Earth Science - Winter 1999

Course Content:

Geologic concepts and processes responsible for shaping our National Parks including mountain building, volcanic and earthquake activity, sedimentation, weathering, erosion, and glaciation. An understanding of how geology impacts our lives will be emphasized. Appropriate for both science and non-science majors who wish to enhance their knowledge, enjoyment and appreciation of our National Parks.

Class Time: M,W,F, 11:00-12:10, Classroom Unit 1

Sections: M 6-7:30 PM, T 10-11:30, 12-1:30, 4-5:30, W 9-10:30, F 12:30-2

Rooms to be announced

Textbook: Ann G. Harris and Esther Tuttle, Geology of National Parks, 5th edition, Kendall/Hunt Publishers, 1996 (available at the bookstore).

Course Work: Midterm, final and 6 hands-on exercises examing rocks, minerals and maps that can be nearly completed during the weekly sections. One optional Saturday field trip to Natural Bridges State Park.

SYLLABUS

Date /HW /Topic

1/4 Introduction to the Geology of National Parks
Grand Canyon National Park (GCNP)

1/6 A Trip Through 1.8 Billion Years of Earth History

1/8 Sedimentary Rocks and Environments of the Canyon

1/11 1 Environments of the Canyon Continued

1/13 Geologic History of the Grand Canyon (MOVIE)
Other Parks of the Colorado Plateau Province

1/15 Mesozoic History-Bryce and Zion Canyons

1/18 2 Weathering and Mass Wasting as Agents of Landform Creation

1/20 Policy and Effects of Damming the Colorado River in GCNP
National Parks Formed by Volcanic Activity

1/22 Diversity of Volcanic Activity

1/25 3 Plate Tectonics, Volcanoes, Igneous Rocks and Their Building Blocks

1/27 The Cascade Volcanoes

1/29 The Eruption of Mt. St. Helens (MOVIE)

2/1 Hawaiian Island Volcanoes

2/3 Yellowstone- A Thermal Wonderland

2/5 Conservation Policy and the National Parks

2/8 4 MIDTERM

National Parks in Regions of Complex Mountain Building

2/10 Deformation, Metamorphism and the Rocky Mtns.- Rocky Mtn. and Glacier

2/12 Rocky Mtn. History Continued- Grand Teton Natl. Park

2/15 President's Day- No Class

2/16 The Appalachian Mtns. -Great Smoky, Shenandoah, and Acadia
National Parks Shaped by Alpine Glaciation

2/17 Ice Ages, Past Climates, How Glaciers Form and Move

2/19 Gacial Features of Yosemite and Other Natl. Parks
Caves, Reefs and National Seashores and Marine Sanctuaries

2/22 5 Coastal Processes- Our National Seashores

2/24 Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary

2/26 The Hydrologic Cycle and Groundwater -Mammoth Caves

3/1 6 Fossil and Modern Reefs-Carlsbad Caverns and Guadalupe Mtns.
Geologic Evolution of Western North America

3/3 The San Andreas Fault and Pinnacles National Monument

3/5 The Basin and Range -Great Basin, Joshua Tree, Death Valley

3/8 Parks of the Alaskan Frontier

3/10 Geology of Your Favorite National Parks

3/12 Wrap Up and Review

EARTH SCIENCES 80F: EARTH HISTORY and GLOBAL CHANGE

Lecture: M-W-F,  9:30 -10:40 am
Location: Earth & Marine Sciences Bldg, Room B210
Optional laboratory sections meet T, 12 - 2 pm, OR Th, 9:30-11:30 am, Room D258

Instructor: Lisa Sloan
Office: A254 Earth & Marine Science Bldg.
Phone: 9-3693  
E-mail: lcsloan@earthsci.ucsc.edu 
Office Hours: to be arranged

 
Course description:

Geology provides a rich history of the many exciting and dramatic 
changes in environments, climates and life that have taken place on Earth 
through time.  This course provides an introduction to the physical changes that 
planet Earth has experienced over the past 4.5 billion years and the evidence for 
those changes. Within this context of change, the possible future of our planet is 
also addressed, based on lessons from Earth's past.  Course topics include: 
changing continental/ocean distributions, evolving life forms and the interaction 
of the biosphere with other aspects of planet Earth through time, and the long-
term pattern of changing environments and climates on Earth and their causes 
and consequences.
 
