Department: Earth Systems

Code Name Description
EARTHSYS10 Introduction to Earth Systems For non-majors and prospective Earth Systems majors. Multidisciplinary approach using the principles of geology, biology, engineering, and economics to describe how the Earth operates as an interconnected, integrated system. Goal is to understand glo...
EARTHSYS100 Environmental and Geological Field Studies in the Rocky Mountains Three-week, field-based program in the Greater Yellowstone/Teton and Wind River Mountains of Wyoming. Field-based exercises covering topics including: basics of structural geology and petrology; glacial geology; western cordillera geology; paleoclima...
EARTHSYS100A Data Science for Geoscience This course provides an overview of the most relevant areas of data science to address geoscientific challenges and questions as they pertain to the environment, earth resources & hazards. The focus lies on the methods that treat common characters of...
EARTHSYS101 Energy and the Environment Energy use in modern society and the consequences of current and future energy use patterns. Case studies illustrate resource estimation, engineering analysis of energy systems, and options for managing carbon emissions. Focus is on energy definition...
EARTHSYS101C Science for Conservation Policy: Meeting California's Pledge to Protect 30% by 2030 California has set the ambitious goal of conserving 30% of its lands and waters by the year 2030. In this course, students will develop science-based recommendations to help policymakers reach this '30 by 30' goal. Through lectures, labs, and field t...
EARTHSYS102 Fundamentals of Renewable Power Do you want a much better understanding of renewable power technologies? Did you know that wind and solar are the fastest growing forms of electricity generation? Are you interested in hearing about the most recent, and future, designs for green powe...
EARTHSYS103 Understand Energy Energy is the number one contributor to climate change and has significant consequences for our society, political system, economy, and environment. Energy is also a fundamental driver of human development and opportunity. In taking this course, stud...
EARTHSYS104 The Water Course The Central Valley of California provides a third of the produce grown in the U.S., but recent droughts and increasing demand have raised concerns about both food and water security. The pathway that water takes from rainfall to the irrigation of fie...
EARTHSYS105A Ecology and Natural History of Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve The Ecology and Natural History of the Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve is an upper-division course that aims to help students learn ecology and natural history using a 'living laboratory,' the Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve. The course's central g...
EARTHSYS105B Ecology and Natural History of Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve The Ecology and Natural History of the Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve is an upper-division course that aims to help students learn ecology and natural history using a 'living laboratory,' the Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve. The course's central g...
EARTHSYS106 World Food Economy The World Food Economy is a survey course that covers the economic and political dimensions of food production, consumption, and trade. The course focuses on food markets and food policy within a global context. It is comprised of three major section...
EARTHSYS106B Sustainable and Equitable Water Management California has committed itself to sustainable groundwater management, with passage of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act in 2014, and safe drinking water access for all, with California's Human Right to Water Act in 2012. Yet, groundwater ov...
EARTHSYS106D New meat: The Science Behind Scalable Alternatives to Animal Products Plant-based meat products and the technologies used to produce them have increased in complexity from tofu (~200 BC) and wheat gluten-based meat replacements (6th century AD) to the Beyond Burger and the Impossible Burger (both 2016), which use mecha...
EARTHSYS107 Control of Nature Think controlling the earth's climate is science fiction? It is when you watch Snowpiercer or Dune, but scientists are already devising geoengineering schemes to slow climate change. Will we ever resurrect the woolly mammoth or even a T. Rex (think...
EARTHSYS109 Rethinking Meat: An Introduction to Alternative Proteins How do we feed a growing population in the face of climate change? Will Impossible Burgers become the new norm? Are you curious to learn about a frontier in bio- and chemical-engineering? Are you passionate about animal rights, human health, and sust...
EARTHSYS11 Introduction to Geology Why are earthquakes, volcanoes, and natural resources located at specific spots on the Earth surface? Why are there rolling hills to the west behind Stanford, and soaring granite walls to the east in Yosemite? What was the Earth like in the past, and...
EARTHSYS110 Introduction to the Foundations of Contemporary Geophysics Introduction to the foundations of contemporary geophysics. Topics drawn from broad themes in: whole Earth geodynamics, geohazards, natural resources, and environment. In each case the focus is on how the interpretation of a variety of geophysical m...
EARTHSYS111 Biology and Global Change The biological causes and consequences of anthropogenic and natural changes in the atmosphere, oceans, and terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems. Topics: glacial cycles and marine circulation, greenhouse gases and climate change, tropical deforestati...
EARTHSYS112 Human Society and Environmental Change Interdisciplinary approaches to understanding human-environment interactions with a focus on economics, policy, culture, history, and the role of the state. Prerequisite: ECON 1.
EARTHSYS113 Earthquakes and Volcanoes Is the "Big One" overdue in California? What kind of damage would that cause? What can we do to reduce the impact of such hazards in urban environments? Does "fracking" cause earthquakes and are we at risk? Is the United States vulnerable to a giant...
