Earth and Environmental Sciences

The Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences coordinates two interrelated programs: Earth Science (Geology) and Environmental Science. Earth Scientists and Environmental Scientists study some of the Earth's biggest questions.

In addition to teaching, Douglas College EAES faculty are involved in original research relating to ancient environments, global change, and paleontology. Our programs offer you the world to explore.

Earth Science

What secrets do fossils reveal?
How do we explore for essential natural resources?
What are the mysteries of earthquakes and the shifting of continents?
What unleashes the fury of volcanoes; can eruptions be predicted?
Is global change a new phenomenon?

Earth Science (or Geology) studies the materials, processes, and history of our planet, including the history of life on Earth. Subjects include:

• Rocks and Minerals
• Fossils
• Natural Resources: eg ore, oil, gas, coal
• Natural Hazards: earthquakes, volcanoes, floods, landslides
• Environmental Issues such as groundwater pollution, climate change and nuclear waste disposal

Earth Science careers
Earth Science brings together knowledge from across the natural sciences and leads to a rapidly expanding variety of careers. Graduates are in demand for jobs in fields such as:

• Mining and resource exploration
• Water monitoring
• Geological hazard and pollution monitoring
• Terrain mapping
• Urban and rural planning
• Research into Earth processes and materials
• Study of ancient environments and global change

Earth Science studies at Douglas College feature:

• Paleontology (Fossils)
• Tectonics (movement of Earth's oceanic and continental plates)
• Mineralogy and Petrology (minerals and rocks).

Environmental Science

What does the future hold regarding global warming, air and water pollution, human population growth and loss of biodiversity? How does science work, and how can a scientific perspective improve our understanding of environmental issues?

Environmental Science studies the interactions among the Earth's fundamental systems: Lithosphere, Biosphere, Atmosphere, and Hydrosphere.

Explore the mechanisms of global change and the impact of human activities. Examine the nature of science and the contrasting public perception of science, the need for multiple hypotheses, testing of hypotheses, the meaning of "uncertainty" and public views of risk, and the building of a body of theory (scientific knowledge).

Environmental Science is highly interdisciplinary, drawing upon all of the natural sciences. At Douglas College the courses are generally delivered by Earth science or Biology instructors and our emphasis is upon these disciplines, but we also bring in guest lecturers from many backgrounds.

Environmental Science careers
Environmental Science grads can find careers in the growing environmental consulting industry where you can:

• Map ecosystems
• Assess environmental quality indicators
• Map and remove invasive plants
• Restore fisheries and waterway habitat
• Plan responses to environmental change.

Other careers can be found in:

• Urban and rural planning
• Environmental impact projects for resource industries
• environmental interpretation - teaching the general public in parks, museums, or through scientific journalism
• Associate degree graduates from Douglas College can block-transfer to Environmental Science programs at other institutions (Royal Roads, University of Lethbridge).

Recent Publications by our Faculty

Wilson, M.C., L.V. Hills and B. Shapiro (2008) Late Pleistocene northward-dispersing Bison antiquus from the Bighill Creek Formation, Gallelli Gravel Pit, Alberta, and the fate of Bison occidentalis. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, 45: 827-859.

Kenady, S.M., M.C. Wilson and R.F. Schalk (2007) Indications of butchering on a Late-Pleistocene Bison antiquus from the Maritime Pacific Northwest. Current Research in the Pleistocene, 24: 167-170.

Schalk, R.F., S.M. Kenady and M.C. Wilson (2007) Early Post-glacial ungulates on the Northwest Coast: implications for hunter-gatherer ecological niches. Current Research in the Pleistocene, 24: 182-185.

al-Suwaidi, M., B.C. Ward, M.C. Wilson, R.J. Hebda, D.W. Nagorsen, D. Marshall, B. Ghaleb, R.J. Wigen, and R.J. Enkin (2006) Late Wisconsinan Port Eliza Cave deposits and their implications for human coastal migration, Vancouver Island, Canada. Geoarchaeology: An International Journal, 21: 307-322.