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Syllabus: What we expect of you.
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GEOS342 introduces students to the evolution and dynamics of Earth reservoirs, from the solid Earth to the oceans and atmosphere, with an emphasis on geochemical approaches. This class provides both historical and Earth systems perspectives, and provides training in simple quantitative analysis and modeling of Earth systems.
Prerequisites: This class will assume some familiarity with basic geology, chemistry, and a little simple calculus. As such the prerequisites are: GEOS 251 (Physical Geology), CHEM 103a/104a, MATH 124, or equivalents. Concurrent registration allowed: CHEM 103b/104b.
Class meetings: MWF 11:00-11:50 am, in Gould-Simpson 213. There is no lab.
Problem Sets: There will be about 10 problem sets during the semester. These will emphasize material that will be covered on the exams. Most of the exercises will be based on concepts from class meetings and readings. Many of the problem sets will require use of Excel spreadsheets. We will provide an optional tutorial on using Excel during the first week.
Final Paper and Presentation: Students will prepare a final paper and make a short (10-15 minute) presentation on an Earth-systems-related topic of their choosing at the end of the term. The instructors will help students choose an appropriate topic. Proposals for topics should be received no later than 13 November. The instructors will provide tips for effective scientific presentations.
Exams: There will be two exams, in class, on 9 Oct and 4 Dec.
Attendance: Come to every class and take good notes.
Grades: Grading will follow this formula: Problem sets: 30%; Exams: 30%; Final Paper and Presentation: 20%; In-class presentations and participation: 20%. Grades will be assigned according to the following percentage scheme: A = >89.5%; B = 79.5% to 89.4%; C = 69.5% to 79.4%; D = 59.5% to 69.4%; E = <59.5%. Grades will be reported on D2L.
Office Hours:
Pete Reiners: Monday, 1:00-2:30 pm, GS 521
Joellen Russell: Tuesday, 2-3:30 pm, GS 309
Tentative Schedule (as of 19 August).
| Lecture | Date | Subject |
| 1 | 8/24 | Introduction |
| 2 | 8/26 | Origin of the Solar System |
| 3 | 8/28 | Origin of the Solar System |
| 4 | 8/31 | Large-Scale Earth Evolution |
| 5 | 9/2 | Large-Scale Earth Evolution |
| 6 | 9/4 | Large-Scale Earth Evolution |
| | 9/7 | Labor Day (no class) |
| 7 | 9/9 | Tectonics |
| 8 | 9/11 | Tectonic-scale Geochem Cycles |
| 9 | 9/14 | Tectonic-scale Climate Dynamics |
| 10 | 9/16 | Origin of Life |
| 11 | 9/18 | Origin of Life |
| 12 | 9/21 | Rise of Oxygen |
| 13 | 9/23 | Rise of Oxygen |
| | 9/25 | Pete and Joellen gone (no class) |
| 14 | 9/28 | Overview of Earths' Climate |
| 15 | 9/30 | Ocean Chemistry I |
| 16 | 10/2 | Ocean Chemistry I |
| 17 | 10/5 | Ocean Chemistry II |
| 18 | 10/7 | Ocean Chemistry II |
| | 10/9 | EXAM 1 |
| 19 | 10/12 | Ocean Circulation |
| 20 | 10/14 | Ocean Circulation |
| 21 | 10/16 | Ocean Circulation |
| 22 | 10/19 | Climate Excursions I: Snowball Earth |
| 23 | 10/21 | Climate Excursions I: Snowball Earth |
| 24 | 10/23 | Climate Excursions I: Snowball Earth |
| 25 | 10/26 | Atmospheric Circulation |
| 26 | 10/28 | Atmospheric Circulation |
| 27 | 10/30 | Atmospheric Circulation |
| 28 | 11/2 | Climate Excursions II: The PETM |
| 29 | 11/4 | Climate Excursions II: The PETM |
| 30 | 11/6 | Climate Excursions II: The PETM |
| 31 | 11/9 | Modern Paleoclimate Proxies |
| | 11/11 | Veteran's Day (no class) |
| 32 | 11/13 | Modern Paleoclimate Proxies |
| 33 | 11/16 | Ice and Glaciation |
| 34 | 11/18 | Ice and Glaciation |
| 35 | 11/20 | Ice and Glaciation |
| 36 | 11/23 | The Anthropocenes |
| 37 | 11/25 | The Anthropocene |
| | 11/27 | Thanksgiving Break (no class) |
| | 11/30 | Final Presentations |
| | 12/2 | Final Presentations |
| | 12/4 | EXAM 2 |
| | 12/7 | Final Presentations |
| | 12/9 | Final Presentations |
| | | NO FINAL EXAM |
Required Text: The Earth System, by Kump, Kasting, and Crane, 1999, Prentice Hall, 351 pp.