EARTHSYS114 Global Change and Emerging Infectious Disease The changing epidemiological environment. How human-induced environmental changes, such as global warming, deforestation and land-use conversion, urbanization, international commerce, and human migration, are altering the ecology of infectious diseas...
EARTHSYS115N Desert Biogeography of Namibia Prefield Seminar Desert environments make up a third of the land areas on Earth, ranging from the hottest to the coldest environments. Aridity leads to the development of unique adaptations among the organisms that inhabit them. Climate change and other processes o...
EARTHSYS117 Earth Sciences of the Hawaiian Islands Progression from volcanic processes through rock weathering and soil-ecosystem development to landscape evolution. The course starts with an investigation of volcanic processes, including the volcano structure, origin of magmas, physical-chemical fa...
EARTHSYS119 Just Transitions Policy Lab Building off the work of the Stanford Coalition for Planning an Equitable 2035 (SCoPE), the just transitions policy lab will address transportation justice, housing justice, and labor equity concerns that have been identified by neighboring communiti...
EARTHSYS122 Evolution of Marine Ecosystems Life originally evolved in the ocean. When, why, and how did the major transitions occur in the history of marine life? What triggered the rapid evolution and diversification of animals in the Cambrian, after more than 3.5 billion years of Earth's hi...
EARTHSYS123A Biosphere-Atmosphere Interactions How do ecosystems respond to climate change, and how can ecosystems affect climate? This course describes, quantitatively and qualitatively, the different feedback mechanisms between the land surface and climate at both local and global scales. We wi...
EARTHSYS124 Measurements in Earth Systems A classroom, laboratory, and field class designed to provide students familiarity with techniques and instrumentation used to track biological, chemical, and physical processes operating in earth systems, encompassing upland, aquatic, estuarine, and...
EARTHSYS125 Shades of Green: Exploring and Expanding Environmental Justice in Practice Historically, discussions of race, ethnicity, culture, and equity in the environment have been shaped by a limited view of the environmental justice movement, often centered on urban environmental threats and separated from other types of environment...
EARTHSYS127A The Sixth Extinction (and the Other Five) Are we living through Earth's sixth major mass extinction event? The course will address the causes and consequences of extinction. It will review current understanding of background and mass extinction in the fossil record, including aclose examinat...
EARTHSYS128 Evolution of Terrestrial Ecosystems The what, when, where, and how do we know it regarding life on land through time. Fossil plants, fungi, invertebrates, and vertebrates (yes, dinosaurs) are all covered, including how all of those components interact with each other and with changing...
EARTHSYS130A Ecosystems of California California is home to a huge diversity of ecosystem types and processes. This course provides an introduction to the natural history, systematics, and ecosystem ecology of California ecosystems, based on a combination of lectures, student-led projec...
EARTHSYS131 Pathways in Sustainability Careers Interactive, seminar-style sessions expose students to diverse career pathways in sustainability. Professionals from a variety of careers discuss their work, their career development and decision-points in their career pathways, as well as life style...
EARTHSYS132 Evolution of Earth Systems This course examines biogeochemical cycles and how they developed through the interaction between the atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and lithosphere. Emphasis is on the long-term carbon cycle and how it is connected to other biogeochemical cycl...
EARTHSYS133 Social Enterprise Workshop Social Enterprise Workshop: A team based class to design solutions to social issues. In the class students will identify issues they are interested in, such as housing, food, the environment, or college access. They will join teams of like-minded...
EARTHSYS134 ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE: REFLECTION The EJ reflection class is intended to provide a supported learning space for students who are in the Earth Systems Program Environmental Justice Minor. We will review basic Environmental Justice (EJ) concepts, such as historical underpinnings of EJ...
EARTHSYS135B Waste Politics: Contesting Toxicity, Value, and Power Waste is increasingly central as an object and medium of political contestation in the contemporary world, from struggles over garbage, labor, and dignity in Senegal; to explosive remnants of war acting as rogue infrastructure in the Korean demilitar...
EARTHSYS137 Concepts and Analytic Skills for the Social Sector How to develop and grow innovative not-for-profit organizations and for-profit enterprises which have the primary goal of solving social and environmental problems. Topics include organizational mission, strategy, market/user analysis, communications...
EARTHSYS140 Data Science for Geoscience Overview of some of the most important data science methods (statistics, machine learning & computer vision) relevant for geological sciences, as well as other fields in the Earth Sciences. Areas covered are: extreme value statistics for predicting r...
EARTHSYS141 Remote Sensing of the Oceans How to observe and interpret physical and biological changes in the oceans using satellite technologies. Topics: principles of satellite remote sensing, classes of satellite remote sensors, converting radiometric data into biological and physical qua...
