GEOLOGY 102 - HISTORICAL GEOLOGY
SPRING 2012
This class and Lab are Cell-Free, Pager-Free Zones.
Dr. Allen Dennis
Office Hours: W 8-10
224 Science/641-3396/allend@usca.edu (subject line AGLY 102) Other times by appt.
Class meets 10:50-12:05 TTh; Lab meets 8-10:40 T.
Texts: Evolution of the Earth, Prothero & Dott, 7/8th ed.; Dinosaurs: A concise natural history, Fastovsky &
Weishampel; Wonderful Life, Gould; other readings as assigned. Blackboard used extensively for assignments.
January
10
12
Introduction
Rock Cycle and Plate Tectonics
Ch. 1
Ch. 7
F&W 4-49
17
Modern Plate Settings
432-434ff,
19
Radiometric Age Dating (paper due)
Ch. 4, 5 F&W 52-75 321-344
1. Personal understanding or perspective on Science, its aims, and how Science is done.
24
26
Quaternary Ice Ages & Climate Change
La Grand Coupure – Floral & Faunal Changes
Ch. 16
443-446 F&W 75-154
31
Mammals
446-459
February
2
K-T Boundary Extinction (paper due)
404-409 F&W 154-244
2. Principles of age dating, Modern plate settings, Unconformities, Uniformitarianism, Causes of Ice Ages,
Mammalian Evolution, K-T boundary event, Cladistics introduction
7
9
Dinosaurs
Rift basins and Opening Atlantic
382-409
352-359
14
16
Cordillera
Paleozoic Life
361-375, 414-432
232-242, 260-271, 330-344
F&W 247-320
21
(trip) Permian Extinction
344-347
23
Paleomagnetism (paper due)
127-137 G 23-52
3. Mass extinctions; Dinosaur metabolism, Cordilleran geology, Contrasting Cord/Eastern NA geology,
Sedimentary facies, Adaptation, Saurischia & Ornithischia, Bird origins, Coevolution
March
28
1
2
Sauk-Tippecanoe
Absaroka Sequence
last day to withdraw with W
6/8
Spring Break
13
15
Appalachians
Hox Genes and Cambrian Explosion
207-229, 240-245
304-310
G 23-106
314-332
Ch. 9 G 107-171
20
(trip)
22
Eukaryotes and Ediacara (paper due)
Ch. 9 G 172-239
4. Sequence stratigraphy, Paleomagnetic evid. for plate tectonics, Origins of eukaryotes and metazoans,
Evolution PAL, Petroleum Geology, Gould TBA
April
27
29
Snowball Earth
Proterozoic
3
5
Proterozoic
Archean Life
10
12
Archean Stratigraphy
Archean Geology
Ch. 8
G 240-291
G 292-324
17
(trip)
19
Meteorites and the Moon (paper due)
Ch. 6
5. Expl. of Solar System, Meteorites, Age of the Earth, Archean tectonics, Snowball Earth, Contrasting
Proterozoic and Archean geology, How to recognize life, Radiation & extinction, Gould TBA
Last day to withdraw from this class with a W is Friday March 2.
The Final for this class is scheduled for Tuesday 1 May at 11 am.
If you have a learning or physical disability that might affect your performance in this class, please inform me
and the Coordinator of Disabled Student Services at x3609, to verify your status and provide you with
appropriate assistance.
My objective for this class is that you begin to understand the reasoning behind how we know what we think
we know about earth history and history of life through time. We will be interested how different lines of
evidence are assembled to construct models of the earth in the past, and what are the assumptions of
these models. You will express your developing understanding of lecture and lab material (i.e., lines of
evidence) and assigned readings through short papers on assigned topics, prepared and submitted
monthly. By keeping a journal you will develop fluency in writing and develop your own thoughts on
this material. At least once in the semester you will be given responsibility for leading the class in
discussion on some aspect of the assigned reading.
