Course Description: This course will examine how the earth and its atmosphere and biosphere have changed over geologic time and whether the modern earth may or may not be a good example of conditions in times past. We will focus on the data which tells us how the conditions on earth have changed over time, and how this has impacted the evolution of life. Labs involve learning to synthesize and interpret a variety of types of geologic data used to construct ancient environments.

Goals for this course
At the end of this course you will be able to:
(1) synthesize a variety of different types of geologic information and reconstruct the earth history for a region on earth;
(2) predict, based on the earth history record, the response of the biosphere to changes of conditions on earth;
(3) contribute, as an informed person, to the continuing debate and discussion regarding evolution.

Textbook:  Steve Stanley's Earth, Environments and Life Through Time: 2nd edition
  PLEASE BRING THE TEXT TO CLASS WITH YOU! WE REFER TO IT FREQUENTLY!
Additional readings from Natural History, National Geographic, Smithsonian and Discover magazines.

Field trip:  There will be an overnight field trip (Saturday night/Sunday) in early April - the 5th and 6th- to the American Museum of Natural History in New York.  The field trip is optional; you  need to tell me by Feb 27th if you are going.  I will require a non-refundable $10 deposit at this time (which I will return to you for your lunch money on the field trip).

Assessment:  There will be several ways I will assess your progress towards achieving the course goals.   I will periodically assign homework  (5% of the final grade).  There will be two hourly exams (a mid term and final).  The exams are worth 50% (25% each) of your final grade.  Labs are worth 25% of your final grade.  The evolution debate is worth 8% and your term paper, 12%.

Term Paper:  I would like you to write a 5-10 page (excluding figures) paper on a topic of your choice related to the history of the Earth.  The term paper will be due on April 22nd; the last week of lab will involve presentations to the class about your topic.  Prior to that there will be several assignments; your topic will be due on with an annotated bibliography on March 20th.   Your first draft will be due on April 10th.  Click here for details on all of these checkpoints.

Evolution debate:  We will have a class debate on evolution versus creationism.  click here for details.  

Check the Home Page for Homework Assignments, Exam and Quiz Dates, Reading Assignments and other important information!  Updated almost daily   THE CLASS WEBSITE IS: http://uvm.edu/~cmehrten/courses/earthhist/index.html

Topics To Be Covered: warning: the dates will move forward (rarely) or back (likely) depending on our pace.

Class Schedule:

Be sure to check the class homepage on fridays and wednesday to be sure you've done the readings and assignments for each class.

Jan 15:  course introduction; the Earth as a closed system; overview of plate tectonics (link to power point here): "how the Earth works"

Jan 17:  review of rocks and minerals (chapter 2)

Jan 22 & 24:  controls on atmospheric and ocean circulation (chapter 4)
link to power point on climate controls here
see the link to ocean circulation here
 
Jan 29: Milankovitch cycles   link to power point is here;
and greenhouse climate changes link here

Jan 31:  climate proxies  Link to power point here.

Feb 5:  stable isotopes and the paleoclimate record

Feb 7:  Discussion of Lemley, Alley and Stanley articles

Feb 12:  Plate Tectonics review.Feb 15:  Continental drift and sea floor spreading

Feb 19:  apparent polar wandering and plate reconstructions
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/geology/tectonics.html
http://www4.nau.edu/geology/     follow links to paleogeographic maps

http://www.uvm.edu/~cmehrten/courses/earthhist/APW curves.ppt

Feb 21  terrane accretion

Feb 26:  mid-term exam  

March 4: Town Meeting Day:  no class or lab

March 6:  telling time: relative and absolute; no lab

March 11 & 13:  Spring Break

March 18 & 20  the carbon cycle:  how the geosphere and biosphere link
(chapter 10)    link to carbon cycle here

 March 25:  cladograms  link to powerpoint here

March 27:  Darwin's world

April 1:  principles of evolution  link to powerpoint here;  power point here

April 3rd  evolution of complex structures
more evolution info in power point here
evo questions power point here

April 5 and 6:  AMNH field trip.  We leave at 4pm on saturday, april 5th and return late on the 6th.

April 8th: radiations in the fossil record; the evolution of life

April 10: extinctions in the fossil record. 

April 22 & 24:  How weird was the Precambrian?  the Archean  link is here
the Proterozoic link is here
the Precambrian/Cambrian radiation link is here

Lab Schedule (this order might change...check frequently)

Jan 15 & 17:   maps of the world through time

Jan22 & 24:  introduction to the major taxa (chapter 3)

Jan 29 & Jan 31  sedimentary environments (chapter 5);
introduction to facies maps
the powerpoint on "depositional environments" is here

Feb 5 & 7 lithofacies maps

Feb 12 &15 introduction to lithostratigraphy and stratigraphic columns
power poi4t on stratigraphy is here

Feb 19 & 21 relative age exercises; radiometric dating
pdf on unconformities is here

Feb 26 & Feb 28 the geologic record of ancient plate boundaries
http://www.uvm.edu/~cmehrten/courses/earthhist/PlateBoundaries I.ppt
and  http://www.uvm.edu/~cmehrten/courses/earthhist/PlateBoundaries II.ppt

March 4 & 6  no lab

March 11 & 13 spring break

March 18 & 20:  geologic maps:  for help in visualizing 3D geologic structures, visit:
http://reynolds.asu.edu/blocks/mainmenu.htm

March 25 & 27: recognizing terranes

April 1 & 3:  recognizing fossil populations; example evolutionary lineages

April 8 & 10   make-up lab on cladistics for those not going to AMNH field trip

April 15 & 17  DEBATES ON EVOLUTION

April 22 & 24  term paper presentations