GEOL 5460 - Earth Systems Evolution

Synthesis of the coupled histories of the Earth’s interior, surface, and life.

Requisites:
Credit Hours: 4
Repeat/Retake Information: May not be retaken.
Lecture/Lab Hours: 2.0 lecture, 2.0 laboratory
Grades: Eligible Grades: A-F,WP,WF,WN,FN,AU,I
Learning Outcomes:

Know the evidence for an oxygen-free early atmosphere. Understand how, when, and why Earth’s atmosphere became oxygenated, and the timing and cause(s) of subsequent changes in atmospheric oxygen levels.
Understand how the biogeochemical cycles of carbon, silica, and sulfur have evolved through Earth history.
Understand the Greenhouse climate planetary state and the connections between silicate weathering and carbon burial that allowed that state to be the dominant one in the Phanerozoic.
Understand the Hothouse climate planetary state and the connections between intense volcanism and the forcing of that climate state in the Phanerozoic and pre-Phanerozoic.
Understand the Icehouse climate planetary state and the connections between silicate weathering and carbon burial that forces that state.
Understand the fundamental interconnections between land, sea floor, ocean water, and the atmosphere, and how changes in those relationships have shaped changes in Earth’s atmosphere and climate.
Understand the fundamental tectonic differences between the geology of Archean and Proterozoic rocks.
Understand the origin and significance of Banded Iron Formations and why the seas in which they formed gave way to sulfidic Canfield ocean.