Course Structure:

There is an optional laboratory for the course, recommended for any 
student interested in gaining hands-on geologic experience.  Please note, if the 
lab option is taken, a student must enroll for the entire 10-week series of weekly 
labs.  With the lab option, the lab exercises count for 20 percent of the total grade, 
and the exams are correspondingly de-emphasized in grading.  In the lecture 
portionof the class, a class project presents students with an opportunity to 
creatively design their own research project presentation, based upon topical 
guidelines provided by the instructor.  Project summaries are presented in class 
near the end of the quarter; these presentations provide an informal means of 
investigating scientific issues in the classroom.  Course evaluations for those 
taking the lab option are based upon: lab exercises, 20 percent, mid-quarter 
exam, 20 percent, class project, 30 percent, and final exam, 30 percent.  Course 
evaluations for those not taking the lab option are are based upon:  midterm 
exam, 30 percent, class project 30 percent, and final exam, 40 percent.
 

TA: Jake Sewall (office and office hourse: to be arranged)

Text: Earth Then and Now (3rd Edition)


 
SYLLABUS:


LECTURE #		     LECTURE TOPIC			      READING ASSIGNMENT	
1 		Introduction: The Earth as a System		1-12; 330-337
 
-----  

The Parts of Planet Earth
 
2:  		Earth system Part 1: The Lithosphere,		134-153; 206-212;
		the Atmosphere					304-307
		
3 		Earth system Part 2: The Hydrosphere,		317-322; 219-222;
		the Cryosphere					241-243
		
4		Earth system Part 3: The Biosphere; 		350-362
		Viewing Earth with a global change perspective	
 
 -----  

The Behavior of Planet Earth: Linking the Parts
 
5 		Long-time influences: Plate			185-204; 205-218; 	
		tectonics and mountain building
 
6 		Shorter-time influences: Oceans,			317-339	
		ice sheets, and greenhouse gases
										
-----  

The History of Planet Earth: An Overview
 
7 		Geologic Time: Telling time with rocks		118-133
 
8 		The Archean and Proterozoic Eons:		364-381; 382-393
		Deep time, the earliest history of Earth
		
9 		The Paleozoic Era: A world of oceans,		394-417; 418-437
		the invention of armor, and the invasion of land
 
10	 	The Mesozoic Era: From reptiles to birds		438-450; 451-468
		with a dinosaur detour - life in a warm world
 
11 		The Cenozoic Era: Evolution of the modern	469-493
		 Earth, and how the mighty mouse beat T. Rex
 
 --------  

Deciphering the History of Planet Earth:  Stories from Rock Records
 
12 		Reconstructing ancient Earth conditions		340-363
		with the rock record
		
13		Evidence of ancient Earth environments and	86-102
		climates I: tales from continental rocks and ice
 
14		Evidence of ancient Earth environments and	217-222
		climates II: tales from the deep sea 432-439
 
---------- 
 

Planet Earth: Linked Systems In Motion Through Time
 
15 		Planet Earth: A Global Perspective 
		Through Time and Space
		
16		PROJECT ASSIGNMENTS,
		Midterm Exam Review			
	
17		MIDTERM EXAM			
 
18		Precambrian life: invention on parade; life	383-393,		
		and land emerging from the seas			406-416
 
19		Pangea, the megacontinent: life and		418-437
		traumatic times on the Permian Earth
 
20		Jurassic and Cretaceous Environments,		451-468
		Life and Climates: not just "Jurassic Park"
 
21		The Pleistocene Earth: 				330-333
		The Ice Ages
 
22		Environmental Change on	Human	
		time scales: Exploration, plagues, and climate change
		
---------   

The Present and the Future
 
23		Global Warming: The long-term and
		the short-term views; fact and fiction					
	
24	 	Group projects - Presentations
 
25	 	Group projects - Presentations
 
26		Group projects - Presentations
 
27		Ozone Holes and Deforestation: New challenges
		for planet Earth, or old patterns in a new form?			
 
28		The Future Outlook of Planet Earth
 
29		Course review
 
Final Exam: as scheduled during exam week

(for undergraduates, including Marine Biology majors, Earth Sciences majors, and others)

(for graduate students in Ocean Sciences, Earth Sciences, and other fields)

Instructor: Peggy Delaney, Professor, Ocean Sciences
E-Mail: delaney@ucsc.edu
Office: A450 EMS
Phone: 9-4736

