EEPS0350, Fall 2026

EEPS0350. GeoMath

Intended for undergraduates concentrating in geological and physical sciences or engineering, especially those interested in the quantitative study of Earth. Problem sets will cover common approaches to quantify the dynamics and chemistry of solids and fluids in nature. Mathematical topics to be introduced include linear algebra, vectors and tensors, differential equations, dynamical systems, eigenvalues and eigenvectors, empirical orthogonal functions, fractals, chaos, and statistics. Applications include waves in the oceans, atmosphere, and solid earth, convective and conductive heat flow, reaction rates, gravitational potential energy, Newton’s laws on a rotating planet, measuring coastlines and ranges, and dating errors in stratigraphy.

Web Resources and Texts

1. COURSE NOTES.
2. HW (all in folder).

1. Completed Final (with Answer Key) from 2021.
2. Completed Final (with Answer Key) from 2019.
3. Completed Final (with Answer Key) from 2016.
4. Completed Final (with Answer Key) from 2015.
5. Completed Final (with Answer Key) from 2014.
6. Completed Midterm (with Answer Key) from 2021.
7. Completed Midterm (with Answer Key) from 2019.
8. Completed Midterm (with Answer Key) from 2016.
9. Completed Midterm (with Answer Key) from 2015.
10. Sample Midterm (with Answer Key) from 2014.
11. Peer reviewing guidelines.
12. Reading assignment guidelines.

Recommended Online Textbooks

1. Arfken, Weber, and Harris, Mathematical Methods for Physicists, Seventh Edition: A Comprehensive Guide
2. Boas, Mathematical Methods in the Physical Sciences
3. Kaper and Engler, Mathematics and Climate
4. Bourguignon et al., Mathematics of Energy and Climate Change
5. Cushman-Roisin and Beckers, Introduction to geophysical fluid dynamics: Physical and Numerical Aspects
6. Fowler, Mathematical Geosciences
7. Marshall and Plumb, Atmosphere, ocean, and climate dynamics: an introductory text
8. Schubert, Turcotte, and Olson, Mantle convection in the earth and planets
9. Strogatz, Nonlinear Dynamics and Chaos : With Applications to Physics, Biology, Chemistry, and Engineering
10. Vallis, Atmospheric and Oceanic Fluid Dynamics : Fundamentals and Large-Scale Circulation

Websites

1. Math Moron Myths
2. Wolfram Alpha
3. Mathematics of Planet Earth
4. Cleon Teunissen's Rotation Physics

Additional Fun Reading

Nonfiction

1. Lamb, 1917: Lamb, On Waves in an Elastic Plate
2. Love, 1897: Theoretical Mechanics: An Introductory Treatise on the Principles of Dynamics with Applications and Numerous Examples
3. Taylor, 1920: Tidal Friction in the Irish Sea
4. Hofstadter, Goedel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid
5. Paulos, Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences
6. Bowditch, 1880: The American Practical Navigator
7. Maury, 1860: The Physical Geography of the Sea and Its Meteorology

Fiction

1. Dana, Two Years Before the Mast
2. Defoe, Robinson Crusoe
3. Homer, The Odyssey
4. London, The Sea Wolf
5. Stevenson, Treasure Island

Brown Specific Guidelines

1. Disability Support Services
2. Academic & Student Conduct Codes, *Note* Prof. Fox-Kemper regards inappropriate cellphone and laptop use as disruptive behavior.
3. Academic Code