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Home , Marine geology

Geosciences 440 Marine (and ) Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11:15-12:30 341 Deike Building Professor: Dr. Demian Saffer Office: 310 Deike Building, phone 865-7965 email: [email protected] Office Hours: Monday 1:00-2:00, and by appointment Text: J. Kennett, Marine Geology

Course Website Reference materials and assignments will be posted on ANGEL.

Overview Marine Geology is an upper level science course. We will cover a broad range of topics in marine geology and geophysics, including: floor morphology, , and , marine sedimentation, records of , ocean circulation, and gas hydrates. We will also spend some time on recent geologic events. The course has no formal prerequisites. Philosophy and course structure Many of the processes that impact the Earth system occur completely or partly below the . Some of these processes act on geologic time scales, affecting mountain belts and their shapes, forming ore deposits, changing Earth’s climate, and depositing rock units that we use as aquifers or that trap hydrocarbons. Other processes act more quickly, causing earthquakes and tsunamis, or possibly affecting Earth’s climate on the timescale of a human lifespan. In both cases, these processes are highly relevant to human populations. The overall goal of this course is to equip you with a broad understanding of some important aspects of how the Earth works, and to communicate an appreciation for the scale and complexity of many geologic processes. The course is also designed to hone your critical reading and thinking skills, and to provide some basic experience in quantitative problem-solving. My teaching philosophy centers on the idea that you will learn more, and be more interested in the material we cover, if you actively participate in class. In order to get a sense for exciting current research and exploration in marine geosciences, there is no substitute for reading and discussing recent journal articles. To emphasize these approaches, the class time will be spent on a mixture of lectures and student-led discussion of selected research topics. Assignments will include reading of current research articles and working with real data sets. Expectations and Requirements 1. General Conduct I expect that you will act professionally and honestly in this class. For the most part, this is common sense: treat your classmates with respect when they are presenting material in front of the class, don’t interrupt or talk while they (or I) are speaking. Show up on time for class. Complete your own assignments. Don’t copy from others or from outside sources – this is especially important for writing assignments. Plagiarism will not be tolerated; it will result in a failing grade for the course. If you have any questions about plagiarism, please come and talk to me. You should also look at the College’s policies, posted at: http://www.ems.psu/students/integrity/index.html. Most importantly, if you are struggling with anything in this course – assignments, reading, your presentation – don’t be afraid to some by office hours and ask me questions. I’m here to help you learn this material! 2. Class Attendance Attendance in class is mandatory. Although I will not take roll call, I generally notice if students are absent. Moreover, many of the class meetings will be spent discussing material from readings outside of the textbook, which will be difficult to make up if you are absent. Finally, the material we cover in lecture is the primary basis for the two exams. 3. Journal Articles and presentations Because marine geology is a field of highly active discovery and ongoing research, many recent controversies and advances in our knowledge are not included in any textbooks. We will cover this “cutting edge” research by reading journal articles on selected topics. For each of the article sets, a group of 3-4 students will give a presentation. We will then follow up with a discussion or lecture. Each of you will present exactly once during the semester, and be an “audience member” for the rest of the articles. Responsibilities of the presenting group: Present a summary of the articles to the class. The presentation should take 15- 20 minutes, and contain no more than 12 slides. This can be divided among the group members however the group decides. The presentation should make use of a powerpoint presentation or overheads. It should be well organized and practiced. I will provide a handout with additional guidelines for the presentations. If in powerpoint, your presentations should be provided to me NO LATER than the day before the class meeting. Responsibilities of the rest of the class: Turn in a ~1 page summary of each article or set of articles, to be due on the day of the presentation. Over the course of the semester there will be 9 such assignments, and you will be allowed 2 “free passes” (but you will still need to know the material for the exams). The presenting group is exempt from the written assignment. For 2 of the article sets of your choice, you will be required to submit a revised summary within 1 week after we go over the articles in class, emphasizing how your understanding of the article(s) has improved. Respect the presenters. Many people are not comfortable standing up in front of large groups anyway, so I expect that the rest of the class will be attentive and respectful (i.e. no talking during the presentation except to ask questions). 4. Homework “Problem Sets” In addition to the short writing assignments on the journal articles, there will be a few problem sets, in which you will work through questions and/or calculations using real data. These will be handed out in class as we cover the relevant topics. In general, I expect you to be familiar with using web browsers and excel (or some other spreadsheet and plotting program) for the problem sets. If your spreadsheet skills are a bit rusty, please come and see me. Late Policy for Assignments: Late work will be accepted, but will be penalized 10% of the graded score for each day late, up to a maximum penalty of 60%. This policy is to keep you from falling too far behind on assignments, and to keep me from having to grade the same assignment over the course of several weeks! Here’s an example of how it works: if you turn in an assignment two days late, and score a 90%, your final adjusted score for the assignment would be: (90% score) X (80% 2-day late penalty) = 72%. Because the penalty will not exceed 60%, you will still get partial credit for turning assignments in at any time. 5. Final Project (Proposal) The major final assignment in the course will be to work in pairs to develop a proposal for new research, using any of the techniques we discuss in class, and related to any of the topics we cover. This assignment will include a short presentation to the class, along with a written proposal. As the time nears, I will provide a handout with additional detailed guidelines for this assignment. Timeline and Deadlines for proposal: March 20 Topic paragraph due April 10 Outline of proposal due May 3 Proposal due, presentation to class