Grading: With the exception of the final (see p. 4) there will be no tests. Approximately once a month you
will be responsible for turning in a typed 5-7p. paper on one of several assigned topics, based on lecture,
lab or assigned reading. Papers are due at the beginning of the Thursday class. Each paper is also to be
turned in as a MS Word document attached to email message. Papers submitted after the due date will
have a letter grade penalty/day late: Turned in Friday (- 4 points/40); turned in Saturday (-8 pts); Sunday
(-12 pts); Monday (-16 pts), etc. Subject heading of the email MUST be AGLY 102-(yourlastname)-Paper
1 (or 2,3,4,5): AGLY 102 Smith Paper 1. The document MUST be titled
AGLY102(firstfourlettersoflastname)P1: AGLY102SmitP1.
Every two or three weeks discussions will be held on F&W and Gould assigned readings. Students will be
given responsibility for leading discussion and are expected to participate. Students not leading
discussion must submit a detailed outline of the assigned reading to earn any credit. Absence from more
than one discussion will result in an F for the class.
A threaded discussion will be hosted on the Blackboard website for this class. Each student will be
responsible for initiating at least two threads on a content area and at least three meaningful responses to
posts. At least one posting must be made per month.
Laboratory: 10 points/week may be scored in the Laboratory. Scores will be based on written lab exercises.
Absence from more than two labs will result in an F for the class.
200
Five assigned essays (5*40 points)
45
Maintenance of a dated, reflective journal
50
Final (Tues May 1, 11am)
65
Discussion partic. (15 pts for leading, 5 each other disc., 25 BB)
140
Lab grade (10 pts/week)
500
Your grade will be assigned accdg. to your total points: A≥450, B≥400, C≥350, D≥300, F≤300.
LABORATORY OUTLINE
Laboratory meets Tuesday 8-10:40 in Sci 212. Attendance is mandatory. Bring a pencil and eraser.
January
10
Rock Identification and Contours
17
Rock Types, Overprinting and Unconformities Ch. 4
24
*Unconformity Trip/ Disc. 1 (F&W 4-75, 321-344) Ch. 4
31
Facies and Geologic Maps
Ch. 4 p. 214 ff.
February
7
Fossils/Disc. 2 (F&W 75-154, 154-244)
Ch. 3
14
Fossils and Time - dating
21
*Fossil trip/ Disc. 3 (F&W 247-320)
28
Correlation
Ch. 4
March
13
Unconformities/Disc. 4 (G 23-106)
20
*Clarks Hill Appalachian Trip
27
Folds and Faults/ Disc. 5 (G 107-239)
April
3
Igneous and Meta Rocks
10
Stars and Spectra/ Disc. 6 (G 240-324)
17
*Lake Murray Spillway Appalachian Trip
There will be no makeup labs. Absence from more than 2 labs will be considered grounds for dropping any
student from the roll.
* Field trip in USCA vehicles. Come in comfortable walking shoes & play clothes (raingear, coat, hat as necessary).
There are a lot of new concepts in historical geology. Many of these concepts challenge long-held
assumptions or beliefs of enrolled students. Writing is emphasized in this class to hone students’ thinking,
critically evaluate beliefs and insights, improve students’ ability to identify and solve problems, begin to
understand others’ perspectives, reduce stress, and improve health. Focused practice in writing increases
fluency, and increases motivation to write. Your instructor believes that the techniques we practice in the
historical geology class hold the potential of transforming your studies for the remainder of your formal
studies and can carryover to your future professional career and personal life.
Specifically we will keep a journal and prepare five papers.
1) Each student will be responsible for completing five papers on topics in Historical Geology.
a) Each student will be responsible for meeting with the instructor (15’) at least three times before each paper
is due. Students will be responsible for scheduling these appointments using a schedule on the instructor’s
office door. These appointments will provide an opportunity for reviewing outline or concept map for the
paper, appropriate documentation, and difficulties in paper preparation and review of an initial draft.
