will investigate processes such as rock formation, erosion, and biogeochemical cycles; examine the physics of blackbody radiation and the chemistry of greenhouse gases; and consider how these systems interact over short and long timescales. We’ll then journey beyond Earth to consider the formation of planetary environments, the evolution of the solar system, the icy moons and exoplanets now at the frontier of exploration, and the scientific search for life across the universe.