Physical Geography Courses
* Courses available solely for graduate students.
GEOG 150. Physical Geography (3 cr) - Basic elements of the physical environment. Introduction to the fields of climatology and meteorology through examination of atmospheric processes. Landforms and the processes responsible for their creation. Modifying work of people within the natural environment. Students may not earn credit towards the degree in both GEOG 150 and 155.
GEOG 155. Elements of Physical Geography (4 cr, lecture 3, lab 1) - Basic elements of the physical environment of the earth and its atmosphere. Includes atmospheric processes, temperature distributions, weather systems, severe weather, climates, water balance, vegetation and soil distributions, landforms and their processes, and natural hazards. Modifying influences that humans have on the physical environment and atmosphere examined. Students who earn credit toward the degree in GEOG 155 may not earn credit toward the degree in GEOG 150.
GEOG 155. Physical Geography Laboratory (1 cr) - Basic elements of the physical environment of our earth and atmosphere. Lab exercises include analysis of: earth-sun relationships; processes responsible for creating the various patterns of weather and climate; the hydrologic cycle and water balance; landforms created by stream flow, glaciers, and wind; and the modifying influences that humans have on our natural earth and atmospheric systems. Must be taken with GEOG 155.
GEOG 198. Special Topics in Geography (1-3 cr) - Offered from time to time by faculty members who wish to examine current problems in geography. May take a variety of forms including the freshman seminar and minicourse.
GEOG 255. Introduction to Atmospheric Science (METR 255) (4 cr) Prerequisite: METR 200, MATH 106, and PHYS 211. Conceptual foundations for synoptic and dynamic meteorology. Meteorological data analysis, the dynamics of atmospheric motions, and atmospheric thermodynamics.
GEOG 281. Hydrogeography (NRES, WATS 281) (3 cr I) Prerequisite: GEOG 150 or permission. Survey of the water resource in its geographical context, both world-wide and regionally. Basic principles of the hydrologic cycle, snow hydrology, rivers and river systems, lakes, plus other water topics. Reference to human/water interactions.
GEOG 308. Biogeography (NRES 308) (3 cr) Prerequisite: GEOG 150 or BIOS 101, or permission. Introduction to the basic concepts of biogeography, the study of distributions of plants and animals, both past and present. Biogeography is a highly interdisciplinary science, relying heavily on ecology, geological science, and climatology. Global in scope and offers the latest knowledge in understanding organism distributions, and the factors that determine those distributions.
GEOG 398. Special Topics in Geography (1-24) Prerequisite: Permission. Selected topic possessing real implications.
GEOG 399. Independent Study in Geography (1-24 cr) Prerequisite: Permission.
GEOG 399H. Honors Course. (1-4 cr) Prerequisite: Open to candidates for degrees with distinction, with high distinction, and with highest distinction in the College of Arts and Sciences and to seniors and especially to qualified juniors, with the consent of the instructor.
GEOG 408/808. Microclimate: The Biological Environment (AGRO, HORT, METR, NRES 408/808; WATS 408) (3 cr I) Prerequisite: Junior standing, MATH 106 or equivalent, 5 cr physics, major in any of the physical or biological sciences or engineering, or permission. Physical factors that create the biological environment. Radiation and energy balances of earth's surfaces, terrestrial and marine. Temperature, humidity, and wind regimes near the surface. Control of the physical environment through irrigation, windbreaks, frost protection, manipulation of light, and radiation. Applications to air pollution research. Instruments for measuring environmental conditions and remote sensing of the environment.
GEOG 450/850. Climate and Society (AGRO, METR 450/850; NRES452/852) (3 cr) Prerequisite: METR 200 or 351 or equivalent, or permission. Offered spring semester of even-numbered calendar years. Impact of climate and extreme climatic events on society and societal responses to those events. Global in scope and interdisciplinary.
GEOG 451/851. Severe Storms Meteorology-Climatology (METR 451/851) (3 cr) Prerequisite: METR/GEOG 255. Dynamics of various types of severe weather (blizzards, flash floods, lightning, thunderstorms and winter and summer tornado outbreaks), with emphasis on an interpretation of the numerical and statistical models utilized to forecast these phenomena. Numerous synoptic case studies of severe weather occurrences supplemented by review of recent research findings as presented in the professional journals.
GEOG 452/852. Synoptic Meteorology (METR 452/852) (4 cr, lecture 3, lab 1) Prerequisite: METR/GEOG 255. Dynamic and thermodynamic concepts and principles are applied to synoptic-scale weather forecasting. Dynamics, energetics, structure, evolution, and motion of extratropical cyclones emphasized. Meteorological communications, interpretation and analysis of weather maps, and thermodynamic diagrams covered during laboratory periods.
GEOG 453/853. Physical Climatology (METR 453/853) (3 cr) Prerequisite: METR/GEOG 255. Global energy and water balance regimes of the earth and its atmosphere. Utilization of physical laws to reveal causes and effects of interrelationships in the climatic system.
