Lecture Schedule and Notes FQ 2025

POSTED: 10 July 2025

UPDATED: 17 September 2025

when: Lectures are MWF 3:00-3:50
where: Catalyst 0125
recordings: through UCSD podcast, viewable through Canvas

All material, including the book chapters, will be test material.



to help navigate other items on the SIO15 schedule, here are some pointers:
• lectures: MWF 3 pm, starting Sep 26
• discussion sessions: TBD (in-person; if Zoom/Canvas, they will not be recorded) (optional; use worksheet)
• weekly homeworks (mandatory): distributed via class website/returned Tuesdays via Gradescope
• weekly for-credit tests (mandatory): Mondays (Canvas) (tests cannot be repeated)
• no-credit quizzes: class website: optional, take as often as you want to prepare for Monday tests
• extra-credit pop quizzes: in-person only; randomly given during lectures (not needed for 100% score)
• midterms, final exam: NONE! Check the 'Grades' tab how final grades are determined.

Date	Session #	Last Update	Topic Title	Book Chapter/ Study Guide (pdf)	Short Videos
prep	0		SIO15 syllabus and course logistics		1-Website
week 0 Sep 26	1		01 - Introduction to Natural Disasters Flyer 1	1
week 1 Sep 29	2		01 - Introduction to Natural Disasters 02 - Energy Sources of Disasters Flyer 1	2	2a-Forces/Energy 2b-Potential Energy
Oct 01	3		02 - Energy Sources of Disasters 03 - The Solar System - The Earth-Moon System Flyer 2	2,3	3a-Earth Tides1 3b-Earth Tides2
Oct 03	4		03 - The Solar System - Other Celestial Bodies Flyer 2	2,3
week 2 Oct 06	5		04 - The Layered Earth, Continental Drift and Plate Tectonics	3,4	4a-Layered Earth 4b-Isostasy 4c-Continental Drift 4d-Polar Wander Curves 4e-Seafloor Spreading
Oct 08	6		05 - Earthquakes and Plate Boundaries Flyer 3	4,5	5a-EQ Types, 5b-EQ Magnitudes
Oct 10	7		06 - Earthquake Hazards	6	6a-Liquefaction, 6c-other EQ hazards
week 3 Oct 13	8		07 - Earthquake Seismology Flyer 4	5	5c-Seismic Waves 5d-Seismograms&EQs
Oct 15	9		08 - Volcanoes, Eruption Types and Volcanic Hazards	7	7a-Volcanic Eruptions 7b1-Hazards-LavaFlows 7b2-Hazards-Pyroclastic Debris 7b3-Hazards-Gases, Tsunami Climate change
Oct 17	10		09 - Volcanoes and Plate Tectonics Flyer 5	7	7c-Volcano Types; Viscosity 7d-Volcanic rocks 7e-Geotherm; Melting
week 4 Oct 20	11		10 - EQs and Volcanism in Western North America	4-7
Oct 22	12		11 - Landslides and other Mass Movements	8	8a-Mass-on-Slope
Oct 24	13		12 - Mass Movements in Southern California	8
week 5 Oct 27	14		13 - The Principles of Floods	9	9a-Stream Profile 9b-Discharge 9c-Meanders
Oct 29	15		14 - Floods: Humans vs. Nature		9d-Hydrographs 9e-Flood Frequency Curves 9f-SD Flood Control
Oct 31	16		15 - The Atmosphere and Climate	11	11a-Seasons 11b-Atmosphere
week 6 Nov 03	17		16 - Winds and Weather	12	12b-Circulation Cells
			Special Topic: The Santa Ana weather condition
Nov 05	18		17 - Extreme Weather - Part 1: Heat and Cold Waves	13	13a-Heat Waves 13b-Heat Waves Examples 13c-Cold Storms
Nov 07	19		17 - Extreme Weather - Part 2: Storms 18 - Severe Weather - Part 1: Thunderstorms	14	13d-Air Masses 13e-Wave Cyclones 13f- Noreasters
week 7 Nov 10			no class -
Nov 12	20		18 - Severe Weather - Part 2: Tornadoes	14
Nov 14	21		19 - Hurricanes	15	15a-Hurricane Naming 15b-Hurricane and SoCal
week 8 Nov 17	22		20 - Wildfires - Part 1	10	10a-Fire Triangle 10b-Stages of Fire
Nov 19	23		20 - Wildfires - Part 2	10
Nov 21	24		21 - Long- and Short-term Climate Variations	16	16-El Niño
week 9 Nov 24	25		22 - Anthropogenic Changes: Atmosphere - Part A	18
Nov 26			no class
Nov 28			no class - Thanksgiving
week 10 Dec 01	26		22 - Anthropogenic Changes: Atmosphere - Part B	18	18-Ozone Hole
Dec 03	27		24 - Anthropogenic Changes: Pollution	19	19-Acid rain
			Special Topic: Mercury and Lead in the Environment
Dec 05	28		27 - Life and Mass Extinctions
--	--	--	--	--	--
			ADDITIONAL TOPICS NOT COVERED IN FQ25	--	--
			23 - Anthropogenic Changes: Ground	19
			25 - Anthropogenic Changes: Water and Oceans
			Prologue to Topic 26: Easter Island
			26 - Anthropogenic Changes: Resources
			28 - Space Impacts
			Special Topic: State of the World
			Special Topic: Traditional Energy Resources
			Special Topic: Alternative Energy Resources