Geology 204

Evolution of
the Earth

 

Lecture: 10:00-10:50 MWF                                                               Lab: Thursday 1:30-4:30

Instructor: Karla Parsons-Hubbard                  web:     http://www.oberlin.edu/faculty/kmhubbar

Contact information:   Karla.hubbard@oberlin.edu,                            Carnegie rm 403, x8353

Office hours:  KPH: Mon, Thurs, and Friday 11-12.

Text: Evolution of the Earth (6th or 7th Ed.), Prothero and Dott

Readings: Reserve readings (noted as [r] below) will be in the science library and available in the seminar room (Carnegie 415).

 

Evolution of the Earth is an important course for those interested in majoring in Geology and for those with an interest in the history of our planet-life system. In this class we will learn to think in terms of the time scale of our planet, which is more than 4.5 billion years old. The evidence for the evolution of Earth is found in the rocks and fossils that we see at the Earth�s surface. You will use the tools that you learned in introductory Geology (plus some new ones) to interpret this history from the Archaean through the Pleistocene.

 

Labs and Field Trips: Due to field trip costs and lab expendables, there will be a laboratory fee of $10 that will be collected starting next week. The fee helps to offset the cost of renting vans and purchasing maps, etc. During field trips, you will be responsible for the cost of meals. There will be two weekend field trips this fall with a fourth voluntary trip in early December. You will be required to attend at least one of the weekend trips. One trip to NY State will depart on a Friday and return on Sunday at dinnertime. Another trip will take place on a Sunday afternoon. Again, you MUST attend one of these two field trips. There is no better way to gain an understanding of the historical record in the rocks than to visit outcrops and interpret what you see.

 

 

Grade break-down:                                          3 exams 20% each       60%

                                                                        Lab exercises   35%

                                                                        Smaller assignments      5%

 

 

Day        Date              Topic                                               Readings        

               MODULE 1: HISTORY & 'DEEP TIME'

W           Sept. 3          Intro to historical science                                            

Th           LAB             FIELD TRIP: Ohio Geology

F             Sept. 5          History of Geology                                                      P&D ch. 1

 

M           Sept. 8          History of Geology                                                      P&D ch. 2

W           Sept. 10        Stratigraphic principles & sedimentation                    

Th           LAB             Review of minerals & rocks

F             Sept. 12        Stratigraphy and Evolution                                          P&D ch. 3

 

M           Sept. 15        Evolution continued                                                    

W           Sept. 17        Time in the rocks, the relative time scale                      P&D ch. 4

Th           LAB             Sedimentary structures and Fossils I

F             Sept. 19        Absolute time: Asking a rock for a date.                      P&D ch. 5

 

SUNDAY FIELD TRIP - Tinker Creek

 

               MODULE 2 - THE EARLY EARTH

M           Sept. 22        Earth's place in the Solar System                                 P&D ch. 6

                                    ***Time Scale mnemonic devices due***

W           Sept. 24        The Archaean: continents appear                                 P&D ch. 6

Th           LAB             Fossils II

F             Sept. 26        Co-evolution of the atmosphere and hydrosphere       P&D ch. 8

                                          TIME SCALE QUIZ

 

M           Sept. 29        Origin of the Earth-Life system                                   P&D ch. 9

W           Oct. 1           Geologic record of life in the Precambrian                   P&D ch. 9

Th          LAB             Deciphering the early Earth from rocks

F             Oct. 3          EXAM I (material through Sept. 29)

 

               MODULE 3 � DEPOSITING THE RECORD AND MOVING IT AROUND

M           Oct. 6           Yom Kippur - no class

W           Oct. 8           Sequences, cycles, and sea level                           Von Wagoner [r]

Th           LAB             Sequence stratigraphy                                            

F             Oct. 10         Plate tectonics: Mechanics of mts. and basins             P&D ch. 7

 

WEEKEND FIELD TRIP - PZ Rocks of the Appalachian Basin

 

               MODULE 4 - THE PALEOZOIC ERA

M           Oct. 13         Cambro-Ordovician sedimentation and tectonics         P&D ch. 11

W           Oct. 15         Cambro-Ordovician life                                                P&D ch. 11

Th           LAB             No lab

F             Oct. 17         Construction of the Appalachian Mts.                         P&D ch. 11

 

FALL BREAK

 

M           Oct. 27         Middle Paleozoic Acadian and Caledonian                  P&D ch. 12

W           Oct. 29         Middle Paleozoic Life: reefs & carbonates                  P&D ch. 12

Th           LAB             Appalachian Basin Lab

F             Oct. 31         Something smells fishy                                               P&D ch. 12

 

M           Nov. 3          No class (GSA)

W           Nov. 5          No class (GSA)

Th           LAB             Video - Evolution; [review session if needed]

                                    Take home exam distributed

F             Nov. 7          Vertebrate transition to land                                   Benton 3, p. 78-101 [r]

 

M           Nov. 10        EXAM II due (material through Oct. 31)

                                    Late PZ plants and tetrapods                                       P&D ch. 13

W           Nov. 12        The Pangean continent and climate                               P&D ch. 13

Th           LAB             Geologic map exercises: Maine & Wyoming

F             Nov. 14        What happened at the end of the PZ?

 

               MODULE 5 - THE MESOZOIC ERA

M           Nov. 17        The break-up of Pangea                                               P&D ch. 14

W           Nov. 19        The early development of western N. America            P&D ch. 14

Th           LAB             Terranes Lab I

F             Nov. 21        Dinosaurs and other MZ tetrapods                              P&D ch. 14

 

M           Nov. 24        The Cretaceous world

W           Nov. 26        Life in Mesozoic seas                                                  Motani, 2000

Th           Nov. 27        THANKSGIVING

F             Nov. 28        Free day

 

              MODULE 6 - THE CENOZOIC ERA
M           Dec. 1           The age of mammals

W           Dec. 3           The story of the American west                                   P&D ch. 15

Th           LAB             Terranes Lab II

F             Dec. 5           Tectonic developments in Eurasia                                P&D ch. 15

 

M           Dec. 8           Large faunas of the Americas                                     

W           Dec. 10         The Pleistocene world                                                 P&D ch. 16

Th           LAB             The development of the Canadian Rockies                 

F             Dec. 12         The future of the Earth-Life system                             P&D ch. 17

 

FINAL EXAM (comprehensive) Thursday, December 18, 2 pm

 

HONOR CODE: There will be three exams in this class and each exam will be closed book and notes. Whether it is an in-class or take-home exam, you may not consult references, notes, or any other person while taking the test. I expect you to write out and sign the Honor Pledge on each exam to attest to your adherence to the Honor Code. I will not record your grade for an exam until the pledge is signed. Laboratory exercises are normally expected to be small group efforts. Consultation with classmates and reference materials is expected and encouraged. However, each student must hand in their own assignment (unless otherwise stated) and I expect written work to be your own understanding of the assignment and not copied from a classmate's.