460:207—EARTH RESOURCES & GLOBAL ECONOMICS
SYLLABUS
Description: This course is a comprehensive introduction to the geologic setting and origin of the Earth’s
natural resources. Topics include the exploitation of energy resources (oil and gas) and metallic and
nonmetallic deposits and the impact of the exploitation of these natural resources on society.
Learning Goals: Students will learn the key geologic concepts needed to discover oil, gas, and ore deposits, and
apply these concepts in simulated exploration exercises. Also, students will assess and debate the ethical and
societal issues related to the exploitation of natural resources.
This course satisfies SAS Core Curriculum Goals:
IIA: Areas of inquiry – Natural Sciences – STUDENTS WILL BE ABLE TO:
e. Understand and apply basic principles and concepts in earth science.
f. Explain and be able to assess the relationship among assumptions, method, evidence, arguments, and
theory in scientific analysis.
g. Identify and critically assess ethical and society issues in science.
No prerequisites: The course is accessible to a wide range of students; the goals have not been met by
prerequisites.
Instructor:
Office
E-mail
Office Hours:
Basis for Grade:
Instructor:
Office
E-mail
Office Hours:
Dr. Martha Oliver Withjack
243A Wright Geological Laboratory
drmeow3@rci.rutgers.edu
TBA; other times by appointment
Dr. Roy W. Schlische
234 Wright Geological Laboratory
schlisch@rci.rutgers.edu
TBA; other times by appointment
• Writing assignments and homework, ~40%
• Weekly open-book quizzes (lowest two quiz grades are dropped at end of semester):
~20%
• Exam 1 (open-book): ~15%
• Final Exam (open book; must be taken during scheduled time): ~25%
• A: 90-100; B+: 84-89.99; B: 78-83.99; C+: 72-77.99; C: 66-71.99; D: 50-65.99; F: 049.99
• Letter grades are assigned by and available from the Sakai course site.
Required text: None. Reading assignments available on web.
Assignments: (1) All assignments are due at the start of class. Late assignments will receive a penalty of 10%
per day; assignments turned in more than one week late will receive no credit. (2) All pages must be stapled. (3)
Your name must appear on each page. (4) If the assignment involves multiple exercises, the exercises must be
properly numbered and submitted in the proper sequence. (5) For numerical or graphical problems, you must
show all work, the final answer should be boxed, and all numerical answers should be accompanied by the
proper units (e.g., 35 meters).
For assignments requiring a written answer: All answers must be typed and double-spaced. You must use
complete sentences, and give the reason for your answer. Grammar, spelling, and writing style are part of your
grade. Plagiarism is a serious academic offense, and we will be deal with it severely! Plagiarism includes:
(1) passing off the work of others as your own; and (2) failure to acknowledge properly the source of ideas,
information, facts, figures, drawings, etc., that are not your own. The following website has useful information:
http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/pamphlets/plagiarism.shtml
Attendance: All students must attend all classes, arrive on time, remain in class until the end of the class
period, and participate in class discussions.
Electronic devices: Students must turn off and put away cell phones, laptops, tablets, and other electronic
devices (except calculators) during all class sessions, quizzes, and exams.
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Supplies: 3-ring binder (for holding handouts, notes, assignments, etc.; it is imperative that you keep this
notebook organized), colored pencils with erasers, metric ruler, and calculator.
Policy on Classroom Etiquette
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ
The Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences is committed to teaching excellence and fostering close
interaction between students and faculty. We demand that instructors AND students display appropriate respect
and consideration for each other. Instructors should try to infuse students with an enthusiastic appreciation of the
science, be well prepared for class, provide students with clear goals and expectations, listen carefully to student
questions and comments, and conscientiously evaluate students' work. Students are expected to attend the
scheduled classes and to behave courteously in class. Together, instructors and students will maintain an
environment of openness and civility that encourages and honors the intellectual achievement represented by the
discipline of Earth and Planetary Sciences. We outline the following rules on exams, attendance, tardiness/leaving
early, and integrity.
Exams: Every effort must be made to take exams when scheduled. NO unexcused make-up exams will be given.
Those with valid excuses will be allowed to take exams in a method determined by the instructor. To be valid, an
excuse has to be obtained from the instructor prior to the lab/exam being missed. Rare cases of extreme
emergency preventing timely communication are to be discussed with the Undergraduate Director and/or
Department Chair.
Attendance: Students are expected to attend class; attendance is one of the best prognosticators of a student's
performance. If a student cannot attend a class or must leave early, he/she should inform the instructor and ask to
be excused. Instructors may require signed attendance sheets and may count attendance as part of the grade.
