ENVS 4533 - Special Topics

Prerequisite: ENVS 4500 or a previous, college-level geology course and consent of the instructor. This course will consist of an intensive, 11-day study of the geology and hydrogeology of San Salvador Island, Bahamas. It will be held at the Gerace Research Center. San Salvador is the site of Columbus' first landfall in the New World. It has beautiful reefs, a jungle interior, and an interesting culture. The island presents, in a karst setting, a wide variety of geologic and hydrogeologic features for study. The first four days of the course will be spent on group field trips to view these features and the last five days will be devoted to independent projects related to water supply, fresh-salt ground water relationships, or karst hydrogeology. There will be evening lectures on the island's geology, karst features, hydrology, reef biology, culture, and history presented by researchers from a variety of institutions. A research paper on the project, due in by the end of the term, will be required. One class meeting will be held prior to departure, at a time to be arranged. The cost of room, board, on-island transportation, insurance, departure taxes, and round-trip airfare to San Salvador from Fort Lauderdale, Florida will be announced. Travel to Fort Lauderdale is the student's responsibility. Contact Dr. R. Laurence Davis, Professor of Environmental Sciences, at (203) 932-7108 or rldavis@newhaven.edu for more information. 3 credits.