G100- GENERAL GEOLOGY Spring, 2013

Class Meets: MWF 9:00-9:50 SB 168

Required Materials: Grotzinger, J. and Jordan, T.H., 2010, Understanding Earth, 6th

edition, W.H. Freeman and Co., New York, 654 pp.

This Dynamic Earth: the Story of Plate Tectonics

http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/dynamic/dynamic.html

Any other book that may be in the bookstore has not been ordered for this course!

Students should read the text carefully but be advised: The lectures are designed to guide

your reading! Use this fact to organize your reading, review and test preparation. Keep

up with your readings in This Dynamic Earth. It is fair game for testing.

Instructor: Anne Argast

Office/Email SB238; Argast@ipfw.edu

Hours: Anytime or By Appointment

G100 Home Page: http://geo.ipfw.edu/argast/g100/

Geo Dept. Home Page: http://www.geosci.ipfw.edu

Please note: The course web site is not on Blackboard!

Recommended Materials: Notebook

Calculator

Periodic Table

GRADING EXAM # 1 20%

EXAM # 2 20%

EXAM # 3 20%

EXAM # 4 20%

FINAL EXAMINATION 20%

THE REALLY IMPORTANT STUFF

You should be working hard when you are in class. Sitting back and simply listening to

my lecture is not going to cut it. Doing your email in class is bad. Texting your BFF in

class is bad. Napping in class is bad. It is called school WORK for a reason. Class is an

activity, BE ACTIVE. Take notes, probably almost every minute you are sitting in the

room.

I don't take attendance but students who frequently miss class will find great difficulty

understanding the material. You should attend lecture regularly.

It is amazing how many students choose to miss lectures and then wonder why their

grades aren't very good, or complain that the test material doesn't reflect what has been

discussed in class, or say the class is too hard. When you miss a lecture youve missed more than 10% of the material on the next exam. Thats a full letter grade. If you wish success in the course you need to be in class.

You should already have a working knowledge of arithmetic and elementary algebra; and

an ability to learn about simple logarithms, exponentials, trigonometry and geometry. We

will use metric units and scientific notation when appropriate. If you think these are

unreasonable expectations then you should find another class at your earliest opportunity.

I will give out-of-class help to students who have worked hard in class, taken notes and

need to ask questions. When you come for help I'm going to ask to see your notes. I will

not help students who miss class and don't make a first effort to understand the material.

Send me an email and I'll schedule a time to meet with you. It's best if you come prepared

with specific questions about things you are confused about.

I dont mind if you tape the lecture, or have someone else do it on the incredibly rare occasions you need to miss class.

SO WHY AM I HERE?

G100 meets one of your Area II General Education requirements at IPFW. More

importantly:

You will learn a variety of facts about the Earth and you will learn to integrate these into

working models of Earth processes. You will learn the Earth is as an assemblage of

vibrant, dynamic, cyclic systems and you will begin to understand the frequently

synergistic interrelations among these Earth processes. You will quantify data with

graphs and other techniques. You will learn to support ideas with data and analysis.

You may forget many of the facts shortly after the final exam but you'll remember

enough to be useful and you'll have sharpened your critical thinking skills. With what

you've learned you will be a more informed citizen capable of evaluating the important

Earth-related issues of our time. For a few, you will have taken the first steps on a life-

long career in geology or a related field.

A BIT OF A SCHEDULING PROBLEM

Your professor needs to be out-of-town on Wednesday (1/16) and Friday (1/18) of the

first week of class. There will be no class on those two days. Monday (1/21) is the MLK

holiday.

TEST POLICY

There are four scheduled hour-long lecture exams and a two-hour final. You can 'make-

up' an exam missed for jury duty or military service but, without exception, you must

present an explanatory letter from the court clerk or your commanding officer. MAKE-

UP EXAMS WILL NOT BE GIVEN FOR ANY OTHER REASON including illness,

hangovers, cars that don't start, nasty weather, child rearing, sports, forensics, work

commitments or anything else that might occur.