Students are well advised to come prepared for these meetings. 3 points will be awarded for each visit for as
many as 3 meetings/ paper. If the student makes all 3 meetings / paper, the student will earn 10 points
(Only 2 meetings for paper 1).
b) Spelling, grammar issues, awkward sentences / construction will not be addressed by the instructor. The
instructor will mark in the margins, errors or problems he identifies. These marks will be counted (and up to
10 points) will be subtracted from the paper total based on that count. Students can identify for themselves
(or visit the Writing Room) the errors, and correct them and return the corrected paper with the marked
original to regain as many as 10 points; this “rewrite” (including any improvements in content) is due within
a week of the time the papers are returned to the class. Paper return date will be written on the top of the first
page.
c) The remaining 20 points will be based on the content of the paper. The paper must have a thesis that is
supported by later paragraphs, and must have a conclusion. Each paragraph must have a topic sentence.
Each topic sentence must be supported by or documented by observations. When geologic observations are
cited, the age, location, formation(s) must be listed. Observations must be separated from interpretations
within the papers. Those interpretations must be supported by the observations in the paragraph. When
outside sources are used they must be appropriately and consistently cited. It is better to exhaust the class
/lab notes and texts before turning to the internet. Figures are valuable to illustrate difficult concepts. These
must be drawn by the student either by hand (and scanned in, inserted in the document) or drafted using a
computer drawing program. No figures are to be cut/ pasted in from websites. No new information is to be
introduced in the conclusion. The student’s goal is to document mastery of a chosen topic. Another handout
offers additional suggestions.
2) Each student in historical geology will maintain a dated, reflective journal.
a) Maintenance of this journal and its entries will be worth 10% of a student’s final grade in Historical
Geology. It is recommended that journal entries begin in the back of the student’s notebook if a bound or
spiral notebook is used; if a student uses looseleaf pages, it will probably be best to integrate journal entries
with class and lab notes, perhaps setting these entries apart by boxing them with a highlighter. While
customarily journal entries are private, and the maintenance of the journal is for the student’s use and
benefit, for the purpose of assessment the instructor will collect and mark the journal and its entries. The
instructor understands that journal writing is personal, informal and should not necessarily conform to the
expectations of other academic writing. Additionally for some assignments, students may be asked to read
and discuss (each other’s) specific journal entries in pairs or groups of three. Some journal entries will be
completed in class; some journal entries will be done outside of class. A student should plan to make at least
two entries in the journal/week.
b) Journals will record the student’s response to material introduced in lecture, lab, and assigned reading. It
is expected over the course of the semester students will use techniques including freewriting, focused
freewriting, listing, logs, dialog, concept mapping, metaphor and metareflections. These techniques will
introduced and reviewed during assignments during the semester.
c) The “quality” of journal entries is expected to improve over the course of the semester. By quality, I mean
clarity of thought, grasp of formal content, quicker identification of problems, and what data are needed to
solve those problems.
A student successfully completing Historical Geology will be able to
• Recognize the difference between observations (or
facts) & interpretations (of those observations), & use
observations to make or support geologic
interpretations.
• Write the Geological Timescale. List Eons, Eras &
Periods of the Phanerozoic, and Epochs of the Cenozoic.
Write the “ages” that correspond to the breaks between
the Eons, & Phanerozoic Eras.
• Know the six common intrusive & extrusive igneous
rocks & the plate tectonic settings of basalts & andesites.
• Have a basic understanding of sedimentary facies.
• State Walther’s Law & use Walther’s Law to interpret
sea level rise (transgression) or fall (regression) using a
single outcrop.
• Have a basic understanding of metamorphic facies.
Use metamorphic facies to interpret geothermal
gradient.
• Know the different types of unconformities.
• Sketch basic geologic field relations; interpret a sketch
of geologic field relations & summarize the sequence of
events responsible for what is shown in the drawing.
• Know three different ways three colors can come
together on a geologic map.
• Begin to be able to interpret history from relations
observed on a geologic map.
• Use fossils to determine the age of a sedimentary rock.
