Emphasis is given to those organisms which, due to uneven distribution in the record, are particularly useful in interpreting the age and setting of ancient rocks. A laboratory course introducing earth materials, including minerals and rocks, with an emphasis on a hands-on approach to identifying and interpreting minerals and their associations in igneous and metamorphic rocks. Investigation of landforms from maps, aerial photographs, digital data, and the analysis of the surficial processes by which they are formed. Laboratory activities include identification and interpretation of topography, field measurements of landscape form and process, and a required weekend field trip. A review of the geophysical methods used to study the interior of the Earth, the magnetic field, isostasy, and earthquake seismology.
Attention is given to the methods used in geophysics to collect and analyze data.
A gravimeter, a magnetometer, seismic refraction and electrical resistivity equipment are used to collect field data. The data, corrections, and interpretations are incorporated into a technical report for each of the four surveys. A laboratory course emphasizing the principles and tools of the chemical composition of earth materials to interpret petrogenesis. The course focuses on processes occurring below and at the Earth's surface. Topics include thermodynamics and phase diagrams, crystal chemistry, ion packing and symmetry, magmatic and metamorphic processes, and trace element and isotope geochemistry.