Tardiness and Leaving Class Early: Our university is geographically challenged. Students must commute
considerable distances between classes, and instructors are aware of problems that students encounter in trying to
come to class on time. Students should try to not schedule courses on different campuses in adjacent periods. We
recognize that some tardiness is inevitable; HOWEVER, habitually arriving in class late and departing early is
disruptive and rude. We ask that once you make every effort possible to get to class on time, and once there,
STAY.
Personal Conversation: It is rude and disruptive to engage in personal conversation during class. Students who
persist in this disruptive behavior may be asked to leave the class and may be penalized as absent. Refusal to
leave class once requested will result in disciplinary action at the Dean's level. Cell phones must be turned OFF in
class.
Academic Integrity: Our department fully endorses a no-tolerance cheating and plagiarism policy. If you are
caught cheating, the instructor may fail you and request disciplinary action.
Your Rights: We are all human and instructors and students both make mistakes. If you feel that you have been
treated unfairly, contact the undergraduate program director, Dr. Gail Ashley, or the department chair, Dr. Carl
Swisher.
Modified from policy of the Department of History, Rutgers, The State University of NJ
Voted on as Departmental Policy on January 17, 2000
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Schedule
Week 1 – Introduction, plate tectonics, and geologic time
• Overview of course
• Introduction to oil & gas
• Basics of plate tectonics
• Geologic time and exercise
• Discussion topic and writing assignment – Are we running out of oil?
Week 2 – Sediments and sedimentary rocks
• Quiz
• Panel and questions – Are we running out of oil?
• Sediments
• Preservation and burial of sediments within basins
• Types of sedimentary rocks
• Discussion topic and writing assignment – Oil-spill disasters (Santa Barbara, Valdez, Deepwater Horizon)
Week 3 – Source rocks and source-rock maturation
• Quiz
• Panel and questions – Oil-spill disasters (Santa Barbara, Valdez, Deepwater Horizon)
• Source rocks
• Source-rock maturation
• Discussion topic and writing assignment – Drilling off the east coast of North America (specifically, NJ)
Week 4 – Reservoir rocks
• Quiz
• Panel and questions – Drilling off the east coast of North America (specifically, NJ)
• Reservoir rocks
• Discussion topic and writing assignment – ANWR debate
Week 5 – Deformation
• Quiz
• Panel and questions – ANWR debate
• Deformation and geologic structures
• Migration pathways and seals
• Discussion topic and writing assignment – Unconventional oil: Tar sands and oil shales
Week 6 - Traps
• Exam: Plate tectonics, geologic time, sediments, sedimentary rocks, source rocks, reservoir rocks,
deformation, and structures
• Panel and questions – Unconventional oil: Tar sands and oil shales
• Conventional traps
• Discussion topic and writing assignment – Unconventional gas: Marcellus shale and hydrofracking
Week 7 – Maps and Cross Sections
• Review of exam
• Panel and questions – Unconventional gas: Marcellus shale and hydrofracking
• Block diagrams, maps and cross sections
• Discussion topic and writing assignment – The world’s largest conventional oil field: Ghawar
Week 8 – 3D Geology: Seismic data & contour maps
• Quiz
• Panel and questions – The world’s largest conventional oil field: Ghawar
• Seismic data: making maps
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• Contour maps
Week 9 – Team exploration game, part 1
• Team project – Formation of teams and determination of source-rock potential
• Interpretation of free data
• Data purchase and interpretation
• Submit first-round drilling proposals
• Additional data purchase and interpretation
Week 10 – Team exploration game, part 2
• Results of first-round drilling
• Submit second-round drilling proposals
• Additional data purchase and interpretation
• Submit final-round drilling
• Completion of all cross sections by individuals
• Discussion topic and writing assignment – Interview with a mineral-exploration geologist
Week 11 – Mineral exploration
• Quiz on exploration-game skills
• Announcement of drilling results
• Interview with a mineral-exploration geologist
• Mineral exploration introduction
• What are ore deposits?
• Discussion topic and writing assignment – Gold mining: The good, the bad, and the ugly
Week 12 – Igneous rocks and mineral-exploration exercises
• Quiz
• Panel and questions – Gold mining: The good, the bad, and the ugly
• Igneous rocks
• Mineral-exploration exercises
• Discussion topic and writing assignment – Economic resources of New Jersey, past and present
Week 13
• Scavenger hunt at Rutgers Geology Museum, Old Queen’s Campus, New Brunswick, NJ
Week 14 – New Jersey’s economic resources
• Extra credit questions – Economic resources of New Jersey, past and present
• Geology of New Jersey
• Economic resources of New Jersey
Final Exam – Exam must be taken during scheduled period.
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