Illness, sports, weather/road conditions and other factors can create legitimate problems

for some students on an exam day. Therefore, there is no penalty for missing one hourly

exam. Your final grade will be calculated with each exam worth 25% of the total. You do

not need to seek permission, nor do you need to explain that you missed an exam. This

policy does not, however, extend beyond one miss. A student will receive a zero if a

second hourly exam is missed and no excuse, no matter how valid, will change that. Do

not, therefore, miss an exam for frivolous reasons.

The missed-test policy does not apply to the final. You must complete the final exam.

If IPFW is Officially OPEN on an exam day I will give the scheduled exam and expect

you to be there (within the limits explained above). If IPFW is Officially CLOSED on an

exam day I will give the scheduled exam during the first class held after IPFW reopens. I

reserve the right to modify this policy, and if I choose to delay the exam I will try to post

appropriate information on the class discussion board.

When writing the questions for an exam I put strong primary emphasis on the topics

covered in lecture and only minor emphasis on text material not explicitly covered in

class or the syllabus. Readings from This Dynamic Earth are an exception to this rule.

We will use a mostly or entirely machine-gradable format for the exams. Some questions

will require quantified solutions and simple math. You might even need to answer a

question about something we haven't talked about in class.

Some students may be authorized by the University to receive various accommodations at

exam time. This might include more time, assistance reading or writing the exam and its

answers, or might simply be an allowance to take the exam in a quiet space. No problem -

but- it is your responsibility to provide me, in writing, in class, a note that gives your

name and what needs to be done to accommodate your needs. You must give me that

note a minimum of one week before each scheduled exam date. You will be asked to

either start the exam at the same time as all other students or start the exam earlier than

scheduled but remain at your test site through the normal start time.

Anyone caught cheating on an exam will be subject to any number of penalties

including a zero on the exam and an 'F' in the course. Do not expect sympathy from me

if you are caught cheating. Cheating is unacceptable behavior that violates the essence of

academic life and is, in a practical sense, simply not worth the risk.

GEOLOGY LAB Not everyone in G100 lecture is enrolled in G100 lab which is offered at IPFW as a

separate course. Labs and lectures support each other but are not coordinated on a week-

to-week basis. Much of the information presented in lab will not be discussed in lecture.

HALLWAY DISPLAYS and ON-LINE IMAGES

There are quite a few displays scattered around the GeoFloor which can be reached by

climbing the stairs from the buildings commons area, or by exiting this lecture hall by the door at the back of the room. These displays are part of the required reading for the

course, and you will be expected to make appropriate use of them where indicated in the

syllabus or during lectures.

There are also quite a few captioned images that I have placed on the Geoscience web

site (follow the link from the geosciences home page). Take a look at these images and

treat them as required reading.

G100 - GENERAL GEOLOGY

Spring, 2013

Lecture Schedule

1. M Jan 14 Course Introduction *1-53

W 16 No Class (prof out-of-town) ---------

F 18 No Class (prof out-of-town) ---------

M 21 No Class (MLK Holiday) ---------

2. W 23 Data, Numbers & Observations I ---------

3. F 25 Data, Numbers & Observations II ---------

4. M 28 Minerals (and Rocks) - An Overview 55-87 (+hallway)

5. W 30 Rocks (and Minerals) - An Overview 55-87 (+hallway)

6. F Feb 1 Relative Geologic Time 191-202

7. M 4 Weathering Processes 421-435

8. W 6 Mass Wasting in Vaiont, Italy 435-453; web Before Exam 1 read "Preface" and "Historical Perspective" from This Dynamic Earth

