George Mason University–Office of the Registrar Undergraduate Course Approval Form
Please complete this form and attach a copy of the syllabus and catalog description for new courses. Forward the
form and attachments to your departmental curriculum committee for approval, and then to your College/School
curriculum committee, or Dean’s office, for final approval. The approved form should then be forwarded to the
Academic Scheduling Office, MS 3D1. This is for undergraduate course approval only. Please see the Provost
Office/Graduate Council website to obtain a copy of the Graduate Course Approval Form and for details about the
graduate course approval process.
Note: Colleges and Schools are responsible for submitting new or modified catalog descriptions (35 words or less,
using catalog format) to Creative Services by deadlines outlined in the yearly Catalog production calendar.
Please indicate: New____X___
Modify_______
Delete_______
Department/Unit: Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Earth Sciences Course Subject/Number: __Geol 364_________
Submitted by: ___Barry Klinger & Randy McBride_________ Ext: ____3-1642___ Email:
_klinger@cola.iges.org; rmcbride@gmu.edu___________
Course Title: ____Marine Geology____________________________________________________________
Effective Term (New/Modified Courses only): ___Spring 2010___ Final Term (deleted courses only):____________
Credit Hours: (Fixed) __3__
(Var.) ______ to ______
Grade Type (check one):
_X_ Regular graduate (A, B, C, etc.)
____ Satisfactory/No Credit only
____ Special graduate (A, B, C, etc. + IP)
Repeat Status*(check one): _X__ NR-Not repeatable __ __ RD-Repeatable within degree ____ RT-Repeatable within term
*Note: Used only for special topics, independent study, or internships courses
Total Number of Hours Allowed: _______
Schedule Type Code(s): 1._LEC LEC=Lecture SEM=Seminar STU=Studio INT=Internship IND=Independent Study
2.____ LAB=Lab RCT=Recitation (second code used only for courses with Lab or Rct component)
Prereq __X_ Coreq ___ (Check e):_Prerequisites – Geol 101, 102, 302, and Chem 211_____________
Note: Modified courses - review prereq or coreq for necessary changes; Deleted courses - review other courses to correct prereqs that list the deleted course.
Description of Modification (for modified courses):______________________________________________________________
Special Instructions (major/college/class code restrictions, if needed):______________________________________
Approval Signatures:
Department or Unit: _________________________________________ Date: ______________
(Signature)
______________________________________________________ Date:
(Signature)
______________
College/School Committee: ____________________________________ Date: ______________
(Signature)
George Mason University
Undergraduate Course Coordination Form
Approval from other units:
Please list those units outside of your own which may be affected by this new, modified, or deleted course. Each of these units should
approve this action prior to its being submitted to the COS Curriculum Committee for approval.
Unit:
Head of Unit’s Signature:
Date:
Unit:
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Date:
Unit:
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COS Curriculum Committee approval: ______________________________________________ Date: ____________
Course Proposal Submitted to the COS Curriculum Committee
1. COURSE NUMBER AND TITLE:
Geol 364 : Marine Geology
Course Prerequisites: Geol 101, 102, 302 and Chem 211
Catalog Description: This course will present a global overview of the geologic origin and composition of
the ocean seafloor, and an introduction to the basic principles of the geologic processes occurring in the
marine environment. Primary topics include geologic, tectonic and sedimentary characteristics of the deep
ocean basins and continental margins; transport and deposition of marine sediments; micropaleontology and
paleoceanography; geochemistry and hydrothermal systems; and marine mineral resources.
2. COURSE JUSTIFICATION: The Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Earth Science
(AOES) is planning to expand the existing coastal oceanography concentration as part of the Earth Science BS,
by including courses in physical oceanography, biological oceanography, geological oceanography, and
chemical oceanography.
Course Objectives: The course will begin with a discussion of the geologic and tectonic characteristics of the
seafloor. Assuming just the prerequisite geology and general chemistry background, the student will be
introduced to basic principles of physical and geochemical processes responsible for seafloor creation. Next,
continental margins will be synthesized in terms of their geologic framework and primary sediment transport
processes. Marine geochemistry and primary metal deposits will be addressed, including a detailed
explanation of hydrothermal vent systems along mid-oceanic ridges. The present spatial distribution of
surficial sediments and microfossils across the global seafloor will be examined. Finally, all of the above
information will be synthesized to understand paleoceanographic reconstructions and then analyzed to predict
future changes in the oceanic system.
