Geological Foundations of Environmental Sciences

Transcription

1 Geological Foundations of Environmental Sciences David C. Elbert Office: Olin Hall 228 Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences Johns Hopkins University 3400 N. Charles St. Baltimore, MD Phone: (410) (office) Class Website: Course Objectives: This course is structured as an introduction to earth materials and processes cast in the framework of natural resource occurrence, exploitation and related consequences. The ultimate goals of the course are to give you a basic understanding of modern geology and geologic materials, a better appreciation of the nature of science and scientists, a global perspective on earth resources and the background to move on in the Environmental Earth Science and Policy Program. These are lofty goals to be sure, but we will pursue them by focusing on basic science and the processes that control the earth. Please note that this is not a policy course! The principal role of this course is to provide the basic geologic background needed to pursue more detailed study of the geologic topics covered in the program s electives while giving you a view of the breadth and importance of earth science as a foundation of environmental science. The general structure of the course is to work from the basic plate tectonic framework of the Earth through geologic materials rocks and minerals through some of the dynamic processes that control the earth we inhabit and exploit formation of igneous rocks, weathering and sediment transport processes to an introduction to energy-related resource issues. We will depend heavily on a textbook, supplemental readings, lectures and two field trips. Classes will include lectures and discussions as well as occasional lab activities. It is impossible, of course, to cover all interesting and pertinent aspects of geology in a single course. I have selected specific topics based on their general importance to learning more geology in the electives; direct significance to environmental issues; or illustration of general scientific principles and processes that are exploited as resources or provide understanding of environmental degradation. This means an intensive study of plate tectonics in the first week of the course followed by detailed investigations of Earth materials (minerals and rocks) for the next few weeks of the course. The middle of the course will be dominated by study of the nature and behavior of radioactivity and structures of the earth (with an introduction to stress in the earth and its relationship to folding and faulting). Throughout the course I will try to connect the more purely geologic topics to day-to-day resource use or formation. Your input during this process will be critical to bridging that gap when you see connections, please make an effort to participate. Lectures will focus on developing the geologic and physical background. Insofar as we can t cover all material in class, I will focus lectures on summarizing some subjects and examining

2 specific examples of others. It is incumbent on you to use your text to fill out your specific knowledge of individual topics. The textbook is actually an excellent introductory book designed for a basic undergraduate course. The supplemental readings, field trips and lectures will go beyond that undergrad level to cover things at a graduate level. We ll have detailed in-class discussions centered on pre-assigned reading or topical research. These discussions are not meant to be question and answer periods, but rather real discussions of the underlying assumptions, techniques, validity and implications of the papers. We may also use online discussions to allow more detailed coverage than possible in the limited class time. As in any new science, you will be asked to continually expand your ability to speak the language of geology our field is no different from any other in its love of jargon and terminology. While learning terminology is often frustrating to new science students, I will try to minimize the time you spend learning the vocabulary and generally charge ahead, asking you to pick it up as you go. Do not, however, miss the importance of precise and meaningful descriptive terms; accurate discussion is fundamental to scientific inquiry. As discussed above, I will add lesson material that is beyond the level of the textbook or corrects mistakes or oversimplifications in the text. At times you may find this added material very challenging. It is hard to provide the perfect level of challenge for the varied backgrounds and talents of a diverse student body. My hope is that even when things are hard, you have a good idea of what the main ideas are and what is important for you to take away. We cover a lot of ground. If you find yourself frustrated or overwhelmed, please let me know so I can offer some help, perspective or just a good old-fashioned pep talk. It is hard to know when a student is having a hard time. Don t be afraid to let me know. Course Learning Objectives: 1. Understand chemical and physical structure of the Earth and its environments 2. Appreciate the roles of chemical and physical processes of the Earth as they apply to human use and exploitation of natural materials 3. Develop framework of natural processes important to environmental science and policy 4. Employ scientific data from the geological literature to understand complex geologic processes and environments of importance in environmental science and policy 5. Assemble disparate lines of evidence in support of major geologic models and theories 6. Appreciate the role of human accomplishments and attitudes as a basis for scientific understanding

