Geo 4631 Earth Systems: Geosphere -Biosphere Interactions
Objectives: The goal of this course will be to identify and understand the connections between the different portions of the earth that most directly affect humans, namely the surface environment. In particular, the course will examine how the biosphere and its connections with the geosphere affect the Earth’s “climate” defined in the broadest sense.
The first half of the course will look at several key cycles of importance to sustaining life, and will also define the “climate system”. Greenhouse gases and their possible effect(s) on the “climate system” will be examined.
The
second half of the course will look at several case scenarios of past “climate
change” events and how these may have affected biodiversity. Forces that have acted upon geosphere
and biosphere operate at different time-scales, from billions of years to
seasons. The course will look at
the long-term and short-term climate variations, including catastrophic events,
and what were the likely causes and ultimate effects of these variations.
Lectures:
Where: Room 209, Pillsbury Hall
When: 1115-1205,
MW
Laboratory/Discussion:
Where: Room 206 or 209, Pillsbury Hall
When: 1115-1205 F (some labs may be reassigned to different days if needed)
Required Textbook:
· The Earth System, 2nd Edition, by Kump, L.R., Kasting, J.F., and Crane, R.G., 2004. Pearson Prentice Hall, 419p.
Instructor: Lab Instructor:
Emi Ito Colin Plank
208B Pillsbury Hall 218 Pillsbury Hall
4-7881
office hours: after class and by appointment office hours:1-3 M, 10-12 Tu, and by appt.
Grading: Laboratory 15 %
Take-home mid-term examination 25 %
Take-home final examination 30 %
Term paper 30 %
Laboratory: A student must pass the laboratory in order to pass the course. All assignments must be turned in and deemed satisfactory to pass the laboratory portion of the course.
Examinations: The examinations are open-book but no human help (collaboration) is allowed. Students may also consult other books, journal articles and Webpages. All material consulted must be fully referenced. Each question, as a rule, should be answered using an easy-to-read font (12 point), and spaced 1.5 lines, and take up no more than one page. Economically worded, clear answers are preferred. Penalty will be given for extra verbiage. A penalty of 10% off per day late will be given for tardiness in turning in the completed examination. Special arrangements for late assignments must be made prior to the actual handout day of the assignment. Please see me for any emergencies that may arise.
Mid-term Examination: The examination questions will be given out on Friday, October 15, and the answers will be due on Monday, October 18. The examination questions will be based on the topics covered through October 8.
Final Examination: The examination questions will be given out on Wednesday, December 15, and the answers will be due by 4 PM on Wednesday, December 22. The examination is cumulative.
Poster Presentation and the Term Paper: The topic of the poster and the term paper should be identical. Each student will prepare a poster based on the term paper.
Term Paper:
1. The anatomy of the paper:
a. must be “typed” using a 12-point easy-to-read font (Times, Times New Roman, Garamond)
b. double-spaced with 1-inch margins
c. numbered pages
d. separate title page, author name goes on the title page
e. one page for abstract (about 500 words)
f. the body of the paper consists of
i. introduction - what the paper is about, why the topic is important
ii. background - review of existing data
iii. discussion - this is where existing interpretations, theories are reviewed and where the author weighs in with his/her interpretation
iv. conclusion - summarize the topic, highlight key considerations, and close the paper
v. reference list - choose a format used by an academic journal (such as GSA Bulletin, Geology, Journal of Geophysical Research) and stick to that format. Do not use the numbered references (such as in Science, Nature, and Earth and Planetary Science Letters). Consult at least 5 sources -journal articles are preferred, followed by books. No more than 2 URLs. You can pull off legitimate refereed journal articles from a Website, in which case you cite the journal, not the URL.
2. The topic for the term paper should be chosen by Monday, October 11. Paper topic must be approved, at the latest, at the end of the class on Friday, October 15.
3. A detailed outline with reference list is due in class on Monday, November 1. Comments will be returned to students the following Wednesday (11/08).
4. A draft of the paper is due in class on Monday, November 22. The draft will be critiqued and returned to students the following Wednesday (December 1)
5. The final version of the paper is due at the start of class on Friday, December 10.
6. The paper will be graded on
·
Content
· Grammar and Style
· Adherence to proper format
THE CENTER FOR WRITING now offers free one-to-one writing assistance to undergraduate and graduate students, with appointments up to 45 minutes. Mon.-Thurs., 9 a.m. to 5:15 p.m.; Fri., 9 a.m. to 2:15 p.m.; 306B Lind Hall. For more information, see http://writing.umn.edu and http://writing.umn.edu/sws/hours.htm
Poster: The poster should be approximately 30” x 48” in size. It should have the same title and the abstract as the term paper, and highlight the key points of the paper using both words and figures. Very complex figures, lengthy tables, or anything else that cannot be deciphered from at least 2 feet away are discouraged. Lettering should be neat (if a word processor is used, use at least 20 point font). Diagrams should be carefully planned to include just the information intended. Avoid cluttering the diagrams or the poster itself with extraneous information. Pay attention to the arrangement of the information so the eye can follow the presented material in a logical fashion.