• Recognize & identify the different invertebrate phyla;
in some cases to class.
• List three types of plate boundaries, name corresponding ocean floor features, & give an example of each.
• List three types of convergent plate boundaries, types
of crust involved with each, & give an example of each.
• Draw a concept map of the rock cycle.
• Sketch & label and/or interpret a Rb/Sr isochron.
• Explain the difference between a U/Pb concordia
diagram & an isochron.
• Use uniformitarianism to interpret geologic relations.
• Begin to be able to suggest tests of geologic
hypotheses.
• Define Natural Selection in his/her own words.
• List three orbital parameters thought by Milankovitch
to control ice ages.
• Explain how oxygen isotope ratios of limestones are
used to interpret past ice ages & interglacials.
• Identify the two major plate tectonic events thought to
trigger the Neogene Ice Ages.
• List the characteristics of mammals, & list three
mammal groups.
• Identify the major climatic trends of the Cenozoic &
their influence on flora.
• Contrast mammal-like reptiles & dinosaurs.
• Identify major dinosaur groups & place them in either
the Ornithischia & Saurischia.
• State the differences between Ornithischia &
Saurischia.
• Describe the possible causes of K-T extinction, & list
the evidence supporting either cause.
• Sketch & label the stages of the formation of a passive
margin. List the formations or groups that correspond
to eastern North American passive margins forming at
the beginning & end of the Paleozoic.
• Identify aulacogens & describe their role as oilproducing provinces.
• Sketch in map view the major features of the Mesozoic
Cordillera using a map that removes the effect of
Neogene continental extension. Draw a plate tectonic
cross-section corresponding to the map you have drawn.
• Argue for or against high metabolism in dinosaurs
using preserved features in fossils, trace fossils, or
interpretations of behavior. What dinosaurs represent
the best candidates for high metabolism.
• Summarize the fossil evidence for the transition from
fish to amphibian to amniotes.
• Show a basic understanding of cladistics in the
construction of family trees.
• Know the causes of the end Permian extinction &
compare these to those of the K-T event.
• Make a sketch showing how lines of magnetic force in
ancient rocks can be used to interpret paleolatitude at
the time of formation.
• Know what conditions must be satisfied for
paleomagnetic analysis to be successful.
• Know the definition of a stratigraphic sequence.
• Know the ages & characteristics of the four major
Paleozoic North American Stratigraphic Sequences.
• Know the definition of & recognize a cyclothem.
• Know the four steps in order for the formation of
economic accumulations of petroleum.
• Be able to sketch a cross-section of a clastic wedge &
understand its significance.
• Identify on a map the major features of the Southern
Appalachians.
• Define & give an example of a Wilson cycle.
• Describe how the base of the Cambrian is recognized.
• Describe what the Hox gene cluster does, its age, & its
significance.
• Know the difference between prokaryotic &
eukaryotic cells. What are the oldest prokaryotic cells &
the oldest eukaryotic cells? What are the oldest
metazoans?
• Identify and discuss major events in the history of life.
• Describe or sketch the basic problem that Snowball
Earth seeks to explain.
• Describe the evidence & make the interpretations for
fundamental changes in the biosphere, atmosphere,
climate, & geology-tectonics across the ProterozoicArchean boundary.
• Know the three major types of meteorites & the
subdivisions of stony meteorites, & the interpretations of
meteorite origins.
• Know the age of the earth & what that number is
interpreted to mean.
• Know the planets in order & use the Tietz-Bode
relation to show their distance from the Sun.
Classroom Behavior: It is the instructor’s right to remove from the classroom any student who disrupts or disturbs the proceeding of the class. Disruption of the class includes but is not limited to the use of any portable electronic devices, including cell phones, M P3 players; iPods, etc. unless prior approval has been given to a student or unless required for the course. In extreme cases the faculty m ember can request assistance from University Police. If the student who has been ejected causes similar disturbances in subsequent m eetings of the class, he/she m ay be denied admittance to the class for the remainder of the semester and assigned a grade of F.