Earth & Space Sciences

When exploring the principal rules that govern the flow of water, this course considers the four major types of water: atmospheric, ground, soil, and surface. With human activity and prevailing climate conditions placing more pressure on our supply of water than ever before, there has never been a more important time to develop a sound understanding of the subject. Students are familiarized with the basic terms and major laws that describe steady-state water flow in the subsurface and at the surface. These major laws are the energy equation (Bernoulli's law), the water balance equation (continuity), and the flow equation (Darcy's law or the Darcy-Buckingham equation). Students also gain knowledge of some aspects of atmospheric water, such as the generation of precipitation, measurement of precipitation, and the estimation of evaporation, as well as several methods for estimating surface water discharges in small streams. The ability to calculate volume fluxes and/or volume flux densities for several steady-state water-flow cases determines the successful completion of the course. Students are expected to have a working knowledge of mathematical differentiation and integration. This course is best suited for students in Hydrology, Geography, or Earth Science fields.

This course provides an introduction to ocean properties and processes. Topics include processes that exchange energy and water within the Earth system; main sources, sinks, and pathways of material; temperature, salinity, and density structure; temperature-salinity diagram; waves and tide generation; Eulerian and Lagrangian co-ordinate systems; hydrothermal circulation; biogeochemical cycling of oxygen, carbon dioxide and nutrients; biogenic sediments; volume transport and fluxes of material; and instrumentation used in oceanography.

The course provides an introduction to the study of lake sediments, commonly used methods, and inferences derived from lake-sediment analyses. Characteristics of lake sediments, abiotic and biotic components of lake sediments, and the response of lake systems to environmental and climate change are discussed. Practical analyses include initial lake-sediment description, smear-slide analysis, common sample-treatment methods, and the separation, documentation, and identification of macro- and microscopic organic remains. Paleoecological and paleoenvironmental reconstructions based on lake sediments are demonstrated. 

This course provides a broad and coherent understanding of sediment transport, geomorphological processes, coastal deposits, and landforms in coastal environments. It builds an understanding and appreciation of coastal development over both short and long time spans and how (and why) changing boundary conditions (climate change; sea level change) affect these landscapes in the long term. This includes an appreciation of risks related to climate change along with possible adaptation strategies and measures. Topics include waves and currents; erosion and transport of sediments; beach and shoreface morphology; conceptual morphological models; stratigraphy and formation of coastal landscapes; beach erosion/accretion; coastal response to changes in sea-level, sediment supply and climate change.

This course outlines the processes leading to the formation and behavior of economic geomaterials and energy resources. Geomaterials covered include groundwater and the sources of metallic and non-metallic resources. Geoenergy resources covered include coal, conventional and unconventional hydrocarbons, wind, hydroelectric, ocean, solar, geothermal and nuclear energy. The use of and demand for geomaterials and geoenergy are explored, and strategies for transitioning to a clean energy future, including carbon capture and storage technologies, are discussed.

This course introduces the mathematical foundation and rock mechanics background needed to understand the deformation behavior of the crust and mantle at the macroscopic, mesoscopic, and microscopic scales. The course is primarily designed for students interested in structural geology, geophysics, crust/lithosphere/mantle, and Earth materials studies, or planning to embark on the Master Program in Earth Structure and Dynamics.

The Individual Research Training Senior (IRT Senior) Course is an advanced course of the Individual Research Training A (IRT A) course in the Tohoku University Junior Year Program in English (JYPE) in the fall semester. Though short-term international exchange students are not degree candidates at Tohoku University, a similar experience is offered by special arrangement. Students are required to submit: an abstract concerning the results of their IRT Senior project, a paper (A4, 20-30 pages) on their research at the end of the exchange term, and an oral presentation on the results of their IRT Senior project near the end of the term.

This course explores how chemical and isotopic tracers can be used to determine the composition, mineral content, and evolution of the crust mantle system. Focus is given to radiogenic isotopes and trace elements in magmatic systems. Key issues include: How are the crust and the mantle chemically distinct? What are the differences between continental and oceanic crustal and mantle reservoirs? How have these reservoirs evolved through geological time? How can geochemical data support or disprove plate tectonic models? Which types of magmatic rock give the most useful information about tectonic processes and how do we recognize this?

This course covers the topic of climate change from several angles. Starting with the basic evidence and science behind climate change and modeling of future scenarios, then through impacts and vulnerability to efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change. Issues such as climate refugees, gender aspects, and negotiations are addressed. Students taking this course generally have very different backgrounds and students have a chance to learn about climate change from different viewpoints.

This course introduces the use of telescopes and data collection in astronomy. It covers how to set up and competently operate a telescope, how to plan and conduct astronomical observations for scientific purposes, and how to process and analyze astronomical data.