We will also make use of the following resources:
- Bill White's On-line Geochemistry Book:
http://www.geo.cornell.edu/geology/classes/geo455/Chapters.HTML
(Note: you can download each chapter, in PDF versions, of this text from this page. Eventually this text will be published by Johns Hopkins University Press.)
- How to Build a Habitable Planet, by Broecker, W.S., 1998, Eldigio Press, 291 pp.
- Early Earth Systems, by Rollinson, H., 2007, Blackwell, 285 pp.
- The Chemical Evolution of the Atmosphere and Oceans, by Holland, H.D., 1984, Princeton University Press, 582 pp.
- Geochemistry: Pathways and Processes, 2nd Ed., by McSween, Richardson, and Uhle, 2003, Columbia Univ. Press, 363 pp.
- Earth's Climate: Past and Future, by Ruddiman, W.F., 2001, WH Freeman and Co., 465 pp.
- Global Biogeochemical Cycles, by Butcher et al. (Eds), Academic Press, 379 pp.
- Global Environment: Water, Air, and Geochemical Cycles, by Berner, E.K., and Berner, R.A., 1996, Prentice-Hall, 376 pp.
- Geochemistry: An Introduction, by Albarede, F., 2003, Cambridge, 248 pp.
- Introduction to Geochemistry, 3rd Ed., by Krauskopf and Bird, 1995, McGraw-Hill, 637 pp.
- The Geochemistry of Natural Waters: Surface and Groundwater Environments, 3rd Ed., by Drever, J.I., 1997, Prentice-Hall, 436 pp.
- Geochemistry, 2nd Ed., by Brownlow, A.H., 1996, Prentice-Hall, 580 pp.
- Principles and Applications of Geochemistry, 2nd ed., by Faure, G., 1998, Prentice-Hall, 600 pp.
Policies
- Absence policies: Attendance at all lectures and discussions are
required, however, the following kinds of excused absences will be
permitted: 1) All holidays or special events observed by organized
religions will be honored for those students who show affiliation with
that particular religion, 2) Absences pre-approved by the UA Dean of
Students (or Dean's designee) will be honored.
- Policies regarding expected classroom behavior (e.g., use of
pagers/cell phones); and policies against plagiarism, etc., within Student
Code of Academic Integrity will be followed and are available at:
http://deanofstudents.arizona.edu/policiesandcodes.
- Policies against threatening behavior by students:
http://policy.web.arizona.edu/threatening.pdf.
- Students with Disabilities: If you anticipate issues related to
the format or requirements of this course, please meet with me. I would
like us to discuss ways to ensure your full participation in the course.
If you determine that formal, disability-related accommodations are
necessary, it is very important that you be registered with Disability
Resources (621-3268; drc.arizona.edu) and notify me of your eligibility
for reasonable accommodations. I can then plan how best to coordinate your
accommodations. More info: http://drc.arizona.edu/learn/index.html
- Information contained in the course syllabus, other than the grade
and absence policies, may be subject to change with reasonable advance
notice, as deemed appropriate by the instructor.
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