Day in the Life of a Geology Student

This block I took "Surface Processes and Geomorphology". During this course, I learned about landscapes and how they evolve over space and time. More specifically, I studied the effects humans, climate, and tectonic activity has on landscapes.

Geology is a field-based study however, this class was delivered all virtually. Initially, I was super bummed that we couldn't get out into the field, but we got the chance to use ArcGIS Pro, Excel, and Python which I hadn't used before. Although learning how to use the various softwares was challenging and tested my patience, I learned how to analyze data, create graphs, generate maps, model landscapes, and write script.

This figure shows Sherman Creek stream power. The figure illustrates the influence topography has on stream power. In the left image, the stream travels through a flat landscape and the stream power is low. In the right image, the stream runs parallel to a ridge and the stream power is high.

My class also had the unique opportunity to attend the Geological Society of America annual conference that would have normally been held in Montreal. The virtual conference had a variety of speakers presenting their research. My class attended various lectures centered around topics in our class like fluvial, hill slope, and tectonic geomorphology, and we also attended talks addressing antiracism in the geosciences.

Oftentimes, people assume that geology is the study of rocks (which is true...), but it is much more than that! A portion of this class was focused on human alterations to landscapes and their affects on local ecology. We also looked at the climate change induced change to landscapes. I really enjoyed this class and was fascinated by everything we were learning.

Geology rocks!