Teaching
Robert S. Bowman, Professor of Hydrology

University courses I have taught :

ERTH 140, Water in the Rise and Fall of Civilizations. A survey of how water resources have nurtured the rise of civilizations and how changes in, or misuse of, these resources have led to their demise. The impact of hydrologic extremes such as floods and droughts on social sustainability will also be examined. Case studies from the ancient to the modern world will be considered in the context of the underlying hydrological processes and their environmental and social ramifications.

ERTH 140L, Water in the Rise and Fall of Civilizations Laboratory. Laboratory and field exercises in hydrologic processes including flood forecasting, erosion, salinization, and groundwater overdraft.

Hydrology 507: Hydrochemistry. The thermodynamics and aqueous chemistry of groundwater, including chemical equilibrium concepts, surface chemistry, redox reactions, and biochemistry. The interaction of groundwater with the atmosphere and aquifer matrix are applied to problems of groundwater quality evolution, water use, and groundwater contamination.

Hydrology 546: Contaminant Hydrology. The physics, chemistry, and biology of inorganic and organic contaminants in groundwater systems. Mechanisms by which contaminants are introduced. Transport and transformations of dissolved contaminants in both the vadose and saturated zones. Movement, trapping, and solubility of relatively immiscible organic compounds. Contaminant isolation and remediation using physical barriers, hydraulics, and in-situ treatment.

Hydrology 548: Laboratory and Field Methods in Hydrology. A course in experimental methods used in aquifer characterization and investigations of groundwater contamination. Monitoring well installation, slug tests, sampling methodologies, sorption isotherms, miscible displacement experiments, and other techniques. Theory and use of analytical instrumentation, including atomic absorption spectrophotometry, gas chromatography, and liquid chromatography, used in measuring contaminant levels. (Picture shows HYD 548 students in the field.)

Hydrology 552/Petroleum Engineering 552: Fluid/Surface Interactions. A course on the physics and chemistry of interfaces. Emphasis on interactions in multifluid systems both in the presence and absence of solids. The course is application-oriented, focusing on phenomena important in hydrology, petroleum engineering, and environmental engineering. (Also taught Spring 2008 via NMT Distance Education.)

Geochemistry/Geology/Hydrology 555, Advanced Aqueous Geochemistry. Advanced topics in aqueous geochemistry, including chemical weathering, surface reactivity, colloidal phenomena, environmental organic chemistry, process-based reactive transport modeling, and other topics of interest to those enrolled. The course consists of introductory lectures on each topic followed by review and discussion of current papers from the literature.

Geochemistry/Geology/Geophysics/Hydrology 592, Graduate Seminar. A course on how to prepare and deliver a professional talk. Topics include organization, preparation of visuals, and delivery techniques.