EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE ENVST-UA.340.1 PROF. RAMPINO Spring 2020
Class meets Tuesday/Thursday, 3:30 to 4:45 PM in Room B07, 45 W. 4th St.
Lectures: Prof. Michael R. Rampino (Departments of Biology and Environmental Studies). Office: 1157 Brown Bldg.; Office phone: 212-998-3743; Cell: 718-578-1442; e-mail: [email protected] Office Hours: 1 to 3 PM Tuesdays and Thursdays or contact me for an appointment.
Earth System Science examines our current view of planet Earth as a complex system involving interactions among the atmosphere, oceans, solid earth, and life. Emphasis is placed on the dynamics and evolution of these systems over time, and predictions for the future. The subject matter includes observations from space; planetary habitability, the Goldilocks Problem; the Gaia Hypothesis; geophysics and plate tectonics; the rock cycle; the circulation of the oceans and atmosphere; cycles of elements essential for life; the co-evolution of climate and life on Earth. The course will include lectures, discussion and videos. ______
REQUIRED READING: 1 1) Skinner, B.J and Murck, B. W. The Blue Planet, 3rd edition. (Wiley, 2011). This book is expensive, and not in the bookstore. There are used copies available on Amazon. If you want to purchase the e-version, that is also OK. 2) Zalasiewicz, J. and Williams, M. The Goldilocks Planet (Oxford, 2012, paper). Order from Amazon.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS: The grading in the course will be based on performance in three exams (2 quizzes and final quiz) and homework assignments (There will be homework assignments every week). A great deal of factual information and a number of new concepts will be introduced in this course; it is essential to keep up in the readings and to attend the lectures/discussions.
POLICY ON ATTENDANCE: Students are expected to attend the class, and you are forewarned that some class material will not be covered completely in the readings. This is a small class, and your absence will be noted. Absences for quizzes must be accompanied by a doctor’s note. ______
SYLLABUS ______Week 1 28 January: The Earth as a System: What is Science? Introduction to Earth System Science; Solid Earth, Atmosphere, Hydrosphere & Biosphere; Examples of the Earth as a Complex System. Reading: BP Chapter 1
30 January: Origin of the Solar System: How the Sun & Planets Formed. Tour of the Solar System. Planets and Moons. Places for Life? Reading: BP Chapter 4 ______Week 2 February 4: Early History of Earth & its Moon. What we Learned from the Apollo Program & Later Explorations. Reading: BP Chapter 4
February 6: Why is Earth Habitable? The Goldilocks Problem: Why is Earth Comfortable, Mars Too Cold, & Venus Too Hot? Are There Other Habitable Planets? Reading: BP Chapter 4 ______Week 3 February 11: Geologic Time: The Story in the Rocks; Relative & Absolute Timescales. Stratigraphy & Radiometric Dating. 2 Reading: BP Chapter 7 February 13: The Rock Cycle: Igneous, Sedimentary & Metamorphic Rocks. Reading: BP Chapter 7 ______Week 4 February 18: What is the Earth Made of? The Composition of our Planet. Reading: BP Chapter 3
February 20: The Mobile Earth: Wegener’s Theory. Continental Drift & Sea- Floor Spreading. Plate tectonics. Reading: BP Chapter 5 ______Week 5 February 25: NO CLASS. Trip to AMNH Hall of Meteorites. Meteorites, Asteroids & Comets. The Ingredients of the Earth & Planets.
February 27: Video --Amazing Earth ______Week 6 March 3: History of Plate Tectonics: The Mobile Earth Through Time; The Formation & Break-up of Pangea. The Wilson Cycle. Reading; BP Chapter 5
March 5: QUIZ 1
Week 7 March 10: Earthquakes & the Earth’s Interior: The internal Structure of the Earth, Seismology, & the Global Distribution of Earthquakes. Reading: BP Chapter 6.
March 12: Volcanism & Volcanic Eruptions: Global Volcanism. Characteristics of Volcanic Eruptions & the Distribution of Volcanoes. Reading: BP Chapter 6 ______Week 8 March 16-22nd Spring Break ______Week 9 March 24: The Atmosphere: Structure & Composition of the Earth's Atmosphere. Reading: BP Chapter 11
3 March 26: Winds and Weather: Circulation of the Atmosphere; Global Wind Systems. The Earth's Present Climate. Monsoons, Typhoons, & El Niños. Reading: BP Chapter 12 ______Week 10 March 31: The Oceans: The Water Planet: The Composition of the Oceans. Basic Ocean Chemistry. Why the Sea is Salty. Reading: BP Chapter 10 _ April 2: The Restless Sea: The Surface & Deep Circulation of the Oceans. Ocean Current Systems. The Oceanic Conveyor Belt. Reading: BP Chapter 10
Week 11 April 7: Life: The Biosphere—Origins of Life: How Life Originated & Changed the Early Earth’s Atmosphere, Oceans & Climate. Reading: BP Chapter 14, GP Chapter 1 & 2
April 9: QUIZ 2 Week 12 April 14: A Brief History of Life: Highlights in the Evolution of Life on Earth. Environmental Changes Caused by Biologic Activity. The Gaia Hypothesis. Reading: BP Chapter 14, GP Chapter 3
April 16: Catastrophes in Earth History: External vs. Internal Causes of Geologic Cataclysms. What Killed the Dinosaurs? Other Mass Extinctions. Reading: BP Chapter 14
Week 13 April 21: Long-Term Climate: Snowball Earth Episodes. Greenhouse & Icehouse worlds. The Effects of Continental Drift on Climate and Life. Pleistocene Glaciation & Ice-Age Climates. Astronomical influences. Reading: BP Chapter 13, GP Chapters 4-6
April 23: Short-Term Climatic Variability: Solar Variations, Sunspots, Volcanic Eruptions, CO2, etc. Reading: BP Chapter 13, GP Chapters 7-9 ______Week 14 April 28: Biogeochemical Cycles of Carbon & Oxygen. Climate Control by the Carbon Cycle. Atmospheric Oxygen Concentrations Over Time. Reading: BP Chapter 15
4 April 30: Global Warming & Earth’s Future: The Anthropocene: Some of the Problems of Population Growth, Energy Use, & the Carbon Dioxide Greenhouse Effect. Reading: BP Chapter 19, GP Chapter 10 ______Week 15 May 5: The Earth as a Planet: What was this Course About?
May 7: Last Class--Final Quiz
Remember the Quiz dates: March 5, April 9, May 7
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