EARTHSYS142 Remote Sensing of Land The use of satellite remote sensing to monitor land use and land cover, with emphasis on terrestrial changes. Topics include pre-processing data, biophysical properties of vegetation observable by satellite, accuracy assessment of maps derived from r...
EARTHSYS143 Molecular Geomicrobiology Laboratory In this course, students will be studying the biosynthesis of cyclic lipid biomarkers, molecules that are produced by modern microbes that can be preserved in rocks that are over a billion years old and which geologist use as molecular fossils. Stude...
EARTHSYS143H Quantitative methods for marine ecology and conservation NOTE: This course will be taught in-person on main campus, in hybrid format with Zoom options. The goal of this course is to learn the foundations of ecological modeling with a specific (but not exclusive) focus on marine conservation and sustainable...
EARTHSYS144 Fundamentals of Geographic Information Science (GIS) "Everything is somewhere, and that somewhere matters." The rapid growth and maturity of spatial data technologies over the past decade represent a paradigm shift in the applied use of location data from high-level overviews of administrative interest...
EARTHSYS146A Atmosphere, Ocean, and Climate Dynamics: The Atmospheric Circulation Introduction to the physics governing the circulation of the atmosphere and ocean and their control on climate with emphasis on the atmospheric circulation. Topics include the global energy balance, the greenhouse effect, the vertical and meridional...
EARTHSYS146B Atmosphere, Ocean, and Climate Dynamics: the Ocean Circulation Introduction to the physics governing the circulation of the atmosphere and ocean and their control on climate with emphasis on the large-scale ocean circulation. This course will give an overview of the structure and dynamics of the major ocean curr...
EARTHSYS147 Ecosystem Ecology and Biogeochemistry An introduction to ecosystem ecology and terrestrial biogeochemistry. This course will focus on the dynamics of carbon and other biologically essential elements in the Earth System, on spatial scales from local to global. Prerequisites: Biology 117,...
EARTHSYS148 Grow it, Cook it, Eat it. An Experiential Exploration of How and Why We Eat What We Eat This course provides an introductory exploration of the social, cultural, and economic forces that influence contemporary human diets. Through the combination of interrelated lectures by expert practitioners and hands-on experience planting, tending,...
EARTHSYS149 Wild Writing What is the wild? What is our relationship to nature, and why does this relationship matter? We will interrogate these questions through the work of influential, diverse, primarily American environmental writers who have given voice to many ways of k...
EARTHSYS151 Biological Oceanography Required for Earth Systems students in the oceans track. Interdisciplinary look at how oceanic environments control the form and function of marine life. Topics include distributions of planktonic production and abundance, nutrient cycling, the rol...
EARTHSYS152 Marine Chemistry Introduction to the interdisciplinary knowledge and skills required to critically evaluate problems in marine chemistry and related disciplines. Physical, chemical, and biological processes that determine the chemical composition of seawater. Air-s...
EARTHSYS153 Solving Social Problems with Data Introduces students to the interdisciplinary intersection of data science and the social sciences through an in-depth examination of contemporary social problems. Provides a foundational skill set for solving social problems with data including quant...
EARTHSYS154 Intermediate Writing: Communicating Climate Change: Navigating the Stories from the Frontlines In the next two decades floods, droughts and famine caused by climate change will displace more than 250 million people around the world. In this course students will develop an increased understanding of how different stakeholders including scientis...
EARTHSYS155 Science of Soils Physical, chemical, and biological processes within soil systems. Emphasis is on factors governing nutrient availability, plant growth and production, land-resource management, and pollution within soils. How to classify soils and assess nutrient cyc...
EARTHSYS156 The Future of Global Systemic Risk The global risk environment is changing. Seemingly distinct large-scale risks affect what we now realize are mutually interdependent human, socio-technical, and ecological systems. As a result, consequences are more catastrophic, and costs are set to...
EARTHSYS157 Stanford Science Podcast In this course, students will explore how podcasts can be used as a tool for effective science communication. Through a series of workshops and guest speakers, students in this course will learn the necessary journalistic and technical skills to prod...
EARTHSYS158 Geomicrobiology How microorganisms shape the geochemistry of the Earth's crust including oceans, lakes, estuaries, subsurface environments, sediments, soils, mineral deposits, and rocks. Topics include mineral formation and dissolution; biogeochemical cycling of ele...
EARTHSYS159 Economic, Legal, and Political Analysis of Climate-Change Policy This course will advance students understanding of economic, legal, and political approaches to avoiding or managing the problem of global climate change. Theoretical contributions as well as empirical analyses will be considered. It will address eco...
EARTHSYS160 Sustainable Cities Community-engaged learning course that exposes students to sustainability concepts and urban planning as a tool for determining sustainable outcomes in the Bay Area. The focus will be on land use and transportation planning to housing and employment...
EARTHSYS162 Data for Sustainable Development The sustainable development goals (SDGs) encompass many important aspects of human and ecosystem well-being that are traditionally difficult to measure. This project-based course will focus on ways to use inexpensive, unconventional data streams to m...
