Winter 2001
This information effective for Winter 2001.
Check with instructor the first day of class for any changes.
Instructor: Susan Schwartz
E-mail: sschwartz@earthsci.ucsc.edu
E&MS Bldg. Room A133, x3133
Class Time:
M,W,F, 12:30-1:40, Classroom Unit 1
Sections:
T 10-11:30 AM, 12-1:30 PM, W 3:30-5:00 PM, 6:00-7:30 PM
Th 12-1:30 PM, 6-7:30 PM
Room Earth and Marine Sciences D250
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.
Ann G. Harris, Esther Tuttle and Sherwood Tuttle, Geology of National Parks, 5th edition, Kendall/Hunt Publishers, 1997 (available at the bookstore).
Midterm, final and six (6) hands-on exercises examing rocks, minerals, and maps that can be nearly completed during the weekly sections.
|
Date |
HW |
Topic |
|
1/5 |
|
Introduction to the Geology of National Parks |
|
Grand Canyon National Park (GCNP) |
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1/7 |
|
A Trip Through 1.8 Billion Years of Earth History |
|
1/10 |
1 |
Sedimentary Rocks and Environments of the Canyon |
|
1/12 |
|
Environments of the Canyon (Continued) |
|
1/14 |
|
Geologic History of the Grand Canyon (MOVIE) |
|
Other Parks of the Colorado Plateau Province |
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1/19 |
2 |
Mesozoic History - Bryce and Zion Canyons |
|
1/21 |
|
Weathering and Mass Wasting as Agents of Landform Creation |
|
1/24 |
|
Policy and Effects of Damming the Colorado River in GCNP |
|
National Parks Formed by Volcanic Activity |
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1/26 |
|
Diversity of Volcanic Activity |
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1/28 |
|
Plate Tectonics, Volcanoes, Igneous Rocks, and Their Building Blocks |
|
1/31 |
3 |
The Cascade Volcanoes |
|
2/2 |
|
The Eruption of Mt. St. Helens (MOVIE) |
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2/4 |
|
Hawaiian Island Volcanoes |
|
2/7 |
|
Yellowstone - A Thermal Wonderland |
|
2/9 |
|
Conservation Policy and the National Parks |
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2/11 |
|
Midterm |
|
National Parks in Regions of Complex Mountain Building |
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|
2/14 |
4 |
Deformation, Metamorphism, and the Rocky Mtns.- Rocky Mtn. And Glacier |
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2/16 |
|
Rocky Mtn. History (Continued) - Grand Teton Natl. Park |
|
2/18 |
|
The Appalachian Mtns. - Great Smoky, Shenandoah, and Acadia |
|
National Parks Shaped by Alpine Glaciation |
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|
2/23 |
5 |
Ice Ages, Past Climates, How Glaciers Form and Move |
|
2/25 |
|
Glacial Features of Yosemite and Other Natl. Parks |
|
Caves, Reefs and National Seashores and Marine Sanctuaries |
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|
2/28 |
|
Coastal Processes - Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary |
|
3/1 |
|
The Hydrologic Cycle and Groundwater - Mammoth Caves |
|
3/3 |
|
Fossil and Modern Reefs - Carlsbad Caverns and Guadalupe Mtns. |
|
Geologic Evolution of Western North America |
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|
3/6 |
6 |
The San Andreas Fault and Pinnacles National Monument |
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3/8 |
|
The Basin and Range - Great Basin, Joshua Tree, Death Valley |
|
3/10 |
|
Parks of the Alaskan Frontier |
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3/13 |
|
Geology of Your Favorite National Parks |
Winter 2001
Lecture: MWF 9:30 -10:40 a.m.
Earth & Marine Sciences Bldg., Room B210
Optional laboratory sections meet Tues. 2 - 3 p.m., OR Wed., 3:30 -
4:30 p.m., Rm. D226, EMS Bldg.
Instructor: Lisa Sloan
office: A254 Earth & Marine Science Bldg.
phone: 459-3693, e-mail: lcsloan@earthsci.ucsc.edu
office hours: to be arranged.
Teaching Assistant: Jason Bell
(office and office hours: to be arranged)
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.
Lectures take place three (3) times per week; attendance and participation are expected. 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 portion of the class, a class project presents all 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 based upon: midterm exam, 30 percent; class project, 30 percent; and final exam, 40 percent.
Text: Earth Then and Now (3rd Edition)
|
Lecture # |
Lecture Topic |
Reading Assignment |
|
1 |
Introduction: The Earth as a System |
1-12; 330-337 |
The Parts of Planet Earth |
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|
2 |
Earth system Part 1: The Lithosphere, the Atmosphere |
134-153; 206-212; 304-307 |
|
3 |
Earth system Part 2: The Hydrosphere, the Cryosphere |
317-322; 219-222; 241-243 |
|
4 |
Earth system Part 3: The Biosphere; Viewing Earth with a global change perspective |
350-362 |
The Behavior of Planet Earth: Linking the Parts |
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|
5 |
Long-time influences: Plate tectonics and mountain building |
185-204; 205-218 |
|
6 |
Shorter-time influences: Oceans, ice sheets, and greenhouse gases |
317-339 |
The History of Planet Earth: An Overview |
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|
7 |
Geologic Time: Telling time with rocks |
118-133 |
|
8 |
The Archean and Proterozoic Eons: "Deep time," the earliest history of Earth |
364-381; 382-393 |
|
9 |
The Paleozoic Era: A world of oceans, the invention of armor, and the invasion of land |
394-417; 418-437 |
|
10 |
The Mesozoic Era: From reptiles to birds with a dinosaur detour - life in a warm world |
438-450; 451-468 |
|
11 |
The Cenozoic Era: Evolution of the "modern" Earth, and how the mighty mouse beat T. Rex |
469-493 |
Deciphering the History of Planet Earth: Stories from Rock Records |
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|
12 |
Reconstructing ancient Earth conditions with the rock record |
340-363 |
|
13 |
Evidence of ancient Earth environments and climates I: tales from continental rocks and ice |
86-102 |
|
14 |
Evidence of ancient Earth environments and climates II: tales from the deep sea |
217-222; 432-439 |
Planet Earth: Linked Systems in Motion Through Time |
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|
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 and land emerging from the seas |
383-393; 406-416 |
|
19 |
Pangea, the megacontinent: life and traumatic times on the Permian Earth |
418-437 |
|
20 |
Jurassic and Cretaceous Environments, Life and Climates in the age of dinosaurs |
451-468 |
|
21 |
The Pleistocene Earth: The Ice Ages |
330-333 |
|
22 |
Environmental Change on Human time scales: Exploration, plagues, and climate change |
|
The Present and the Future |
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|
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 will be given as scheduled during exam week |
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