This class is the first of a two-term sequence in physical
geology for students who are considering a professional career in geosciences,
including the areas of geological engineering, groundwater engineering,
hydrology, geotechnics, geophysics, earth science teaching, technical writing,
environmental science and engineering or any specialization which involves
earth science. A student who takes the class should learn:
1. some general principles about how the earth works,
2. some of the data, tools and scientific reasoning that are part of the
geological profession and
3. an idea of what geological professionals do.
W. I. Rose - DOW, room 307; ph 487-2367; e-mail: raman@mtu.edu
Chris Pascoe - e-mail: cfpascoe@mtu.edu
Textbook:
Hamblin, W. K. and E. H. Christiansen, latest edition, The Earth's Dynamic Systems, MacMillan, 710 pp. (Also used in GE 115)
Week |
Date |
Topic |
H&C Chapter |
1 |
9/8 |
Introduction |
1 |
2 |
9/15 |
Earth as a Planet |
1 |
3 |
9/22 |
Hydrologic System |
2 |
4 |
9/29 |
Tectonic System |
3 |
5 |
10/6 |
Minerals |
4 |
6 |
10/13 |
Igneous Rocks |
5 |
7 |
10/20 |
Exam |
|
8 |
10/27 |
Sedimentary Rocks |
6 |
9 |
11/3 |
Metamorphic Rocks |
7 |
10 |
11/10 |
Geologic Time |
9 |
Exams: One midterm and a final. Lab counts for 50% of grade.
Computers: A computer orientation session in the department computer
lab (303 Dillman) will be held in the evening of the first week of class.
GE 110 Laboratory Schedule (Subject to modifications!)
The laboratory part of this class is the most important part. In the lab you
should get a good introduction to geological professional activity, in a way
that is aimed to help you evaluate whether you are suited for this profession.
The first five weeks of lab will be mostly outside. Come prepared, because we
won't change plans unless there is heavy rain. Good shoes are a good idea, and
whatever you need to keep warm or dry. The idea is to give you a taste of
field work and the local geology. We will leave promptly by van at 3 pm. We
sometimes will be a little late getting back to campus--plan on 5 pm instead
of 4:30. The lab meets in 312 Dillman, but on field trip days* we will meet
behind Dillman near the DOW building underpass. A significant part of the lab
will consist of group projects (Fall 1996
- Fall 1997) which will focus on a class
investigation of the reclamation of land covered by mining wastes in the city
of Houghton. These groups will collect information from a variety of sources
and make presentations and construct information pages for the world wide web.
Groups will be organized by Sept 20, and the projects will be explained fully
in the lab introduction session on Sept 9. Grades in the lab are based on
three factors: Lab Assignments and reports, Group presentations, and your
active participation. In the lab sessions that are listed, we were helped
enormously by the contributions of Dr Marcia Bjornerud, who redesigned a
majority of the lab exercises during her tenure here as an NSF visiting female faculty.
Lab # Date Topic
1 9/7-8 Lab Introduction
Modern and Ancient Landscapes
2 9/8-9 Topography, Mt Ripley*
3 9/10-14 Lava Flows in Houghton*
4 9/16-17 Sedimentary Rock strata, Hungarian Falls*
Ice and Water
5 9/21-22 Glacial Geology, Lake Annie area*
6 9/23-24 Rocks and Beach Processes, Houghton Breakwater*
Economic and Environmental Geology
7 9/28-29 Field Mineralogy, Baltic Mine Dump*
8 9/30-10/1 Environmental Geology, Torch Lake*
9 10/5-6 Quincy Mine Visit*
Mid-term Pause
10 10/7-8 Group Projects Field trip*
11 10/12-13 Department Orientation; Careers in Geoscience
12 10/14-15 SUN lab intro, digital elevation
Other worlds, deep space and time
13 10/19-20 Earth in the solar system
14 10/21-22 Earth in time
Whole Earth Thinking
15 10/26-27 The Solid Earth, Crust
16 10/28-29 The Solid Earth, Earthquakes
17 11/2-3 Nuclear Waste/Yucca Flats
Presentations
18 11/4-5 Group Meetings/Preparations
19 11/9-10 Group Presentations
20 11/11-12 Group Presentations
*field trip dates (this schedule assumes that K-day will be September 15)