University of San Diego
ENVIRONMENTAL
STUDIES 110 LAB / Introduction to Earth
Systems
Fall 2010
LAB INSTRUCTORS:
Thursday Lab (ST
262): Warren Smith
Office: Shiley 250 and ST262
Email: usdwarrens@gmail.com
Office hours: Thursday 1:30-2:30 and by appointment
Friday Lab (ST262): Ray Rector
Office: Shiley 262 (the lab)
Email: geoprof@terrasonics.com
Office hours: Friday 1:30-2:30 and by appointment
Required textbooks:
1. AGI and NAGT, Laboratory Manual in Physical
Geology, 8th ed.
2. Baker-Treloar, USD Course Materials
ENVI 110 L (Lab Reader).
Supplies:
Sharp
pencils, eraser, field notebook,
ruler calibrated in metric and English units (always have in lab), protractor,
and calculator (No cell phones allowed
for calculations during exams)
Required
field trips
1. Tourmaline Beach: Thurs. 9/23 and Fri. 9/24 during lab time.
2.
San Diego River: Thurs. 11/4 and Fri. 11/5, during lab time.
3.
Desert Field Trip: 7:00 AM Saturday Nov. 13 to Sunday Sun. Nov. 14 ~ 5:00 PM. Transportation
provided. You will need to bring
camping equipment and pay a fee (TBA)
Lab grade constitutes
33% of course grade. Lab grade is based on the following (subject to change):
5% Weekly prelab assignments and prelab
quizzes
15% Field trip participation and notebook
35% Lab assignments
45% Quiz, 2 Exams, and Final
POLICIES
1) Attendance & Participation:
Attend your
scheduled laboratory section. If you miss your
lab due to an illness you need to get prior permission of both lab instructors
in order to attend the other section. Unexcused
absences will adversely affect your final grade. No make-up labs.
2) Check your
email regularly:
Announcements and important information about the course
will be sent as email. Please provide your email on the list circulated during
the first two lab meetings.
3)
Field trips:
The field trips are an essential part of the course, a great
learning experience, and a lot of fun.
What you learn on the field trips cannot be replaced by book learning or
writing a paper. NO STUDENT CAN PASS THIS COURSE WITHOUT ATTENDING THE REQUIRED FIELD
TRIPS. If you are ill on the field
trip dates, you will need a doctor’s note and you will need to talk to your
instructors about arranging alternate field experience to make up for the
missed trip. In most cases, the only
alternative field trip will be the ENVI 110 field trip offered the following
semester. In this case you will receive
a grade of Incomplete this semester, which will be changed to a grade when you
make up the field trip. No
illegal drugs or alcohol will be permitted on field trips. No one is allowed to drive his or her own car
on the weekend field trip. Field
trips during lab time students will be asked to carpool.
OVERŕ
4) Prelabs and assignments:
Prelab assignments are due at 2:30 as you walk into lab.
No prelabs will be accepted after that time. Prelabs are designed to
help prepare you for the lab; it is to your advantage to work through
each prelab carefully prior to lab, not 15 min. before class starts. There will be unannounced (pop) prelab
quizzes.
Pay
attention to when lab assignments are due, some must be turned in before
leaving lab, others the following week. Points deducted for late assignments.
5) Communication:
Remember that your instructors are here to help you
succeed. If you are having problems that
are affecting your attendance or performance in the class, please
communicate with us about the problem as soon as possible.
Email correspondence is recommended.
6) Academic
Integrity:
You
are responsible to have read and fully understand the meaning and expectations
of academic integrity. Any suspected
violations of academic integrity will be referred to the Dean of Arts and
Sciences and may result in a failing grade for the course. No probations or second chances will be
given. Please review the Academic
Integrity Policy in USD College of Arts and Sciences Handbook
http://www.sandiego.edu/administration/academicaffairs/facultydev/integrity.php
Student Learning Outcomes
1) Geologic Time Literacy: Students will be familiar with the geologic
time scale, and will be able to name several of the major time divisions in
Earth history. Students will be able to
properly place in sequence several of the major events in Earth history that
shaped the San Diego region. Students
will be able to interpret a several kinds of “unconformities” that represent
differing scales of missing time in the rock record.
2) Survey of Minerals and Rocks: Students
will be able to identify and interpret important common rock-forming minerals
in hand specimen and rocks. Students
will be able to classify and interpret field specimens of rocks into the three
major rock groups.
3) Structural Geology & Geologic Map Literacy:
Students will be able to read and interpret geologic maps. Students will be able to create a crude
structural cross section from a geologic map showing interpreted subsurface
rocks and structures. Students will be
able to interpret past stress fields from successful identification of a
variety of deformation structures.
Emphases will be placed upon understanding the diverse geology of
California and the San Diego region.
4) Plate Tectonic Processes:
Students will be able to identify the major tectonic plates and plate
boundaries on a physiographic map of the planet.
5) Topographic Maps and Spatial Literacy: Students
will be able to read, interpret, and create topographic maps. Students will be
able to accurately draw a topographic profile from a line transect of a
topographic map. Students will be familiar with the notion of scale,
orientation, and the UTM coordinate system.
