Course 12.710 Introduction to Marine Geology and Geophysics FALL 2007 Instructors: Dan Lizarralde Jerry McManus Ken Sims TA: (WHOI, Clark, 260, x2942, danl@whoi.edu) (WHOI, Clark 121, x3328, jmcmanus@whoi.edu) (WHOI, Clark 247B, x2634, ksims@whoi.edu) Lynne Elkins (WHOI, Clark 259, x3422, lelkins@whoi.edu) Class Times, Places: Lectures – Tues./Thurs. 10:30-12:00, Clark 237 Labs/Discussion Sections – Time TBD Course Description: An introduction to marine geology and geophysics for non-majors. Topics include the geologic time scale, structure of the Earth, plate tectonics, marine sedimentation and stratigraphy, depositional and erosional processes, submarine morphology, paleoceanography, sea level changes, and the evolution of the Mesozoic-Cenozoic global ocean and climate. This course is intended for non-G&G students as a single semester course. There will be two 1 1/2 hour lectures each week. Problem sets will be regularly assigned and there will be weekly discussion sections and occasional labs during the semester. Text/Readings: Because of the breadth of topics covered there is no single textbook that is adequate for the purpose. Lecture notes will be distributed for each class along with reading assignments in several relevant textbooks placed on reserve or in journals. Students are responsible for the material covered in both the lectures and the reading. Grading: Mid-term exam - 25% Final exam - 25% Labs/Problem Sets - 50% 12.710 – Introduction to Marine Geology and Geophysics FALL 2007, Tues./Thurs. 10:30-12:00, Clark 237 FORMATION AND STRUCTURE OF THE EARTH 9/6 (Sims) Nucleosynthesis, Earth accretion 9/11 (Sims) Differentiation and structure of the Earth 9/13 (Sims) Geochronology/Geologic timescales GEOCHEMICAL CONSTRAINTS ON SOLID EARTH PROCESSES 9/18 (Sims) Plate Tectonics I: Overview of causes and effects 9/20 (Sims) Plate Tectonics II: The Earth’s chemical signature EARTH THERMAL STRUCTURE AND THE LITHOSPHERE 9/25 (Lizarralde) Heat transfer and the thermal lithosphere 9/27 (Lizarralde) Properties of the lithosphere and asthenosphere 10/2 (Lizarralde) Processes of lithospheric evolution PLATE BOUNDARIES AND IGNEOUS PETROGENESIS 10/4 (Lizarralde) Tectonic and magmatic processes at convergent plate boundaries 10/9 Columbus Day 10/11 (Sims) Arc petrogenesis and volcanism 10/16 (Sims) Ridge petrogenesis 10/18 (Lizarralde) Hotspots, LIPs, and plumes: Observations and controversies 10/23 (Sims) Hotspot petrogenesis GEOPHYSICAL METHODS AND OBSERVATIONS 10/25 (Lizarralde) Seismology: Earthquakes and Earth imaging 10/30 (Lizarralde) Potential fields, electro-magnetics, linear inverse theory 11/1 Mid Term SEDIMENTS AND SEDIMENTARY PROCESSES 11/1 (McManus) Fluvial and coastal sedimentation 11/6 (McManus) Marginal sedimentation, sequence stratigraphy 11/8 (McManus) Deep-sea sediments: composition, distribution 11/13 (McManus) Biological, chemical, and physical abyssal processes PALEO-OCEANOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE 11/15 (McManus) Dating methods and the sedimentary record 11/20 (McManus) Paleothermometry 11/22 Thanksgiving 11/27 (McManus) Deep water chemistry and atmospheric p(CO2) 11/29 (McManus) Ocean chemistry and continental weathering 12/4 (McManus) Astronomical climate theory 12/6 (McManus) Sedimentary records of abrupt climate change 12/11 Final Exam R12.710 Recommended Textbooks (on reserve in Lindgren Library, Building 54, MIT, and in Clark 237, WHOI) Fowler, C.M.R., The Solid Earth, Cambridge University Press, 1993. Kennett, J., Marine Geology and Geophysics, 1982. Broecker, W., The Glacial World According to Wally, 1995. Seawater: Its composition, properties and behaviour, The Open University, 1989. Ocean Chemistry and deep-sea sediments, The Open University, 1989. Stacey, F.D., Physics of the Earth, 3rd Edition, Brookfield Press, 1992. Turcotte, D.L. and G. Schubert, Geodynamics, Wiley & Sons, 1982. Cox, A., Plate Tectonics and Geomagnetic Reversals, W.H. Freeman and Co., 1973. Boggs, S., Jr., Principles of Sedimentology and Stratigraphy, Merrill Publishing Co., 1987. Einsele, G., Sedimentary Basins - Evolution, Facies, and Sediment Budget, Springer-Verlag, 1992.