GEOG 454/854. Regional Climatology (METR 454/854) (3 cr) Prerequisite: METR 351. Regional differentiation of the climates of the earth on both a descriptive and dynamic basis. Analysis of the chief systems of climatic classification.
* GEOG 855. Physiography (3 cr) Prerequisite: One introductory course in geography, geology, or agronomy. Quarternary environment focusing on the theme of "human and nature." Climatic changes of the Quarternary; theories of climatic change; Pleistocene environments of the Old and New World; human/land relationships in prehistory.
GEOG 456/856. Dynamic Meteorology (METR 456/856) (3 cr) Prerequisite: METR/GEOG 255, MATH 208, and PHYS 212. Equations of thermodynamics, momentum, and continuity are derived and applied to atmospheric motion. Energy conservation, flows, and conversions.
GEOG 457/857. Advanced Synoptic Meteorology-Climatology (METR 457/857) (4 cr, lecture 3, lab 1) Prerequisite: METR/GEOG 452/852. Analysis and forecasting of subsynoptic scale weather systems. Includes convection, thunderstorm models, severe local storm forecasting techniques, mesoscale convective complexes, vertical cross-sections, isentropic analysis, and weather radar.
GEOG 458/858. Dynamic Meteorology II (METR 458/858) (3 cr) Prerequisite: METR/GEOG 456/856 and CSCE 150. Applications of the principles of dynamic meteorology to the problems of forecasting and meteorological problems.
GEOG 466/866. Physical Meteorology (METR 466/866) (4 cr) Prerequisite: METR 255, CSCE 150, and PHYS 212. Physical principles that provide the foundation for meteorology, including the absorption, scattering, and transmission of radiation in the atmosphere, cloud physics, precipitation process, atmospheric optics and lightning.
GEOG 467/867. Great Plains Field Pedology (AGRO, NRES 477/877; SOIL 477) (4 cr II, lecture 3, lab 1) Prerequisite: AGRO/SOIL 153 or permission. Spatial relationship of soil properties on various parts of landscape typical of the Plains, casual factors, and predictions of such relationships on other landscapes. Grouping these properties into classes, naming the classes, and the taxonomy that results from this grouping. Application of a taxonomy to a real situation through making a field soil survey in a region representative of the Plains border, predicting land use response of various mapped units as it affects the ecosystem, and evaluating the effectiveness of the taxonomic system used in the region surveyed.
GEOG 468/868. Satellite Meteorology (METR 468/868) (3 cr) Prerequisite: METR/GEOG 452/852 or parallel. Concepts and principles related to meteorological observations from satellites. Emphasis on applications to weather analysis and forecasting.
GEOG 469/869. Bio-atmospheric Instrumentation (ARGO, MSYM, METR 469/869; HORT 407/807) (3 cr I, lecture 2, lab 1) Prerequisite: Junior standing, MATH 106, 4 cr physics, physical or biological science major. Offered fall semester of odd-numbered calendar years. Discussion and practical application of principles and practices of measuring meteorological and related variables near the earth's surface including temperature, humidity, precipitation, pressure, radiation, and wind. Performance characteristics of sensors and modern data collection methods are discussed and evaluated.
GEOG 481/881. Water Resources Seminar (AGRO 481/881; GEOL, NRES 415/815) (1 cr) Prerequisite: Junior standing or above, permission. Seminar on current water resources research and issues in Nebraska and the region.
GEOG 495/895. Internship in Meteorology-Climatology (METR 895) (1-6 cr) Prerequisite: Permission. Only 3 credits may apply for the major and/or minor in meteorology/climatology. Application of meteorology/climatology learning with on-the-job training.
GEOG 497/897. Internship in Geography (1-6 cr) Prerequisite: Permission. Applying geographic training with on-the-job learning.
GEOG 498/898. Advanced Special Problems in Geography (1-24 cr) Prerequisite: Permission. Topic varies.
* GEOG 899. Masters Thesis (6-10 cr) Prerequisite: Admission to masters degree program and permission of major advisor.
* GEOG 953. Seminar in Meteorology and Climatology (METR 953) (3 cr, max 6)
* GEOG 954. Seminar in Climatic Change (METR 954) (3 cr, max 6) Prerequisite: METR 853 or 855 or equivalent or permission. Review of climates of the past emphasizing the Quarternary period. Paleogeographic changes in response to climatic fluctuations. Techniques for recording and reconstructing past climatic variations. Modeling the changing climate. Climatic changes and human affairs.
* GEOG 967. Soil Genesis and Classification (AGRO, NRES 977) (3 cr II, lecture 2, lab 1) Prerequisite: AGRO 153, AGRO 877/GEOG 867, and permission. Procedures used to classify soils, concepts behind the systems in use, and the genesis of the soils in the major categories of each system.
* GEOG 996. Non-thesis Research (1-4 cr, max 24) Prerequisite: 24 hours of geography and permission.
* GEOG 999. Doctoral Dissertation (1-24, max 55) Prerequisite: Admission to doctoral degree program and permission from supervisory committee chair.