COURSE OUTLINE

INTRODUCTION

overview of marine geology
morphology of provinces and the ocean basins

PLATE TECTONICS

paleomagnetism and age of the oceanic crust
major plates, types of plate boundaries
seismicity, heat flow, volcanism, driving mechanisms

OCEANIC SEDIMENTS

ocean biogeochemical cycles and ocean sediments
distribution in space and time -- plate stratigraphy
calcium carbonate sediments and the CCD
opaline silica sedimentation
detrital, authigenic, organic sediments
particle flux and sediment transport

INTERSTITIAL WATERS IN MARINE SEDIMENTS

SEDIMENT DATING

SEDIMENT MIXING BY ORGANISMS

OCEANIC CRUST AND LITHOSPHERE
evidence about structure: seismic, ophiolites, drilling and dredging models of ridge processes hydrothermal activity

CONTINENTAL MARGINS
classification and distribution of continental margins active and passive margins, sea level

PALEOCEANOGRAPHY
goals and methods, climate history of the last 3 m.y. climate and ice volume history of the past 100 m.y. paleogeographies and past ocean circulation

OVERVIEW AND THE FUTURE

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

Problem sets (3)

Leading scheduled class discussions of journal articles (at least once for undergraduates, at least once plus a discussion overview for graduate students)

Participation in class discussions

Preparation of one set of weekly study questions (graduate students)

Mid-term exam

Take-home final exam

Proposal and oral presentation of proposal

Evaluations will be based on performance on above requirements, on overall participation in class and discussion section, and on comprehension of course material demonstrated in interactions with instructor and teaching assistant. The lecture and discussion information is critical to your understanding and performance in this class.

COURSE READINGS:

The Ocean Basins: Their Structure and Evolution (Open University Course Team, Pergamon Press, 1989)

Ocean Chemistry and Deep-Sea Sediments (Open University Course Team, Pergamon Press, 1989)

Earth Sciences 102/Ocean Sciences 280 Course Reader, selection of journal articles forming the basis of in-class, student-led discussions

Instructor	Teaching Assistant
Andy Fisher	Glenn Spinelli
Office: EMS A209	Office: EMS D227
Phone: 459-5598	Phone: 459-2838 (A209)
E-mail: afisher@earthsci.ucsc.edu	E-mail: spinelli@earthsci.ucsc.edu
Office hours: M 2-4 (and other afternoons by arrangement, please call or e-mail for an appointment)	Office hours: T 1-2, W 10-12 (and other afternoons by arrangement, please call or e-mail for an appointment)

Course hours: Tuesday and Thursday, 8:00-9:45 am
Course location: E&MS; D250
Laboratory hours: Tuesday 2:00-5:00 pm and Friday 1:00-4:00 pm
please choose one of these laboratory sessions and stick with it for the quarter
Laboratory location: E&MS; D250 (and occasionally in the field)

Field trip: San Lorenzo Drainage: Fri, 20 February or Tues, 24 February
(attend with your lab group)
Assignments: nine lab exercises, seven problem sets
Exams (both closed-book): Midterm - Tuesday, 10 February
Final - cumulative: Monday, 23 March, 4:00-7:00 pm

Issue tracking/paper: ³5 page paper due Tuesday, 17 March (at the start of class). You may be asked to present your paper to the class (5 minutes) and to lead a discussion.

Grades/Evaluations are to be based on the tests, labs, class participation, and assignments:

25% Labs and field trip(s)

15% Assignments, including issue paper

15% Midterm

25% Final

20% Class participation/demonstration of PMA and ROV

Required texts:

Viessman and Lewis, 1996, Introduction to Hydrology

Mount, 1995, California Rivers and Streams

Additional reading: Dunne and Leopold, 1978, Water in Environmental Planning (on reserve); Reisner, 1993, Cadillac Desert (on reserve); Dingman, 1994, Physical Hydrology (on reserve). Additional journal articles may be placed on reserve in the Science Library.

All readings should be completed before the class in which the topics of that reading are to be presented and discussed.

To help you to consider the connections between hydrology, geological processes, and day-to-day life, I'm asking you to select a single water topic that has been in the news, and place some aspect of the discussion to a critical test. The topic can be a resource debate; a controversy over contamination and clean-up; changes to current local, state or federal laws that affect water; or a scientific development. The product of this effort will be a short (2-5 page) paper containing an overview of the selected issue and a specific explanation as to how it relates to primary principles of water quality, quantity, behavior, or flow processes. Ideally, your paper will include a rigorous (possibly quantitative) test of some assertion. This paper should include citations of key references and sources, plus tables and figures, if needed. This is not a book report. I want to see some original thought and analysis. Please check with me if you are unclear on this assignment.