6. Exams There will be two exams: a mid-term, and a final. Each will cover the material preceding the exam; the final exam will not be cumulative. Your Grade Your grade in this course will be determined as follows:

Mid Term Exam 20% Final Exam 20% Homework Problem Sets 15% Article summaries & presentation 25% Presentation & written proposal 20% Office Hours and Additional Resources I am available during my scheduled office hours, by appointment. I am also happy to answer your questions via email. As a general rule, if you plan to meet with me outside of my regularly scheduled office hours, please contact me first! If you just “drop by”, there is a good chance that I will be busy working on something else and won’t be able to meet with you. In addition to your reader and textbook, I will gladly direct you to additional reading, research websites, etc… for topics that you find interesting, or to help in your preparation for the group assignments. The College of Earth and Mineral Sciences Library is located on the 1st floor of this building, and is an excellent resource for additional materials. Tentative Schedule The schedule below is a general outline of the topics and order in which we will cover them. As is the case in most classes, the exact days for each topic are subject to change, and should be considered only approximate.

Class: Topic(s) Reading/Assignments Jan 15 Course Introduction, bathymetric maps Jan 17 Overview: Origin of Earth, Earth Structure, Rock Cycle, Kennett, Ch. 2-3 Timescales and Correlation Jan 22 Tools of the Trade Kennett, Ch. 2 (p. 93-103) Jan 24 Tools of the Trade; Ocean Drilling Kennett, Ch. 1; Article #1 due Jan 29 : Ocean Floor Morphology & Continental Kennett, Ch. 2 (p. 23-41), HW #1 out Margins Jan 31 Plate Tectonics: Evidence for a theory, seafloor Kennett, Ch. 4; Article #2 & spreading Assignment due Feb 5 Plate Tectonics: Types of Boundaries Kennett, Ch. 5 Feb 7 Ocean Crust Formation and Structure Kennett, Ch. 7 Feb 12 Ocean Crust: New Discoveries and Anomalies Article Set #3 due; HW #2 out Feb 14 Evolution of Ocean Crust, Kennett, Ch. 4 (p. 145-147) Feb 19 Transforms, Zones Kennett, Ch. 12 Feb 21 Subduction Zones & Earthquakes Article Set #4 due, HW #3 out Feb 26 Sedimentation: Depositional Environments & Patterns Kennett, Ch. 9-10 (p. 289-318) Feb 28 structure and sedimentation Kennett, Ch. 11; supplemental reading Mar 4 Review & Catch-up day Mar 6 Exam #1 Mar 10-14 Spring Break, No Class Mar 18 Sources of marine sediments, CCD Kennett, Ch. 13-14 Mar 20 Sediment age control and sedimentation rates Supplemental reading Mar 25 Paleoseismology: Sediments and Tsunamis Article Set #5 due Mar 27 Diagenesis and Compaction Apr 1 Feedbacks between tectonics and sedimentation Article Set #6 due Apr 3 Level Change: Causes and Sedimentary Record Kennett, Ch. 9 Apr 8 Ocean circulation patterns Kennett, Ch. 8, Article Set #7 due, HW #4 out Apr 10 Paleo- and Paleoclimate: Sediment and Kennett, Ch. 17 Isotope records Apr 15 Climate Change, timescales, and causes Article Set #8 due Apr 17 Abrupt and millennial scale climate change Supplemental Reading Apr 22 Gas Hydrates Supplemental reading Apr 24 Gas Hydrates and Climate Article Set #9 due Apr 29 Review & Catch-up May 1 Presentations, Papers/Proposals due Finals Week Exam #2