9. F 8 EXAMINATION I ----------

10. M 11 Radioactivity and Absolute Geologic Time 191-213; 537-539

11. W 13 Radioactivity and Absolute Geologic Time 191-213; 537-539

12. F 15 Ground Water I 455-481

13. M 18 Ground Water II 455-481

14. W 20 Rivers I - Movement of Water 483-511

15. F 22 Rivers II - Floods and Hydrographs 483-511

16. M 25 Rivers III - Movement of Sediment 483-511; 113-145

17. W 27 Sedimentation 113-145 Before Exam 2 read "Developing the Theory" and "Understanding Plate Motions" from This

Dynamic Earth

18. F Mar 1 EXAMINATION II ----------

19. M 4 Glaciers I - Glaciology 569-597

20. W 6 Glaciers II - Glacial Geomorphology 569-597

21. F 8 Glaciers III - Indiana Glaciers 569-597

M 11 Spring Break - No Class ----------

W 13 Spring Break - No Class ----------

F 15 Spring Break - No Class ----------

22. M 18 Oceans I 535-567 (+hallway)

23. W 20 Oceans II 535-567

24. F 22 Shorelines 535-567

25. M 25 Tragedy of the Commons

Search "law of the seas treaty" on Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Convention_on_the_Law_of_the_Sea

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragedy_of_the_commons

http://tierneylab.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/15/the-non-tragedy-of-the-commons/

http://www.yesmagazine.org/new-economy/the-victory-of-the-commons Before Exam 3 read "Hotspots" and "Some unanswered questions" from This Dynamic Earth 26. W 27 EXAMINATION III ----------

27. F 29 Earth's Heat 89-111

28. M Apr 1 Plutonism 89-111

29. W 3 Volcanoes I 305-335 (+hallway)

30. F 5 Volcanoes II 305-335

31. M 8 Hot Springs and Hydrothermal Activity 319-320; 478-481

32. W 10 Metamorphism 147-165 (+hallway)

33. F 12 Folds, Faults and Deformation 167-189

34. M 15 Earthquakes and Seismology I 337-391

35. W 17 Earthquakes and Seismology II 337-391

36. F 19 Earth's Interior 337-391

37. M 21 Isostasy and Mountain Building 245-273

38. W 23 Mountain Building - Appalachians 245-273 Before Exam 4 read "Plate Tectonics and People" from This Dynamic Earth

39. F 25 EXAMINATION IV ----------

40. M 29 Global Tectonics - Evidence for Plate Movement

Review Chapters 10 and 12. Also reread the e-book from USGS.

41. W May 1 Global Tectonics - Crustal X-Secs ----------

42. F 3 Global Tectonics - Review ----------

43. M 6 FINAL EXAMINATION 8:00-10:00 a.m. ----------

*Page numbers refer to Grotzinger and Jordan, 2010, Understanding Earth, 6

th edition.

In several places additional readings from the web or hallway have been specified. Treat

these as required readings.

ADDITIONAL READING ASSIGNMENT

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) has published an on-line book about plate

Tectonics. The book - This Dynamic Earth: the Story of Plate Tectonics can be found at

http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/dynamic/dynamic.html.

Read at your own pace but have the designations sections read by the time specified in

the schedule. There will be questions on each exam from these readings.

G100 - GENERAL GEOLOGY

Spring, 2013

Discussion Topics by Lecture

1. Introduction. Classroom policies. Definition of geology. Present is the key to the

past. Some rates and sizes associated with the Earth.

2. Data, Numbers & Observation I. Empirical data. pH. Plotting pH against ml acid on

log-normal and arithmetic axis paper. Dependent and independent variables.

Qualities of a good graph.

3. Data, Numbers & Observation II. 'Eyeballing' data and estimating trends on scatter

plots. Errors. Histograms. Mean, median, standard deviation and mode. Steinmetz's

dishonest graph.

4. Minerals (& Rocks). Definition of mineral. Geologic and economic importance of minerals. Crystal lattice. Mineral Properties.

5. Rocks (& Minerals). Definition of rock. Sedimentary, igneous, metamorphic. Materials as a reflection of process. Basic subdivisions of each group of

processes/materials. Lithification of sediments.

6. Relative Geologic Time. Relative vs. absolute time. Methods for estimating relative

time. Steno. Superposition. Original Horizontality. Lateral continuity. Faunal

succession. Cross-cutting relations. Some problems with relative dating.

Conformities and unconformities. Simple time sequence from cross-section. The

geologic time scale.

7. Weathering. Mechanical vs chemical weathering. Frost wedging, unloading and

organic activity. Quantitative estimate of area to volume ratios in weathered blocks.

Synergy. Typical weathering reaction of K-feldspar to kaolinite. Typical qualities of

a chemical weathering reaction.