Lecture, Lab, Assignment and Reading List
Subject to revision as the quarter progresses

Date	Lecture/Lab topic(s)	Readings/Problem sets
Th, 8 Jan	1. Introduction, the water cycle, budgets	Reisner, C 1 and 2 Viessman and Lewis, C 1
F, 9 Jan or T, 13 Jan	Lab 1: Mono Lake water balance (lab report)
T, 13 Jan	2. Water properties, Statistics and Probability	Dingman, Appendix B (478-486) Viessman and Lewis, C 26 and 27 (skim) Dunne and Leopold, C 2 (42-48) Hand out PS #1
Th, 15 Jan	3. Atmospheric Water and Precipitation	Viessman and Lewis, C 2 Dunne and Leopold, C 2
F, 16 Jan or T, 20 Jan	Lab 2: Precipitation Evaluation: San Lorenzo Basin
T, 20 Jan	4. Interception, Evaporation and Transpiration	Viessman and Lewis, C 3.1-3.2 and C 5 Dunne and Leopold, C 3-5 Hand in PS #1, hand out PS #2
Th, 22 Jan	5. Soil Moisture, Infiltration and Groundwater (1)	Dunne and Leopold, C 6 Viessman and Lewis, C 4 Dingman, C 6 (229-236)
F, 23 Jan or T, 27 Jan	Lab 3: Infiltration experiment (lab report)
T, 27 Jan	Groundwater (2)	Viessman and Lewis, C 18.1-18.3 Dunne and Leopold, C 7 Dingman, C 6 (211-229) Hand in PS #2, hand out PS #3
Th, 29 Jan	7. Groundwater (3), Snow hydrology (1)	Viessman and Lewis, C 14 Dunne and Leopold, C 13
F, 30 Jan or T, 3 Feb	Lab 4: Santa Cruz water balance
T, 3 Feb	8. Snow hydrology (2), Water budgets	Dunne and Leopold, C 8 Dingman, Chapter 9 (409-428) Hand in PS #3, hand out PS #4
Th, 5 Feb	9. Runoff	Viessman and Lewis, C 10 Dunne and Leopold, C 9
F, 6 Feb or T, 10 Feb	Lab 5: San Lorenzo rainfall runoff relations
T, 10 Feb	MIDTERM EXAMINATION, 8:00 9:45 am	Hand in PS#4
Th, 12 Feb	10. Flooding	Mount, C 5 and 14 Viessman and Lewis, C 11, C 16.1-16.3, C 16.8 Dunne and Leopold, C 10
F, 13 Feb or T, 17 Feb	NO LAB
T, 17 Feb	No classes, exchange day
Th, 19 Feb	11. Basins, hillslopes, and erosion	Dunne and Leopold, C 14-15 Viessman and Lewis, C 10.1-10.2 Mount, C 6 Hand out PS #5
F, 20 Feb or T, 24 Feb	Lab 6: San Lorenzo gauging at Big Trees (lab report)
T, 24 Feb	12. Rivers and streams - hydraulics	Mount, C 2 and 16 Viessman and Lewis, C 6 Dunne and Leopold, C 16
Th, 26 Feb	13. Rivers and streams - sediments	Dunne and Leopold, C 17 Mount, C 3 and 11 Hand in PS #5, hand out PS #6
F, 27 Feb or T, 3 Mar	Lab 7: Urban Hydrology #1
T, 3 Mar	14. Rivers and streams - geometries	Dunne and Leopold, C 18 Mount, C 4 and 7
Th, 5 Mar	15. Hydrology and climate	Mount, C 8 and 17 Hand in PS #6, hand out PS #7
F, 6 Mar or T, 10 Mar	Lab 8: Urban Hydrology #2 (lab report)
T, 10 Mar	16. Water character and quality	Mount, C 10 Dunne and Leopold, C 19 and 20
Th, 12 Mar	17. California rivers and policy	Mount, C 12 and 13 Reisner, C 4 Hand in PS #7
F, 13 Mar or T, 17 Mar	Lab 9: San Lorenzo peak flow and frequency
T, 17 Mar	18. Water development and oral presentations	Reisner, C 8 and 10 Mount, C 15 Hand in papers
M, 23 Mar	FINAL EXAMINATION 4:00-7:00 pm

Revised 7/23/04.