Evolution of the Earth - GLY 2010

Summer A , 2008

Grades have been submitted to the FAU computer system. They should be posted on Friday.

Course administration

• Course syllabus -
• Activity Schedule - Lists the day to day lectures, reading assignments, and suggested CD-ROM exercises (textbook CD-ROM). Working through the CD-ROM presentations, exercises, and quizes is an excellent way to increase you understanding of the material. The activity sheets are now complete through the end of the semester, although day to day adjustments will be made.
• Improving your grade - See suggestions for grade improvement here.
• Word List for Midterm - This list of terms is intended to aid students in preparing for the examination. Some of these terms are simple definitions, others are concepts discussed at greater length in the lecture, textbook, or both.
• Text Next Period - Powerpoint file with information about the exam - all students should read this prior to the exam
• Word List for Final Examination

Laboratory

The course is taught together with the GLY 2010L Evolution of the Earth Laboratory. Both must be taken during the same semester, unless a student provides proof that the laboratory has been taken and passed (C or better) previously. Section availability may be checked here. Links below are to the laboratory syllabus for each instructor.

Crystal Pletka M-W 9:10 - 11:20 A.M. PS 359   Syllabus

Kern Kassarie M-W 2:50 - 5:00 P.M. PS 359 Syllabus

Examinations

Keys will be posted after both sections have taken the examinations.

• Midterm Examination Key - Statistics are posted. Exams will be returned in class - grades are not available on the web.
• Final Examination Key - Statistics are posted . The average went from 74.9% on the midterm to 77.5% on the final, a significant improvement. Exams may be picked up at my office any time I'm there during the next year.

Assignment Keys - keys will be posted after assignments are turned in

• Assignment 1 - due 5/14/08
• Assignment 2 - due 5/19/08
• Assignment 3 - due 5/21/08
• Assignment 4 - due 5/28/08
• Assignment 5 - due 6/2/08
• Assignment 6 - due 6/4/08 - only 20 assignments were turned in - too many people skipped class after the exam on Monday
• Assignment 7 - due 6/9/08
• Assignment 8 - due 6/11/08
• Assignment 9 - due 6/16/08
• Assignment 10 - due 6/18/08

Text and Movie Resource

USGS CMG InfoBank: Geology School Keywords "Geology School provides information about earth science concepts, processes and terminology. The information served is general, broad in scope, and intended to serve a broad variety of needs, users, and age groups. All information presented have associated keywords. These keywords index information from the various Geology School components." This is the description of the United States Geological Suvey web based resource for schools at various levels. Most of the material will be quite useful to students seeking more information about topics. Many of the links are to short video clips, so a fast connection is recommended. There are many, many terms here. For examples, there are eleven links to magnetism and the earth's magnetic field. CMG stands for "Coastal and Marine Geology" program, so most of the information is related in some way to the coasts and oceans, but there is a tremendous amount of useful material here.

Photo Resources

• USGS Photos of 1964 Prince William Sound Earthquake Damage, Alaska Largest recorded earthquake in the United States - 3 pages of photos off the link page
• North Pole Web Cam
• Land Rapid Response System "The MODIS Land Rapid Response system has been developed to provide rapid access to MODIS data globally, with initial emphasis on 250m color composite imagery and active fire data." " MODIS (or Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) is a key instrument aboard the Terra (EOS AM) and Aqua (EOS PM) satellites. Terra's orbit around the Earth is timed so that it passes from north to south across the equator in the morning, while Aqua passes south to north over the equator in the afternoon. Terra MODIS and Aqua MODIS are viewing the entire Earth's surface every 1 to 2 days, acquiring data in 36 spectral bands, or groups of wavelengths (see MODIS Technical Specifications)." This site has satellite images about four hours after data acquisition of time-sensitive data, such as the progress of wild-fires, floods, dust storms, phytoplankton blooms in the oceans and ice cover on the ocean. The photos often show significant geologic features as well.