EARTHSYS163 Tribal Economic Development and Sustainability Native Americans, Alaska Natives, Inuit and First Nations in Canada have experienced a revolution in economic development over the last 30 years. The course will examine different aspects of Indigenous economic development with a focus on case studie...
EARTHSYS164 Introduction to Physical Oceanography An introduction to what causes the motions in the oceans. Topics include: the physical environment of the ocean; properties of sea water; atmosphere-ocean interactions; conservation of heat, salt, mass, and momentum, geostrophic flows, wind-driven ci...
EARTHSYS168 Land Use: Planning for Sustainable Cities Through case studies with a focus on the San Francisco Bay Area, guest speakers, selective readings and interactive assignments, this survey course seeks to demystify the concept of land use for the non-city planner. This introductory course will rev...
EARTHSYS169 Race, Nature, and the City This course provides an introduction to the study of race and place within urban political ecology (UPE). Geographer Natasha Cornea defines UPE as a 'conceptual approach that understands urbanization to be a political, economic, social, and ecologica...
EARTHSYS16SC River and Region: The Columbia River and the Shaping of the Pacific Northwest This seminar will explore the crucial role of the Columbia River in the past, present, and future of the Pacific Northwest. Topics will include the lives and legacies of the indigenous peoples that Lewis and Clark encountered more than two centuries...
EARTHSYS177C Environmental Journalism Practical, collaborative, hands-on exploration of environmental journalism as an agent of change within society. Students learn how to identify and execute engaging stories about environmental science, policy, and justice with an emphasis on elevatin...
EARTHSYS178M Introduction to Environmental Ethics How should human beings relate to the natural world? Do we have moral obligations toward non-human animals and other parts of nature? And what do we owe to other human beings, including future generations, with respect to the environment? The first p...
EARTHSYS179 Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs This course explores the science of valuing nature, through two interwoven pathways. One is biophysical, focused on human dependence and impacts on Earths life-support systems. If well managed, lands, waters, and biodiversity yield a flow of vital be...
EARTHSYS181 Urban Agroecology Urban agriculture takes many forms in cities around the world and provides significant amounts of food and other resources and benefits for urban communities. This Earth Systems practicum explores the application of agroecological principles to the d...
EARTHSYS181A Urban Agroecology Urban agriculture takes many forms in cities around the world and provides significant amounts of food and other resources and benefits for urban communities. This Earth Systems practicum explores the application of agroecological principles to the d...
EARTHSYS181B Urban Agroecology Urban agriculture takes many forms in cities around the world and provides significant amounts of food and other resources and benefits for urban communities. This Earth Systems practicum explores the application of agroecological principles to the d...
EARTHSYS182 Designing Educational Gardens A project-based course emphasizing 'ways of doing 's sustainable agricultural systems based at the new Stanford Educational Farm. Students will work individually and in small groups on the design of a new educational garden and related programs for t...
EARTHSYS182A Ecological Farm Systems An in-person, outdoor, project-based course in sustainable agricultural systems. Students will work individually or in small groups on projects at the Stanford Educational Farm. Potential projects this fall include building educational gardens, orcha...
EARTHSYS182B Sustainable Agriculture Projects This is a project-based sustainable agriculture course. Students will work individually or in small groups on projects of their choosing at the Stanford Educational Farm or remotely. Students can develop their own projects related to sustainable agri...
EARTHSYS182C Community Agroecology Projects This is a project-based course that connects students to organizations that are using agroecological approaches to address food production and community food sovereignty challenges. Projects have been framed and will be mentored by Stanford Education...
EARTHSYS183 Adaptation Adaptation is the process by which organisms or societies become better suited to their environments. In this class, we will explore three distinct but related notions of adaptation. Biological adaptations arise through natural selection, while cultu...
EARTHSYS185 Feeding Nine Billion Feeding a growing and wealthier population is a huge task, and one with implications for many aspects of society and the environment. There are many tough choices to be made- on fertilizers, groundwater pumping, pesticide use, organics, genetic modif...
EARTHSYS186 Farm and Garden Environmental Education Practicum Farms and gardens provide excellent settings for place-based environmental education that emphasize human ecological relationships and experiential learning. The O'Donohue Family Stanford Educational Farm is the setting to explore the principles and...
EARTHSYS189 Agroecology Agroecology is a scientific discipline rooted in indigenous land stewardship and food production practices. It uses traditional ecological knowledge and insights from multiple academic disciplines to design, manage, and evaluate agricultural systems...
EARTHSYS191 Concepts in Environmental Communication Introduction to the history, development, and current state of communication of environmental science and policy to non-specialist audiences. Includes fundamental principles, core competencies, and major challenges of effective environmental communic...