8. Mass Wasting in Vaiont, Italy. The October, 1963 Vaiont Reservoir disaster.

Geologic setting: rock types, tectonic activity, jointing. Contributing factors to slide.

Weather considerations. Effects of human activity. Sequence of slide events.

Engineering implication.

9. EXAMINATION I.

10. Radioactivity and Absolute Geologic Time I. Structure of atom. Atomic number,

atomic weight, isotopes. Radioactivity. Parent-daughter relationships. Types of

radioactivity: Alpha particles, beta particles, gamma rays. Mechanisms of decay,

stochastic processes, half-life. Estimating an age using the 14

C isotopic system.

Implications for public safety.

11. Radioactivity and Absolute Geologic Time I1. Radon. Geologic distribution of

radon. Remediation. Prevalence of radiation in natural environments. Nuclear hazard

containment. Storage options: On-site, seabed disposal, bedrock disposal, salt dome,

Yucca Mountain.

12. Ground Water I. Distribution of Earth's water. Some basic statistics concerning

wells and risks to wells. Hydrologic cycle. Porosity & permeability. Effect of grain

morphology, size, sorting and cements on porosity & permeability. Typical values.

Qualitative grain size terms. Unconfined aquifer: zones of aeration and saturation.

Water table. Artesian aquifers: aquaclude. Darcy's Law. Head. Typical ground water

flow rates. Water wells. Cone of depression.

13. Ground Water II. Continuation of topics.

14. Rivers I - Movement of Water. Flow regimes: Laminar/turbulent flows and the

factors that favor each. Basic discharge equations. Development of a rapids. Effects

of river widening projects, and efforts to mitigate flood hazards. Discharge

relationships. Meanders in rivers.

15. Rivers II - Floods and Hydrographs. Recurrence interval. The 100-year flood.

Hydrographs. Hydrographs in evaluating flood behavior. Factors affecting the shape

of a hydrograph. Typical infiltration values.

16. Rivers III - Movement of Sediment. Stream piracy. Factors affecting particle

settling rates. Particle transport in bed, saltation and suspended loads. Hjulstrom's

diagram. Competency and capacity. Deltas.

17. Sedimentation. Sedimentary structures. Movement of sand-sized grains. Ripples

and cross-stratification. Other sedimentary structures: mudcracks, rain drops, tool

marks, tracks, burrows. Sedimentary environments: desert, glacial, deltaic, beach &

bar, shallow marine, turbidite, pelagic, fluvial. Vertical and horizontal distribution of

sediments in a fluvial environment. Transgression and regression. Sea level changes.

18. EXAMINATION II.

19. Glaciers I - Glaciology. Definition of glacier. Kinds of glaciers. The effect of

temperature and moisture on glacial development. Composition of glaciers. Glacial

budgets. Movement of ice.

20. Glaciers II - Glacial Geomorphology. Erosional landforms: U-shaped valleys,

glacial striations, cirques, horns, artes. Glacial sediment. Depositional landforms:

Outwash plains, eskers, kames, kettles, moraines, drumlins. Causes for glaciation.

21. Glaciers III - Indiana Glaciers. Pleistocene stratigraphy. How do we know ages?

Characteristics of the ice advance. How cold did it get? What happened to sea level?

Effects of glacial rebound. History of the Lake Erie basin. Glacial features in the

Allen County area.

22. Oceans I. Distribution of land and sea. Provinces of the type continental margin.

Turbidity currents. Distribution of Earth's morphological features. Sediments in the

oceans: red clays, terrigenous deposits, biogenic oozes, manganese nodules.

23. Oceans II. Sea water composition. Special properties of water: dipole, liquid, high

heat capacity, universal solvent, density maximum. Waves. Oscillatory orbits. Wave

refraction. Straightening of headlands.

24. Shorelines. Shoreline structures, groins. Littoral drift. Engineering fixes to prevent

shoreline erosion. Rip-rap and seawalls. Beach replenishment. Hurricanes.

25. Tragedy of the Commons. Tragedy of the Commons (Hardin), Rebuttal (Tierney).

Ostrom. Is regulating the commons unAmerican?

