University of San Diego
ENVIRONMENTAL
STUDIES 110 LAB / Introduction
to Earth Systems
Spring 2011
LAB INSTRUCTORS:
Monday Lab (ST 262): Warren Smith
Office:
Shiley 250 and ST262
Email:
usdwarrens@gmail.com
Office hours: Monday 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: Mon. 2/25 and Fri. 9/28 during
lab time.
2. San Diego River: Mon. 3/4 and Fri. 3/1, during lab time.
3. Desert Field Trip: 7:00 AM Saturday April 9 to Sunday April
10 ~ 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):
3%
Weekly prelab assignments and prelab quizzes
30%
Field trip participation and notebook
25% Lab
assignments
42%
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 # |
Friday Monday |
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 |
28 Jan. 31 Jan. |
Safety
Training Geologic Time / Relative Time |
Prelab 1 due (p. 3) at the end of lab (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 |
4
Feb. 7
Feb. |
Isostasy
/ Plate Tectonics |
Prelab 2 due (p. 9) 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) |
|
3 |
11
Feb. 14
Feb. |
Geologic
Time Scale Quiz Minerals Igneous Rocks |
Prelab 3A and 3B 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 |
|
4 |
18
Feb. 21
Feb. |
Sedimentary / Metamorphic Rocks (Organize desert field trip groups) |
Prelab 4 (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 |
|
5 |
25
Feb. 28 Feb. |
Field
Trip: Tourmaline
Beach Sedimentary Environments and Coastal Processes |
Prelab 5 due (p. 24) Bring Tourmaline Beach exercise (p. 25-32 in reader) |
|
|
|
Study
Sessions: TBA |
|
|
6 |
4 March 7 March |
Mineral
and Rock Exam Topographic
Maps |
Lab Manual: Lab 4 p. 75-86 is a good review Prelab 6 (p. 33) and Desert Group Outlines due Lab Manual: Lab 9 p. 167-191 Reader Exercise: 34-37 |
|
|
March14-18 |
Fall
Holiday: Both
labs off |
Good idea to
spend some time reviewing structure |
|
7 |
11 March 21 March |
Earthquakes / Structure |
Prelab 7 due (p. 38) Lab Manual: Lab 16 p. 297-307 / Lab 10 p.
195-201 Reader Exercise: p. 39-46; p. 47-52 |
|
8 |
25 March 28 March |
Geologic Maps |
No Prelab due Reader Exercise: p. 53-56 Lab Manual: Lab 10 p. 195-201 |
|
9 |
1 April 4 April |
Field Trip: San Diego River |
Prelab 8 due (p. 77) Reader Exercise: p. 78-82 (bring with you) |
|
10 |
8 April 4 April |
Field
Trip Prep Weather instruments |
Prelab 9 due (p. 64-66) Group
Presentation Preparation: Check
teacher website Bring field notebook and reader to lab |
|
|
Sat. 4/9 Sun. 4/10 |
Mountain-Desert
Field Trip |
Group presentations in
field Field
Notebook due at the end of the trip |
|
11 |
15 April 18 April |
Atmosphere
Circulation |
Prelab 10 due (p. 57) Refer to
lecture text for help with prelab Lab exercise will be handed out in class |
|
|
April
21-25 |
Easter
|
|
|
12 |
29 April 2 May |
Weather
Maps and Climate |
Lab exercise will be handed out in class |
|
13 |
6 May 9 May |
FINAL
EXAM |
Topo and Geol. Maps; Structure; River Trip; Atmosphere and Weather; Desert Field trip |
Please bring lab manual in Physical Geology, 8th ed. and “Laboratory Reader” to each
lab class.