EARTHSYS193 Natural Perspectives: Geology, Environment, and Art Multi-day field trip that combines exploration of regional geology, ecology, and environmental history with guided drawing exercises in the Eastern Sierra Nevada of California. We'll visit several sites of geologic and environmental interest, discuss...
EARTHSYS194 Introduction to Environmental Justice: Race, Class, Gender and Place This course examines the rhetoric, history and key case studies of environmental justice while encouraging critical and collaborative thinking, reading and researching about diversity in environmental movements within the global community and at Stan...
EARTHSYS194A Environmental Justice Colloquium This colloquium brings the voices and vision of leading Environmental Justice (EJ) advocates to the Stanford community, in order to educate, inspire, and transform our understanding of environmental science. Environmental Justice advances a positive...
EARTHSYS196A Environmental Justice and Human Rights Lab The Environmental Justice and Human Rights Lab is an intellectual hub and supportive learning community for students engaging in environmental justice and human rights work of any kind. Environmental justice (EJ) advances a positive vision for polici...
EARTHSYS197 Directed Individual Study in Earth Systems Under supervision of an Earth Systems faculty member on a subject of mutual interest.
EARTHSYS198 Seminar on Philosophy, Politics, and the Environment Much public discourse that touches upon the relationship of human society to the natural environment acknowledges the fundamental connection between people and the environment, but avoids or simplifies discussion of broader philosophical and politica...
EARTHSYS199 Honors Program in Earth Systems Honors Program in Earth Systems
EARTHSYS2 Chemistry of the Earth and Planets Chemistry of the Earth and PlanetsCouse Description: Introduction to chemical principles with an emphasis on applications in the Earth Sciences. Topics include: origin and distribution of the elements in the solar system and on Earth, origin and stru...
EARTHSYS204 The Water Course The Central Valley of California provides a third of the produce grown in the U.S., but recent droughts and increasing demand have raised concerns about both food and water security. The pathway that water takes from rainfall to the irrigation of fie...
EARTHSYS205A Fundamentals of Geobiology Lecture and discussion covering key topics in the history of life on Earth, as well as basic principles that apply to life in the universe. Co-evolution of Earth and life; critical intervals of environmental and biological change; geomicrobiology; pa...
EARTHSYS205VP Contested markets in the Brazilian Amazon Rainforest Strategies of environmental movements to contain domestic and foreign corporations that are viewed as major perpetrators of rainforest devastation and the socio-economic degradation of this vast region. Topics: Origins, roles and inter-relations amon...
EARTHSYS206 World Food Economy The World Food Economy is a survey course that covers the economic and political dimensions of food production, consumption, and trade. The course focuses on food markets and food policy within a global context. It is comprised of three major section...
EARTHSYS206B Sustainable and Equitable Water Management California has committed itself to sustainable groundwater management, with passage of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act in 2014, and safe drinking water access for all, with California's Human Right to Water Act in 2012. Yet, groundwater ov...
EARTHSYS207 Spanish in Science/Science in Spanish For graduate and undergraduate students interested in the natural sciences and the Spanish language. Students will acquire the ability to communicate in Spanish using scientific language and will enhance their ability to read scientific literature wr...
EARTHSYS209 Rethinking Meat: An Introduction to Alternative Proteins How do we feed a growing population in the face of climate change? Will Impossible Burgers become the new norm? Are you curious to learn about a frontier in bio- and chemical-engineering? Are you passionate about animal rights, human health, and sust...
EARTHSYS210A Senior Capstone and Reflection The Earth Systems Senior Capstone and Reflection, required of all seniors, provides students with opportunities to synthesize and reflect on their learning in the major. Students participate in guided career development and planning activities and in...
EARTHSYS210B Senior Capstone and Reflection The Earth Systems Senior Capstone and Reflection, required of all seniors, provides students with opportunities to synthesize and reflect on their learning in the major. Students participate in guided career development and planning activities and in...
EARTHSYS210P Earth Systems Capstone Project Students work independently or in groups to complete their Senior Capstone Projects. They will participate in regular advising meetings with the instructor(s), and will give a final presentation on their projects at the end of the quarter in a specia...
EARTHSYS212 Human Society and Environmental Change Interdisciplinary approaches to understanding human-environment interactions with a focus on economics, policy, culture, history, and the role of the state. Prerequisite: ECON 1.
EARTHSYS213 Hacking for Climate and Sustainability The challenges of addressing climate change and sustainability require urgency as well as innovative solutions. Startups operate with speed and urgency, 24/7. In recent years they have learned not only how to effectively innovate but also how to be e...
EARTHSYS214 Environmental Change and Emerging Infectious Diseases The changing epidemiological environment. How human-induced environmental changes, such as global warming, deforestation and land-use conversion, urbanization, international commerce, and human migration, are altering the ecology of infectious diseas...
EARTHSYS214 Global Change and Emerging Infectious Disease The changing epidemiological environment. How human-induced environmental changes, such as global warming, deforestation and land-use conversion, urbanization, international commerce, and human migration, are altering the ecology of infectious diseas...
