Earth Science- Spring 1999

EARTH SCIENCES 10: Geologic Principles

Time: T-TH 11:00 to 12:10
Location: Classroom Unit 1

Instructor: Justin Revenaugh
Office: A101 Earth & Marine Sciences
Phone: 9-3055
E-Mail: jsr@earthsci.ucsc.edu

Catalog Description

Introduction to earth materials, earth processes, and earth structure: origin of the earth, evolution of the continents and ocean basins, geologic time, world-wide earthquake belts, formation of landscapes and global change. Includes a one-day, optional field trip.

General Education Codes: IN, Q.

Geology is a very natural science, blending elements of chemistry, physics, and biology, and, through interaction of the solid Earth with the atmosphere, drawing in meteorology, oceanography and marine sciences as well. EART10 introduces the basic principles of geology, working from minerals to rocks to processes to earth structure. We will see that our planet works as an interacting system of matter and energy, producing volcanoes, earthquakes, glaciers, mountains, continents and oceans. The energy that drives the system comes from Earth's internal heat and solar radiation. The matter of Earth-its rocks and minerals-and its structure are the relics of Earth system processes evolving over the 4.6 billion years of geologic time. Rocks, and the minerals that comprise them, tell us the story of this evolution. They record ancient volcanism, ancient mountain building events, ancient climates and ancient shifts in landmass position. Reading that story requires knowledge of minerals and rocks, of how familiar processes act to shape the rock record, and of geologic time. The Earth operates over a bewildering range of time scales: from the seconds and minutes of earthquake rupture, to the tens and thousands and millions of years of climate variability, to the billions of years of continental evolution . We will see how processes operating on different time scales, including anthropogenic effects, interact to shape the planet's landforms and biota.

EART10 is a gateway to a major in Earth Sciences. For those of you looking to satisfy an IN or Q requirement, it is the gateway to a greater appreciation of the physical world around you.

A desire to learn about the natural world you live in.

Course webpages contain complete copies of lectures, all course handouts, lab materials, supplementary materials and notices of help and review sessions. Tests from previous years are also available. http://emerald.ucsc.edu/~jsr/EART10

Earth's Dynamic Systems, Eight Edition, by W. Kenneth Hamblin and E.H. Christiansen (available at the bookstore). All assigned readings come from this book. An optional reader available from the copy center contains copies of all overheads used in class that are not taken directly from the book.

There are two midterms, breaking the quarter into thirds. They are closed book, consisting of multiple choice and short essay questions. The final will stress material from the final three weeks of class, but will have minor comprehensive elements.

There will be four homework assignments during the quarter. Help sessions will be scheduled prior to the due date of each.

Grading reflects a mix of homework and test scores with specific emphasis placed on the component the student performs best at. However, you must pass the tests to pass the class.

Week	Topic
1	Introduction to the Earth Minerals
2	Igneous Rocks and Volcanism Sedimentary Rocks
3	Metamorphic Rocks The Rock Record and Geologic Time
4	First Midterm Folds and Faults
5	Mass Wasting Groundwater and the Hydrologic Cycle
6	Rivers Wind and Deserts
7	Oceans and Coasts Second Midterm
8	More Oceans and Coasts Climate Change and the Fossil Record
9	Earthquakes Earth's Interior
10	Plate Tectonics More Plate Tectonics

There is an optional field trip tentatively scheduled for the sixth Saturday of the quarter. There is no assignment associated with it. It will be fun, but only if you want to go--that's why it's optional.

The lab (EART10L) is required of all Earth Science majors, but is optional for non- majors and carries no general education codes . It stresses mineral and rock identification skills, map reading and structural interpretation. Taking it will definitely bolster your understanding and appreciation of lecture material. Non-majors should strongly consider it if it fits your schedule. The lab meets once a week for three hours. There are two short in-lab quizzes and a short lab final. In-lab field trips will be held as weather permits.

Instructor: Andy Fisher

Students can link to my Eart146 syllabus from next year at:

http://emerald.ucsc.edu/~afisher/HydroClass/Eart146/Eart146syllabus.html

Instructor: Gary A Glatzmaier, Professor of Earth Sciences
Office: Earth and Marine Sciences Building, Room A102
Phone: 9-5504
E-Mail: glatz@es.ucsc.edu

Check http://www.igpp.lanl.gov/Geodynamo.html for a summary of the instructor's most recent 3D computer modeling simulations of the generation of the geomagnetic field via convection and rotation in the Earth's fluid outer core.

Lectures: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10:00-11:45am
Earth and Marine Sciences Building, Room C332

Discussion Sections: Tuesdays, 2:00-3:00pm
Earth and Marine Sciences Building, Room D258

Text: "Introduction to Geophysical Fluid Dynamics"
by Benoit Cushman-Roisin

Course description:

This is an introduction to the study of fluid flow, starting with the fundamental concepts of inertia, pressure gradient, buoyancy, viscosity, rotation, and thermodynamics. The general equations governing conservation of mass, momentum, and energy are studied and traditional approximations to these equations are described for various problems. The lectures focus on the different styles of thermal convection and global circulation in the Earth's atmosphere, ocean, mantle, and core. Applications to other terrestrial planets, giant planets, and stars will also be investigated. The discussion sections will provide the students hands-on experience of developing a computer program for modeling a simple thermal convection problem and analyzing the results of a simulation.

Topics by week:

Concepts and equations of fluid dynamics.

Rotational and viscous effects.

Waves and instabilities.

Thermal convection.

Ocean circulation.

Atmospheric circulation.

Mantle convection.

Core convection.

Planetary and stellar convection.

Computer modeling.

This course is designed for upper-division science majors and graduate students.

Prerequisites: EART 110C, 111 (or Math 11C or 19A or PHYS 114B), PHYS 5B or 6B.

Recommended: EART 113, PHYS 107, CS 60N.

Student Evaluation: Quizzes, computer modeling project, class participation

Revised 7/30/04.