GEO 122 may not both be taken for credit. An introduction to the use of optical crystallography for mineral identification using polarized light microscopy. Laboratory exercises will provide hands-on experience in using the polarizing light microscope for mineral identification. The origin of life, premetazoan evolution, principles of evolution illustrated by extinct biotas, analysis of diversity and community structure, morphology and autecology of extinct species, and paleobiogeography and dating are considered. Topics include the basis for the geologic time scale, lithostratigraphic versus chronostratigraphic units, biostratigraphy, magnetostratigraphy, facies patterns and Walther's Law, subsurface stratigraphy, and the application of stratigraphy to geological problems.
Laboratory emphasizes practical techniques in stratigraphy.
A survey of the origin, distribution, and importance to modern civilization of the fuels and minerals won from the earth. Geology of mineral resources and problems of finding, extracting, and supplying fossil fuels, metallic ores, water, and nonmetallic commodities to industry and community as well as the ultimate limits of their abundances. Environmental concerns related to the exploitation of mineral resources with review of legislation and other steps being taken to minimize environmental damage. Topics in petrology focus on the processes that govern the formation and distribution of igneous and metamorphic rocks. Laboratory exercises include crystallography, mineral and rock identification, and interpretation of igneous and metamorphic histories of selected rock suites.