4 hours. 3 hours lecture and 2 hours lab per week.
Historical Geology (Honors)
Course Description
Measurement of geologic time. Physical and biological history of
Earth as recorded in rocks and fossils. Development of the major
features of the Earth, with particular emphasis on North America.
Human impacts on the Earth system. Rates of global change and mass
extinctions in the past and present.
Athena Title
Historical Geology Honors
Equivalent Courses
Not open to students with credit in GEOL 1122, GEOL 1122H, GEOL 1260
Non-Traditional Format
During summer semester, this course will be taught in the field as
part of the Interdisciplinary Field Program. Traditional methods
are combined with field exercises and problems, interpretive
exercises, and extensive field discussions.
Prerequisite
GEOL 2350H-2350L and permission of Honors
Semester Course Offered
Offered summer semester every year.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student Learning Outcomes
Students will be able to Outline the history of planet Earth, including the development and evolutionary changes of life, continents, oceans, and atmosphere through time.
Students will be able to Describe how geologic history is recorded, measured, and interpreted in the rock record by scientists.
Students will be able to Correlate geologic history and time scale to the current availability and future sustainability of natural resources including fresh water, productive soils, building materials, critical minerals, fossil fuels, and alternative energy.
Students will be able to Evaluate environmental changes due to human and natural causes and predict future change based on various inputs.
Students will be able to Demonstrate well-developed teamwork skills, based on your extensive collaboration with a diverse group working toward a common goal in a domestic field study experience.
Topical Outline
Topical order is determined in part by the program itinerary and
field locations at which course is taught.
Earth’s internal structure
Plate tectonics and plate boundaries
Earth materials – minerals and the rock cycle
Origin of the Earth and solar system
Geologic time and time scale measurement
Interpreting past environments from the rock record
Fossils and fossilization processes
Origin and evolution of life on Earth
Origin and evolution of Earth’s atmosphere, oceans, and
continents
Paleoecology compared to modern ecosystems
Biodiversity and mass extinction events in the past and present
Ice age and greenhouse cycles in Earth’s history
Global climate change and the carbon cycle
Human evolution
Human impacts on the natural landscape throughout the Holocene
Human consumption of natural resources in context of geologic
time
Human impacts on global cycles
Evidence for the Anthropocene geologic epoch
Geologic history of North America