EARTHSYS217 Biology and Global Change The biological causes and consequences of anthropogenic and natural changes in the atmosphere, oceans, and terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems. Topics: glacial cycles and marine circulation, greenhouse gases and climate change, tropical deforestati...
EARTHSYS223 Biosphere-Atmosphere Interactions How do ecosystems respond to climate change, and how can ecosystems affect climate? This course describes, quantitatively and qualitatively, the different feedback mechanisms between the land surface and climate at both local and global scales. We wi...
EARTHSYS224 Plant Ecology & Evolution in Arid Climates Understanding responses of plants to climate change is paramount to protect our ecosystems. In this course, we will review classical work on fundamental concepts of plant biology and evolutionary ecology in arid climates. We will study plant biodiver...
EARTHSYS225 Shades of Green: Exploring and Expanding Environmental Justice in Practice Historically, discussions of race, ethnicity, culture, and equity in the environment have been shaped by a limited view of the environmental justice movement, often centered on urban environmental threats and separated from other types of environment...
EARTHSYS227 Decision Science for Environmental Threats Decision science is the study of how people make decisions. It aims to describe these processes in ways that will help people make better or more well-informed decisions. It is an interdisciplinary field that draws upon psychology, economics, politic...
EARTHSYS227A The Sixth Extinction (and the Other Five) Are we living through Earth's sixth major mass extinction event? The course will address the causes and consequences of extinction. It will review current understanding of background and mass extinction in the fossil record, including aclose examinat...
EARTHSYS232 Evolution of Earth Systems This course examines biogeochemical cycles and how they developed through the interaction between the atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and lithosphere. Emphasis is on the long-term carbon cycle and how it is connected to other biogeochemical cycl...
EARTHSYS233 Mitigating Climate Change through Soil Management Climate change is one of the greatest crises facing our world. Increasing soil organic carbon storage may be a key strategy for mitigating global climate change, with the potential to offset approximately 20% of annual global fossil fuel emissions. I...
EARTHSYS240 Data Science for Geoscience Overview of some of the most important data science methods (statistics, machine learning & computer vision) relevant for geological sciences, as well as other fields in the Earth Sciences. Areas covered are: extreme value statistics for predicting r...
EARTHSYS241 Remote Sensing of the Oceans How to observe and interpret physical and biological changes in the oceans using satellite technologies. Topics: principles of satellite remote sensing, classes of satellite remote sensors, converting radiometric data into biological and physical qua...
EARTHSYS242 Remote Sensing of Land The use of satellite remote sensing to monitor land use and land cover, with emphasis on terrestrial changes. Topics include pre-processing data, biophysical properties of vegetation observable by satellite, accuracy assessment of maps derived from r...
EARTHSYS243H Quantitative methods for marine ecology and conservation NOTE: This course will be taught in-person on main campus, in hybrid format with Zoom options. The goal of this course is to learn the foundations of ecological modeling with a specific (but not exclusive) focus on marine conservation and sustainable...
EARTHSYS247 Ecosystem Ecology and Biogeochemistry An introduction to ecosystem ecology and terrestrial biogeochemistry. This course will focus on the dynamics of carbon and other biologically essential elements in the Earth System, on spatial scales from local to global. Prerequisites: Biology 117,...
EARTHSYS249 Wild Writing What is the wild? What is our relationship to nature, and why does this relationship matter? We will interrogate these questions through the work of influential, diverse, primarily American environmental writers who have given voice to many ways of k...
EARTHSYS250 Directed Research Independent research. Student develops own project with faculty supervision. May be repeated for credit.
EARTHSYS251 Biological Oceanography Required for Earth Systems students in the oceans track. Interdisciplinary look at how oceanic environments control the form and function of marine life. Topics include distributions of planktonic production and abundance, nutrient cycling, the rol...
EARTHSYS252 Marine Chemistry Introduction to the interdisciplinary knowledge and skills required to critically evaluate problems in marine chemistry and related disciplines. Physical, chemical, and biological processes that determine the chemical composition of seawater. Air-s...
EARTHSYS254 Environmental Governance How do we work together to solve environmental problems? Across the globe, who has a voice, and who ultimately decides how to balance conservation and development? How do we build governance institutions that facilitate both environmental sustainabi...
EARTHSYS255 Microbial Physiology Introduction to the physiology of microbes including cellular structure, transcription and translation, growth and metabolism, mechanisms for stress resistance and the formation of microbial communities. These topics will be covered in relation to th...
EARTHSYS256 Soil and Water Chemistry (Graduate students register for 256.) Practical and quantitative treatment of soil processes affecting chemical reactivity, transformation, retention, and bioavailability. Principles of primary areas of soil chemistry: inorganic and organic soil comp...