Course Necessity: A complete presentation of an oceanography concentration as part of the Earth Science BS
must include the geological component because geology plays a major and integrated role in all disciplines of
oceanography – chemical, physical, geological and biological.
Course Relationship to Existing Programs: Marine Geology will be offered by the Department of
Atmospheric, Oceanic, & Earth Sciences as part of the expanded oceanography concentration within the Earth
Science BS. In addition, students could pursue the course as part of the Geology or Earth Science minors. As
far as we know, this course has little to no duplication with other programs or courses at GMU.
Course Relationship to Existing Courses: The existing course of Coastal Morphology & Processes (Geol
363/Evpp 363) focuses on the geologic and physical processes of coasts and estuaries (i.e., shallow water),
whereas Marine Geology (Geol 364) will emphasize the geology of deep ocean basins and continental margins
(i.e., deeper water). In addition, the Introductory Oceanography course (Geol/Biol 309) is a general survey
course that exposes students to the four primary areas of ocean science (i.e., biological, chemical, physical,
and geological oceanography). Geological oceanography/marine geology comprises about ¼ of the Geol/Biol
309 course resulting in a brief overview of the subject. In contrast, the marine geology course (Geol 364) will
be a semester-long course dedicated to an in-depth study of seafloor geology and geological processes of the
ocean. Moreover, the Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Earth Sciences is currently developing a
course in physical oceanography. The physical oceanography course will complement the proposed marine
geology course. The marine geology course is complementary to other existing or planned courses in
biological and chemical oceanography offered by the Department of Environmental Science & Policy and the
Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, respectively.
3. APPROVAL HISTORY: None
4. SCHEDULING AND PROPOSED INSTRUCTORS:
Semester of Initial Offering: Spring 2010
Proposed Instructors: Drs. Verardo, Kysar, Cooper, and McBride
5. COURSE STRUCTURE
Lectures: Two 1½ hour lectures or one 3-hour lecture.
Reference Texts:
a) Seibold, E. and Berger, W.H., 1996. The Sea Floor- An Introduction to Marine Geology. 3rd ed.,
Elsevier, 356 p. 209 illus., ISBN: 978-3-540-60191-3
b) Kennett, J.P., 1982. Marine Geology. Prentice-Hall, Inc., 813 p.
Exams: Midterm; Final
Classroom and/or homework exercises: A selective set of computational and/or interpretive exercises
will be assigned throughout the semester involving stratigraphic data, micropaleontology, geochemical
analysis, etc.
Paper: Students will write a 10-page, referenced paper on a topic of their choice from course themes.
Field Trips: Non-mandatory field trips may be offered.
Grades: Exercises – 25%
Paper
– 20%
Midterm
– 25%
Final
– 30%
6. TENTATIVE SYLLABUS:
I.
Geology of Oceanic Crust and Plate Tectonics
a. Sea floor exploration overview – history and trends
b. Geophysics of the oceanic lithosphere
c. Structural geology of the seafloor part 1: analysis of rifting
structures and abyssal hills.
d. Structural geology of the seafloor part 2: compressional
systems of subduction zones
e. Fore arc and back arc basins
f. Submarine volcanism
g. Geochemistry of oceanic rocks
II.
Continental Margins
a. Continental margin types
b. Geological processes and the continental shelf, slope, and rise
c. Sea-Level History and the sedimentary record
III.
Marine Geochemistry and Metal Deposits of the Seafloor
a. Oceanic basalts and hydrothermal alteration of the seafloor.
b. Hydrothermal vents. Origins of life. Black smokers.
c. Seabed metals (ferromanganese nodules, cobalt crusts) and placers deposits (diamonds, gold, sand, gravel,
etc.) and problems of mineral extraction/mining
d. Seawater as an ore.
e. Policies, legal issues, and economics of marine materials
IV.
Ocean History, Sediments, and Microfossils
a. Approaches to Paleoceanography. History and evolution of ocean basins including sediments and fossils.
Modern climate system.
b. Ocean circulation, ocean-atmosphere interactions and associated sedimentation
c. Sea-Level Changes, Tectonics vs. Eustasy vs. Climate vs. planetary
d. Sequence Stratigraphy
e. Oceanic sediments and microfossils, calcareous sediments, siliceous sediments
f. Paleoceanography
i. Stable and radioactive isotope stratigraphy.
ii. Recent changes - Ice-core and coral records
iii. Terrigenous sediments