3 Work: There are a variety of assignments in the class. They are: 1. Discussions. There will be in-class discussion and a few online discussions. The topics for the discussions will be announced in class and often revolve around assigned reading that goes beyond the text. Everyone is expected to participate. The online discussions are particularly good for more detailed and nuanced examination. For online discussions, I expect students to make at least two posts and one comment/reply per week. In general, people will participate more than that. Those are the minimums acceptable to pass that week s participation. It is not acceptable to make up missed participation by posting more in another week. The length and quality of posts also counts. The basic goal is to be a thoughtful and active member of the class. It is usually best to not think in terms of quantity of posts. Quality is the goal. It also doesn t help to repeat what others have said. If you think the topic is exhausted, introduce a new reference or direction for the thread. Participation will be graded for each discussion and is on a 5 point scale. Posting less than twice gets 0. Just posting twice gets a 2. The quality of the posts increases the grade. Respond to the topic or to what others have said. Find pertinent new information and introduce it to the discussion. Quality is the goal. 2. Assignments. There will be four homework assignments. They are each one week in duration. You are encouraged to work in groups to better understand assignments. This is especially important for the more mathematical ones. In the end, however, everyone is responsible for their own work. That means that when you get done working things out you have to understand it yourself and write it up on your own. It may not be obvious to everyone, but it is a good thing to be generous in helping classmates. Students in this program have a wide range of backgrounds. It is good to lean on and to help one another. Someone you help in this class may be able to help you in another. Most of us also learn more when we work with others. And this is graduate school you can learn at least as much from your fellow students as from your faculty. 3. Exams. There will be a mid-term and a final exam in the course. These will consist of questions drawn from the textbook reading, reserve reading and lecture/lesson materials. I ll provide more information on what to expect as the exams get closer. Please keep up on the reading. There is a lot and even when we don t use it in our threaded discussions it is best to have it done more-or-less on time and not have to catch up later. The text publisher provides some testing materials online and we may experiment with them as ways for you to study as you go along. Field Trips: There are two field trips. These trips are mandatory and critical to getting a big understanding of geology in a short space of time. You will probably learn more basic geology on these trips than in all the lectures combined. If you have a conflict with the trips please talk to me as soon as possible there is no way to make up a trip and the replacement assignment (a 10-page research paper) is onerous for all involved. Past course evaluations make it clear that students find the fieldtrips the best way to understand the varied and numerous new geologic concepts and terms they encounter in the readings and lectures and, not coincidentally, trip attendance correlates strongly with exam performance. The first trip includes investigation of the Paleozoic sedimentary

4 rocks and structures that core the Blue Ridge-Great Valley regions of the Appalachians. The second trip will travel through Baltimore County and introduce metamorphic and igneous rocks and structures. The dates are on the calendar portion of this syllabus; please note them in your personal calendars. Text: There is one required text for the course. There will be many additional journal readings and handouts. Required: Essentials of Geology, fourth edition, Marshak. Optional: Some students enjoy supplementing with a field guide to rocks an minerals, such as: The Audubon Society Field Guide to Rocks and Minerals, The Audubon Society; ISBN number (about $14 - $8, depending on if you go new or used at amazon.com) Grading: Your grade will be determined by your performance in class as well as your grades on assignments, and the exams. These will each contribute to your final grade as: ITEM PERCENT OF GRADE Discussion Participation 15% Homework 35% Mid-Term Exam 25% Final Exam 25% Contacting Me: is the best. Please use the subject line so I don t miss your

5 Course Outline: Date Topic Reading Due 9/9 Introduction to course Marshak 1, 2, 12, Interlude-A Introduction to the Earth and Plate Tectonics 9/16 Minerals: Building blocks for rocks and resources Marshak 3 9/23 Minerals Part 2/Igneous Rocks Start Hardin (1968) Marshak 3, 4, I-C 9/30 Igneous Rocks: 10/5 Sunday all day Field Trip Marshak 9 10/7 Sedimentary Rocks and Environments; Weathering Marshak I-B, 6, 7 10/14 Online Week: Geologic Time: Geochronology Marshak 10, I-E, (optional 11) 10/19 Sunday Field Trip 8:30 am 5:00 pm 10/21 Geologic Time continued 10/28 Midterm Exam 11/4 Structures of the Earth: Stress-Strain Relationships I: Marshak 8, 13, I-D, F 11/11 Fresh Water Resources and Contaminant Transport Marshak 14, (15), 16 11/18 Resources and Basics of Nuclear Power Generation Marshak 12, 19 11/25 Nuclear Power Waste Issues/Introduction to Geological Aspects of Climate Change 12/2 Final summaries and overview 12/9 Final Exam Academic Policies: Students in this course are required to comply with all academic policies of AAP and the Johns Hopkins University. These policies are listed on the Syllabus page of the course website and include information about Ethics and Plagiarism; Dropping the Course; Assistance for Students with Disabilities; and options for soliciting help. Read the policies on the website! Students are responsible for familiarity with polices as laid out in the JHU Code of Conduct (found here: In addition, the course-specific policies are: 1. Late work will be marked down 20% for each of the first two days and not accepted if more than 48 hours late. Students who know at the time it is assigned that their work may be late can request extra time not subject to this penalty. 2. Field trip participation is required. Those not attending may replace participation by writing a 10-page paper for each missed trip. If you will not be attending, the instructor will assign a topic the week before the trip and the paper is due at the next class meeting following the missed trip.