EARTHSYS258 Geomicrobiology How microorganisms shape the geochemistry of the Earth's crust including oceans, lakes, estuaries, subsurface environments, sediments, soils, mineral deposits, and rocks. Topics include mineral formation and dissolution; biogeochemical cycling of ele...
EARTHSYS26 Sustainability in Athletics This interactive, seminar-style course explores the intersection of environmental sustainability and athletics. Athletic teams and organizations provide a unique lens to analyze environmental sustainability due to their global reach, enormous fan bas...
EARTHSYS260 Internship Supervised field, lab, or public/private sector project. May consist of directed research under the supervision of a Stanford faculty member, participation in one of several off campus Stanford programs, or an approved non-Stanford program or opportu...
EARTHSYS262 Data for Sustainable Development The sustainable development goals (SDGs) encompass many important aspects of human and ecosystem well-being that are traditionally difficult to measure. This project-based course will focus on ways to use inexpensive, unconventional data streams to m...
EARTHSYS272 Antarctic Marine Geology and Geophysics For upper-division undergraduates and graduate students. Intermediate and advanced topics in marine geology and geophysics, focusing on examples from the Antarctic continental margin and adjacent Southern Ocean. Topics: glaciers, icebergs, and sea ic...
EARTHSYS277C Environmental Journalism Practical, collaborative, hands-on exploration of environmental journalism as an agent of change within society. Students learn how to identify and execute engaging stories about environmental science, policy, and justice with an emphasis on elevatin...
EARTHSYS279 Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs This course explores the science of valuing nature, through two interwoven pathways. One is biophysical, focused on human dependence and impacts on Earths life-support systems. If well managed, lands, waters, and biodiversity yield a flow of vital be...
EARTHSYS281 Urban Agroecology Urban agriculture takes many forms in cities around the world and provides significant amounts of food and other resources and benefits for urban communities. This Earth Systems practicum explores the application of agroecological principles to the d...
EARTHSYS282A Ecological Farm Systems An in-person, outdoor, project-based course in sustainable agricultural systems. Students will work individually or in small groups on projects at the Stanford Educational Farm. Potential projects this fall include building educational gardens, orcha...
EARTHSYS282B Sustainable Agriculture Projects This is a project-based sustainable agriculture course. Students will work individually or in small groups on projects of their choosing at the Stanford Educational Farm or remotely. Students can develop their own projects related to sustainable agri...
EARTHSYS282C Community Agroecology Projects This is a project-based course that connects students to organizations that are using agroecological approaches to address food production and community food sovereignty challenges. Projects have been framed and will be mentored by Stanford Education...
EARTHSYS286 Farm and Garden Environmental Education Practicum Farms and gardens provide excellent settings for place-based environmental education that emphasize human ecological relationships and experiential learning. The O'Donohue Family Stanford Educational Farm is the setting to explore the principles and...
EARTHSYS289C Agroecology Agroecology is a scientific discipline rooted in indigenous land stewardship and food production practices. It uses traditional ecological knowledge and insights from multiple academic disciplines to design, manage, and evaluate agricultural systems...
EARTHSYS290 Master's Seminar Required of and open only to Earth Systems co-terminal MS and MA students. This course has several elements, including, skill building through experiential learning and reflection and professional development. Students will either work in teams with...
EARTHSYS291 Concepts in Environmental Communication Introduction to the history, development, and current state of communication of environmental science and policy to non-specialist audiences. Includes fundamental principles, core competencies, and major challenges of effective environmental communic...
EARTHSYS292 Multimedia Environmental Communication Introductory theory and practice of effective, accurate and engaging use of photography, audio and video production in communicating environmental science and policy concepts to the public. Emphasis on fundamental techniques, storytelling and workflo...
EARTHSYS293 Environmental Communication Practicum Students complete an internship or similar practical experience in a professional environmental communication setting. Potential placements include environmental publications, environmental or outdoor education placements, NGOs, government agencies,...
EARTHSYS294 Environmental Communication Capstone The Earth Systems Master of Arts, Environmental Communication capstone project provides students with an opportunity to complete an ambitious independent project demonstrating mastery of an area of environmental communication. Capstone projects are m...
EARTHSYS295 Environmental Communication Seminar Weekly seminar for students enrolled in the Earth Systems Master of Arts, Environmental Communication Program, to be taken twice for credit during degree progress. Includes discussion of and reflection on current topics in environmental communication...
EARTHSYS297 Directed Individual Study in Earth Systems Under supervision of an Earth Systems faculty member on a subject of mutual interest.
EARTHSYS298 Seminar on Philosophy, Politics, and the Environment Much public discourse that touches upon the relationship of human society to the natural environment acknowledges the fundamental connection between people and the environment, but avoids or simplifies discussion of broader philosophical and politica...
EARTHSYS299 M.S. Thesis M.S. Thesis
EARTHSYS301 CURRICULAR PRACTICAL TRAINING - CPT CPT course required for international students completing degree.