Geology in the News

• Sinkholes
• A 900 foot long, and growing, sinkhiole developed in Daisetta, Texas. Story here.
• A large sinkhole opened in a portion of Guatemala City, Guatemala, on February 22, 2008. A story is here.
• A giant hole has appeared right in the middle of Russian town Berezniki.Photo story is here.
• New sinkholes in the Lakeland, Florida area have drained Lake Scott. More information is available here.
• Volcanoes
• Chaiten volcano in Southern Chile erupted on May 2, 2008, catching local residents by surprise, as experts say it has been dormant for more than 9,000 years.A story is here.
• Mount Merapi in Indosnesia began to erupt in May, 2006. Mount Merapi is on the island of Java. The epicenter of the earthquake that generated the December 26, 2004 tsunami is located offshore of the northern end of the island of Sumatra .
  • BBC news story from Saturday, May 13, 2006 at the beginning of the eruption
• Earthquakes
  • EASTERN SICHUAN, CHINA - Magnitude 7.9 (revised)May 12, 2008 02:28 EDT A map of the locity is here. Chinese government is now saying the death toll stands at 69,100. An earthquake of 5.3 on June 4 threatens more damage. The United States Geologic Survey (USGS) summary is here. One story is here. Wikipedia was quick to post an article on the earthquake. As is often the case with Wikipedia, the articles is updated frequently.
  • SOUTHERN SUMATRA, INDONESIA - Magnitude 8.4 12 Sep 2007  6:10:26 EDT A map of the locality is here. We will be hearing more about this in the news this evening and in following days. A BBC story is here.
  • Current Seismicity for the United States Clickable Map of the U.S. showing the latest seismic activity
  • Current World Seismicity Clickable Map of the World showing the latest seismic activity
• Earth Watching Satellite remote sensing technology helps people: monitoring emergencies. Images of recent natural disasters.
• Volcanoes
  • Volcanic Activity Report (Weekly) From the United States Geologic Survey
  • Mt. Etna Movies There are some spectacular videos here for those with fast connections. More information about Mt. Etna is found here.
  • Nyiragongo, Democratic Republic of the Congo - This stratovolcano started erupting on Thursday, January 17, 2002. On Friday, continued eruptions killed 45 people and forced hundreds of thousands to flee. The city of Goma has largely been destroyed by lava from the eruptions.
    • Active Volcanoes and Associated Hazards in the Goma Area, Eastern Zaire Hawaii Center for Volcanology Newsletter, Volume 2, number 1, Dec. 1994
    • Information about Nyiragongo
    • Photos of the Region
  • Chaitén, Chile - erupted May 2, 2008
  • Volcanoes of the world - Information about many of the world's volcanoes, organized by country.

  Interesting Sites Related to Geology

  Origins: Antarctica - The Exploratorium Museum in San Francisco has a team in Antarctica from December 1 to January 15, 2002, describing the science, including much geology, that is being conducted there.

  Science in the News

  American Association for the Advamncement of Science Chief Executive Officer Alan I. Leshner.published a commentary on September 4, 2007 concerning the lack of sciences issues being addressed by current presidental candidates. A short summary is available here, while the full commentary, as Reported by the Des Moines Register, is here.

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  PowerPoint Presentations

  NOTE: These links require that Microsoft PowerPoint (97 or 2000) be installed on your computer, or that you use Internet Explorer 4.0 or greater. These files are often very large (from 1 to 8.7 Megs, except for the introductory lecture, which is 16.9 Megs) and will be very slow to download with a modem. Suggestion: Use one of the computer laboratories on campus, all of which are connected via a fast T-1 line. Files may be saved on a ZIP disk.

  Printing PowerPoint Presentations: It was never intended that these presentations be printed. However, slow connection times may make this option desirable. There are four modes of printing in PowerPoint:

  • 1. Slides - Prints an image of the slide, 1 per page
  • 2. Handouts - Small image of slide, 2,3,4,6, or 9 slides per page - with laser printers, 6 per page is quite legible. At six slides per page, the printouts will range between 5 to 19 pages per lecture. Inkjet printers might require fewer slides per page to be legible. This is probably the best option for most students.
  • 3. Notes - Image of slide, plus all associated notes - one slide per page
  • 4. Outline - Prints the text on the slide, without any figures. The printing is continuous, so there will normally be several slides per page.

  All printing is done using either Ctrl-P, or the "Print" option on the "File" menu. Either choice brings up a Print Dialog box, and the above choices are under the "Print what" choice.

  NOTE: You may view the PowerPoint files, or download them to ZIP disks or USB keys, in the Geosciences computer lab, room PS 334, when it is not being used for a class. All PowerPoint presentations are in PowerPoint 1997-2003 format for maximum capability. The PowerPoint files sometimes include linked video files, but these are not included when you download the PowerPoint. If you want to view the videos, you must download them from the links below.