26. EXAMINATION III.

27. Earth's Heat. Sources of Earth's heat: Original heat of formation, gravitational heat,

radioactivity. Differences between continental (sialic) crust and oceanic (mafic)

crust. Calculated heat flow in room. Expressions of heat flow: Hot springs, geysers,

black smokers, volcanoes, hot mines. Geothermal gradient.

28. Plutonism. Definition of magma. Igneous rocks. Common minerals in igneous

rocks. Types of igneous rocks: Granite, rhyolite, diorite, andesite, gabbro, basalt.

Aphanitic. Phaneritic. Interrelations of rocks. Fractional crystallization. Partial

melting. Bowen's Reaction Series. Zoned crystals.

29. Volcanoes. Recent volcanic eruptions. Definition of volcanic rock. Components of

eruptions: lava, pyroclastics. Tuffs. Silica polymerization and its effect on the

viscosity of lava and the explosive tendency of volcanoes. Nuee ardentes. Types and

characteristics of volcanoes: Shield volcanoes, cinder volcanoes, composite (strato)

volcanoes. Climatic effects of volcanic eruptions - Mt. Pinatubo.

30. Volcanoes II. Volcanism in the Cascade Range. Typical andesite volcanoes.

Recurrence intervals of U.S. volcanoes. History and slide show of Mt. St. Helens.

31. Hydrothermal Activity. Hot springs. Geothermal Fields. Geysers. Yellowstone

Park.

32. Metamorphism. Definition of metamorphism. Types of metamorphism: regional,

contact, dynamic. Mineralogy characteristic of different metamorphic facies.

Metamorphic facies map in the area near Vermont. Extreme metamorphism.

33. Folds, Faults and Deformation. Brittle deformation (faults). Ductile deformation

(folds). Syncline. Anticline. Dip-slip faults: Normal, reverse (thrust). Strike-slip

faults: right-lateral, left-lateral. Hanging wall. Foot wall. Fault-block mountains.

Horst. Graben. Example from the early Cenozoic in North America. Basin and

Range.

34. Earthquakes and Seismology I. Causes for earthquakes. Stress and slip. San

Andreas. Simple seismometer. Seismograms. Effect of substrate on amplitude of

waves. Other factors affecting ground motion.

35. Earthquakes and Seismology II. Richter Scale. Magnitude. Earthquake frequency.

Energy released in largest earthquakes. Mercalli Intensity Scale.

36. Earth's Interior. Body Waves. Surface Waves. P-waves. S-waves. Equations

governing velocity of P- and S-waves. Earthquake hazards in the U.S. Techniques

for earthquake prediction. Responsibility of geologists and response of the public to

earthquake predictions. Earthquake mitigation.

37. Isostacy and Mountain Building. Orogeny and orogenesis. Evidence for vertical

movements of Earth's crust. Isostacy. Roots. Continental cross-section.

38. Mountain Building - Appalachians. Fold mountains and orogenic belts.

Characteristic structures, distributions and rocks within geosynclines. Overview of

regional deformation in the Appalachian region. Specifics on the Acadian Orogeny.

Evidence of the Acadian Orogeny outside North America.

39. EXAMINATION IV.

40. Global Tectonics - Evidence for Plate Movement. Evidence for crustal movement

in a horizontal plane. Maximum age of ocean floor. Age distribution of ocean floor.

Distribution of active volcanism. Distribution of seismicity. Cooling and sinking

curves. Magnetic anomaly patterns. Continental 'fit'. Paleopoles. Continuity of rock

types. Isolation of New World organisms. Pangea. Gondwanaland. Laurasia. India.

Overview of Plate Tectonics theory: Constructive margins, destructive margins,

transform margins. Plate velocities.

41. Global Tectonics - Crustal Cross-Sections. Cross section showing: subduction,

rising magma, trench, spreading, lithosphere, asthenosphere, crust, melting, island

arc, descending plate, melanges, earthquake distributions and other features. Ring of

fire. Plate motions and hot spots - Hawaiian Islands.

42. Global Tectonics/Review. Finish tectonics and resolve all unfinished business.

43. FINAL EXAMINATION.