GEOL 5510 - Diagenesis

Critical view of diagenetic principles using numerous examples. Many topics are selected from recent journal articles. Students read, present, and discuss current literature, as well as writing a term paper.

Requisites:
Credit Hours: 4
Repeat/Retake Information: May not be retaken.
Lecture/Lab Hours: 3.0 lecture
Grades: Eligible Grades: A-F,WP,WF,WN,FN,AU,I
Learning Outcomes:

Be conversant with the different types of cements (e.g. carbonate, silica, phosphate, clay, and iron) in sedimentary rocks.
Comprehend the essential redox changes that take place from the surface downward into the sediment pile in modern settings. Apply that progression to interpretation of the ancient record.
Comprehend the transformations that take place as calcite and/or aragonite sediment undergoes progressive stages of alteration to calcite and/or dolomite.
Graduate student term papers will be longer (20 pages) than undergraduate term papers (10 pages), and the depth of analysis should be greater than that of the undergraduates.
Graduate students are expected to perform at a higher level than their undergraduate colleagues.
Graduate students will give one more oral presentation than the undergraduates. Written abstracts of these talks will be distributed to classmates and the instructor.
Know how to recognize and interpret evidence for compaction and cementation in sediments as they lithify.
Know the different styles of and controls on silica cementation.
Understand the essential controls on the development and evolution of porosity and permeability in sedimentary rocks.
Understand the process of phosphogenesis.