EARTHSYS308 Carbon Dioxide and Methane Removal, Utilization, and Sequestration This is a seminar on carbon dioxide and methane removal, utilization, and sequestration options, and their role in decarbonizing the global energy system. This course will cover topics including the global carbon balance, utilizing atmospheric carbon...
EARTHSYS323 Stanford at Sea (Graduate students register for 323H.) Five weeks of marine science including oceanography, marine physiology, policy, maritime studies, conservation, and nautical science at Hopkins Marine Station, followed by five weeks at sea aboard a sailing rese...
EARTHSYS332 Theory and Practice of Environmental Education Foundational understanding of the history, theoretical underpinnings, and practice of environmental education as a tool for addressing today's pressing environmental issues. The purpose, design, and implementation of environmental education in formal...
EARTHSYS36N Life at the Extremes: From the Deep Sea to Deep Space Preference to freshmen. Microbial life is diverse and resilient on Earth; could it survive elsewhere in our solar system? This seminar will investigate the diversity of microbial life on earth, with an emphasis on extremophiles, and consider the pote...
EARTHSYS38N The Worst Journey in the World: The Science, Literature, and History of Polar Exploration This course examines the motivations and experiences of polar explorers under the harshest conditions on Earth, as well as the chronicles of their explorations and hardships, dating to the 1500s for the Arctic and the 1700s for the Antarctic. Materia...
EARTHSYS39Q Talking about Earthquakes, Volcanoes, and Floods: Science Communication and Natural Hazards In an age of fake news, how do we communicate the importance of scientific facts? How do we compel action from an individual to a national level when the facts alone aren¿t enough? In this class you will learn the basic tools of science communicatio...
EARTHSYS4 Coevolution of Earth and Life (EPS 4 - Former GEOLSCI 4) Earth is the only planet in the universe currently known to harbor life. When and how did Earth become inhabited? How have biological activities altered the planet? How have environmental changes affected the evolution of l...
EARTHSYS41N The Global Warming Paradox Preference to freshman. Focus is on the complex climate challenges posed by the substantial benefits of energy consumption, including the critical tension between the enormous global demand for increased human well-being and the negative climate cons...
EARTHSYS46N Exploring the Critical Interface between the Land and Monterey Bay: Elkhorn Slough Preference to freshmen. Field trips to sites in the Elkhorn Slough, a small agriculturally impacted estuary that opens into Monterey Bay, a model ecosystem for understanding the complexity of estuaries, and one of California's last remaining coastal...
EARTHSYS46Q Environmental Impact of Energy Systems: What are the Risks? In order to reduce CO2 emissions and meet growing energy demands during the 21st Century, the world can expect to experience major shifts in the types and proportions of energy-producing systems. These decisions will depend on considerations of cost...
EARTHSYS55Q Am I a Part of Earth? Understanding of Rock, Water, and Time Am I a part of Earth? Not only is this a question of personal meaning, but also a complex question that shapes how we interact with the natural world. Answering it calls for both scientific and experiential understanding of Earth processes, as well a...
EARTHSYS58Q Understanding Our Oceans: Scientific Toys, Tools, & Trips In popular science magazines we read about deep ocean critters recently discovered or the latest threats coral reefs face. But what is it actually like to do science in the ocean-to research ocean life in the various ocean ecosystems? In this course,...
EARTHSYS61Q Food and security The course will provide a broad overview of key policy issues concerning agricultural development and food security, and will assess how global governance is addressing the problem of food security. At the same time the course will provide an overvie...
EARTHSYS8 The Oceans: An Introduction to the Marine Environment The course will provide a basic understanding of how the ocean functions as a suite of interconnected ecosystems, both naturally and under the influence of human activities. Emphasis is on the interactions between the physical and chemical environmen...
EARTHSYS801 TGR Project TGR Project
EARTHSYS91 Earth Systems Writers Collective Come join a community of environmental writers, publish your work, and get course credit at the same time! Are you currently working on an article, an op-ed, translating your class projects into publishable pieces or pursuing a new writing project? A...
EARTHSYS91EJ Environmental Justice Storytelling: Writing for Impact In this class students will explore groundbreaking environmental justice (EJ) stories created in multiple mediums including podcasts, documentaries, op-eds, and social media. Over the quarter you will research and develop your own EJ story and select...
EARTHSYS95 Liberation Through Land: Organic Gardening and Racial Justice Through field trips, practical work and readings, this course provides students with the tools to begin cultivating a relationship to land that focuses on direct engagement with sustainable gardening, from seed to harvest. The course will take place...
EARTHSYS96 Land Justice: Unearthing Histories & Seeding Liberation Through readings, class discussions, direct interviews, peer reviews, and blog posts, this course grounds students in United States land histories, explores contemporary efforts towards food and land justice, and equips students with the frameworks t...