  Lectures in PowerPoint format

  Lectures on Midterm Examination	Lectures on Final Examination
  Lecture 1 - Introduction	Lecture 14 - Earthquakes and the Earth's Interior
  Lecture 2 - Earth In Context	Lecture 15 - Plate Teconics
  Lecture 3 - Introduction to Plate Tectonics	Lecture 16 - Ocean Floors
  Lecture 4 - Minerals	Lecture 17 - Mass Movements
  Lecture 5 - Mineral Resources	Lecture 18 - Surface Water and Flooding
  Lecture 6 - Rocks and The Earth's Interior	Lecture 19 - Ground Water and Karstic Areas
  Lecture 7 - Igneous Processes and Structures	Lecture 20 - Glaciers and Glacial Erosion
  Lecture 8 - Volcanoes and Vulcanism	Lecture 21 - Ice Ages and Climate Change
  Lecture 9 - Weathering and Rock Breakdown	Lecture 22 - Deserts and Wind Erosion
  Lecture 10- Sedimentation and Sedimentary Rocks	Lecture 23 - Coastal Geology
  Lecture 11 -Metamorphism and Metamorphic Rocks
  Lecture 12 - Geologic Time
  Lecture 13 - Folding, Faulting, and Mountains

  * Preliminary - may be revised

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  Video Downloads

  You may download the videos used in the PowerPoint presentations here. In most browsers, you can right click the link, which brings up a menu. usually there is a choice to save the file. Some of these files are very large, in excess of 100 Mb. Attempting to play these files without downloading them may not be possible unless you have a very fast connection.

  Lecture #	Slide #	Video
  1	38	Carreers in Geoscience
  3	13	Rotating Globe showing Mid Ocean Ridges
  3	25	Mid ocean ridge animation
  3	26	Spreading Center animation
  5	2	Bingham Canyon Mine
  5	6	Mine hazard
  5	15	Little Dry Fork AMD
  5	35	Smelter Demoliation
  7	6	Viscosity in magma
  7	9	Low viscosity magma animation
  7	10	High viscosity magma animation
  8	4	Fissure Eruption
  8	7	Kilauea East Vent Lava Flow
  8	8	Flowing Lave Videos Top Middle Bottom
  8	12	Pillow lava
  8	43	Eruption of Mt. Ruapehu, New Zealand Upper left, upper right, lower left, lower right
  8	52	Viscosity and Lava
  8	53	Aa lava flow, Hawaii
  8	54	Lava flows into the sea - upper lower
  8	55	Kilauea eruption Upper left, center left, lower left, right
  8	58	Pahoehoe flow, clockwise from upper right Upper right, lower right, center, lower left, upper left
  8	59	Fire fountain
  8	61	Volcanology as a profession Upper, lower
  10	38	Precipitation Left, right
  13	11	Silly George
  13	12	A Silly Polymer
  13	30	Joints and Dikes (Acadia NP)
  14	3	Microsoft Earthquake
  14	36	Izmit, Turkey 1999 earthquake
  14	37	Shake tests
  14	42	Phuket, Thailand tsunami
  15	18	Black hydrothermal vent
  15	20	White hydrothermal vent
  15	57	Hell's Canyon (USGS) - caution 88 Meg file
  16	24	Flyby of Puerto Rico Trench High-definition here
  16	25	Flyby of Marianas Trench High-definition here
  16	29	Gulf of Alaska Seamount Flyby
  17	2	Landslide video
  17	14	Avalanche
  17	38	Sultan River landslide
  18	6	San Diego River Drainage
  18	12	Stream gaging: Cureent Meter Cable Car
  18	22	Bedload movement
  18	41	Waterfalls
  18	86	Rhine from Source to Sea
  19	26	Old Faithful Geyser
  20	21	Calving Glacier
  20	33	Ice Cave
  21	29	Stalagmite Evidence
  21	43	Effect of Meltwater on Glacier
  21	44	Arctic Ice Melt
  22	12	What are Playas?
  22	13	Playas and the Ogalla Aquifer
  22	40	Dust Bowl Movie
  22	78	Desertification
  23	16	Straightening Coastline
  23	27	Spit formation
  23	36	Time lapse animation of changing tide
  23	39	Wave refraction
  23	75	Longshore Current

  Note: High-definition videos are 5x or more larger than the regular files. On many monitors you will not be aable to see a difference. Standard definition videos were shown in class.

   

   

   

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  Questions or comments? mailto:warburto@fau.edu

  Last updated: June 20, 2008