Important
Dates
October 11,
Monday Term
Paper Topic Due
October 15, Friday Take-home Midterm Exam handed out
October 18, Monday Take-home Midterm Exam due in class
November 1, Monday Term Paper Outline and reference list due in class
November 8, Monday Comments on paper outline and references returned
November 22,
Monday Term
paper draft due in class
December 1, Wednesday Commented draft returned
December 10, Friday Term paper due at the start of the class
December 13 & 15 Poster presentations
December 15, Wednesday Take-home Final Exam handed out
December 22,
Wednesday Take-home
Final Exam due by 4PM
G4631 Course schedule
|
Date |
Day |
Topic |
|
|||
|
09/08 09/10 |
W F |
Course introduction; Global Change How to conduct a library search |
TES Chapter 1 |
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|
09/13 09/15 09/17 |
M W F |
Daisyworld Daisyworld, Laboratory -
Daisyworld |
TES Chapter 2 TES Chapter 2 |
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|
09/20 09/22 09/24 |
M W F |
Global Energy Balance Global Energy balance Laboratory –
Global energy balance |
TES Chapter 3 TES Chapter 3 |
|||
|
09/27 09/29 10/01 |
M W F |
The Atmospheric Circulation System The Circulation of Oceans Laboratory –
WorldWatcher |
TES Chapter 4 TES Chapter 5 |
|||
|
Date |
Day |
Topic |
|
|||
|
10/04 10/06 10/08 |
M W F |
Thermohaline circulation and climate Atmosphere-Ocean System How to read a
scientific paper |
TES Chapter 5 TES Chapter 6 |
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|
10/11 10/13 10/15 |
M W F |
The Carbon Cycle The Carbon Cycle, continued Laboratory – Global carbon cycle |
TES Chapter 8 TES Chapter 8 |
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|
10/18 10/20 10/22 |
M W F |
Biota: Biosphere. Ecosystems & Biodiversity – midterm due Formation of Atmosphere and Oceans & the Origin of
Life How to read a scientific paper |
TES Chapter 9 TES Chapter 10, p193- |
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|
10/25 10/27 10/29 |
M W F |
The Rise of Oxygen Evolution of Land Plants and Devonian Crisis How
to write a scientific paper |
TES Chapter 11 Algeo et al (1995) |
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|
11/01 11/03 11/05 |
M W F |
Snowball Earth – Term Paper outline due Closing of the How to write a scientific paper |
TES Chapter 12, p230-244 Haug & Tiedemann (1998); Keigwin (1982); Burton et al. (1997) |
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|
11/08 11/10 11/12 |
M W F |
Uplift of the Tibetan Plateau & the Uplift of the Tibetan Plateau & the Laboratory - TBA |
Ruddiman & Kutzbach (1991), Raymo and Ruddiman Jacobson et al. (2002); Dalai et al. (2002) |
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|
11/15 11/17 11/19 |
M W F |
Warm Mesozoic Ice in Mesozoic? Extinctions and bolide impacts |
TES Chapter 12, p244-249 Matthews and Poore, 1980; Miller et al., 1999; Huber et al., 2002 TES Chapter 13 |
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|
11/22 11/24 |
M W |
Extinctions and volcanic eruptions – Term Paper draft due Evolution of grasses and grazing animals |
Courtillot (1990); Coffin & Eldholm (1993) McFadden and Cerling
(1994), Janis et al. (2000), Fox and Koch (2004) |
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|
11/29 12/01 12/03 |
M W F |
Pleistocene Glaciations Glacial Climate Feedbacks Laboratory – Response to astronomical forcing |
TES Chapter 14, p271-279 TES Chapter 14, p279-287 |
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|
12/06 12/08 12/10 |
M W F |
LGM through the Holocene Present-Day Climate Variability Discussion – temperature vs. ice volume effect in deep-sea carbonate
record – Term Paper due |
TES Chapter 15, p289-306 & TBA TES Chapter 15,p306-315 & TBA Emiliani paper; Shackleton paper; Schrag et al. (1996); Lea et al. (2002) |
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|
12/13 12/15 |
M W |
Poster presentation Poster presentation |
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