Instructor:  Dr. H. Maurice Valett,  Dept. of Biol., Va Tech,  Blacksburg, VA 24061

Course Specs: 4 credits, Fall 2005  Biology 4984/5984 CRN 95908/95909 meeting times: M,W  9:05 -10:45AM 1022 Derring Hall Seminar meeting  1 evening weekly TBA  Recommended Prerequisites:  - 1 yr chemistry  - 1 course ecology

Course Description: This course deals with the communities and processes of underground aquatic ecosystems with emphasis on shallow (i.e. meters in depth) environments influenced by interactions between groundwater and surface water.  These environments include streams and rivers (lotic), aquifers and hyporheic zones, karst and cave systems and floodplains and lakes (see gwenvs.pdf ). Course material is interdisciplinary in nature and draws heavily from ecology, hydrogeology, geology and chemistry.  The course is designed for undergraduates with Jr/Sr standing or for graduate students in related areas of research.

 

Courses Structure, Outline and Class Notes: Text Books Syllabus Course Structure, Tests and Grading Outline and Course Notes: course notes and figures are available as MSWord files and require a current version (i.e. MSWord 97) of the software to open and print these files. Accessing the notes requires a user name and password available from the instructor.       Section I:   Fundamentals of Groundwater Ecosystems - Organisms, Metabolism                         and Nutrient Cycling  (notes: Lectures 1-9)     Section II:  Karst Systems - Geomorphology, Geochemistry, Hydrology and                         Ecology  (notes: Lectures 10-16)     Section III: Alluvial Aquifers - Stream-groundwater interactions,                         Hyporheic Zones, Hyporheos  (notes: Lectures 17-24)     Section IV: Terrestrial aquifers, Bioremediation, Riparian Zones and Lakes                           (notes: Lectures 25-29)

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