6) Landforms: Students will be
able to accurately describe large-scale landforms of the planet and relate
their structure to underlying geology and surface processes, such as
weathering, erosion, mass wasting, and rivers. Students will be able to
identify the major landforms and surface processes in landscape images and in
the field.
7) Weather and Climate: Students will
be able to gather weather data using simple weather instruments. Students will be able to correctly interpret
a weather map for pressure centers, wind direction, cold and warm fronts, and
general movement of storm systems.
Students will be able to explain why the Earth has seasons.
8) Scientific Method: Lab and field
exercises will give students the opportunity to develop a basic understanding
of scientific method
ENVI 110: INTRODUCTION TO EARTH
SYSTEMS LAB–Fall 2010
Subject to change, includes exam
dates
|
LAB # |
Thursday Friday |
TOPIC |
Lab manual in Physical Geology, 8th ed. and Reader 1)
Refer to for prelabs 2)
Exercises and labs you will work on in lab class |
|
1 |
2 Sept. 3 Sept. |
Safety Training Geologic Time / Relative Time |
Prelab
1 due (p. 3) at the end of lab (an exception to
the rule!) Reader Exercise:
Geologic Time (p. 4-7) Lab manual:
Lab 8 p. 151-160; Lab 10 p. 198 (unconformities) Geologic Time Scale:
p. 4 in lab manual / p. 328 in
lecture text |
|
2 |
9 Sept. 10 Sept. |
Geologic Time Scale Quiz Minerals Igneous Rocks |
Prelab
2A and 2B due (p. 17 and 18) Lab Manual:
Lab 3 p. 47-69; Reader: p. 19 Lab Manual:
Lab 5 p. 89-107; Reader: p. 19 |
|
3 |
16 Sept. 17 Sept. |
Sedimentary /
Metamorphic Rocks (Organize desert field trip groups) |
Prelab
3 (p. 22) and Mineral
Web assignment due (p. 20-21) Lab Manual:
Lab 6 p.109-118 / Lab 7 p. 133-145 Reader:
p. 23 |
|
4 |
23 Sept. 24 Sept. |
Field Trip: Tourmaline Beach Sedimentary Environments and Coastal
Processes |
Prelab
4 due (p. 24) Bring
Tourmaline Beach exercise (p. 25-32 in reader) |
|
|
|
Study Sessions: TBA |
|
|
5 |
30 Sept. 1 Oct. |
Mineral and Rock Exam Isostasy / Plate Tectonics |
Lab Manual:
Lab 4 p. 75-86 is a good review Prelab
5 due (p. 8) Lab Manual:
Lab 1 p. 19-27; Lab 2 p. 30-46; Lab 10 p. 198-201 Reader Exercise:
Plate Tectonics and Isostasy (p. 9-16) |
|
6 |
7
Oct. 8
Oct |
Earthquakes / Structure |
Prelab
6 due (p. 38) Lab Manual:
Lab 16 p. 297-307 / Lab 10 p. 195-201 Reader Exercise:
p. 39-46; p. 47-52 |
|
|
14 Oct. 15 Oct. |
Fall
Holiday: Both labs off |
Good
idea to spend some time reviewing structure |
|
7 |
21
Oct. 22
Oct. |
Topographic Maps |
Prelab
7 (p. 33) and Desert Group Outlines due Lab Manual:
Lab 9 p. 167-191 Reader Exercise:
34-37 |
|
|
|
Study Sessions: TBA |
Review Lab 4 p. 75-81 |
|
8 |
28 Oct. 29 Oct. |
Plate
Tectonic / Structure Exam Geologic Maps |
No
Prelab due Reader Exercise:
p. 53-56 Lab Manual:
Lab 10 p. 195-201 |
|
9 |
4
Nov. 5
Nov. |
Field Trip: San Diego River |
Prelab
9 due (p. 77) Reader Exercise:
p. 78-82 (bring with you) |
|
10 |
11
Nov. 12
Nov. |
Field Trip Prep Weather instruments |
Prelab
8 due Bring field notebook and reader to lab |
|
|
Sat.11/13 Sun. 11/14 |
Mountain-Desert Field Trip |
Group
presentations in field Field
Notebook due at the end of the trip |
|
11 |
18
Nov. 19
Nov. |
Atmosphere Circulation |
Prelab
10 due (p. 57) Refer to lecture text for help with
prelab Lab exercise will be handed out in
class |
|
|
25 Nov. 26 Nov. |
THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY |
|
|
12 |
2
Dec. 3
Dec. |
Weather Maps and Climate |
Lab exercise will
be handed out in class |
|
|
|
Study Sessions: TBA |
|
|
13 |
9 Dec. 10 Dec. |
FINAL EXAM |
Topo and Geol. Maps;
River Trip; Atmosphere and Weather; Desert Field trip |
Please bring lab manual in Physical Geology, 8th ed. and
“Laboratory Reader” to each lab class.