| |
| Geol 2111: Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology To download the Spring 2008 course syllabus in .pdf format, click here. Instructor: Jamey Jones Lecture and lab: Sci 1510, MWF 215-320 (lecture), Tu 1000-100 (lab) Primary Text (Recommended but not required) An Introduction to Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology, 1st ed., J. D. Winter Auxiliary Texts (available in classroom/lab) An Introduction to Metamorphic Petrology, 1 st ed., B. W. D. Yardley Course Goals Igneous rocks make up the bulk of the Earth's crust, and igneous processes govern the production of new crust, facilitate the movement of material and heat within our planet, and, in certain places, pose a direct threat to humans and human activity. Metamorphic rocks make up the deeper parts of the Earth but can also be formed at shallower levels through tectonic activity and igneous processes. Metamorphosed terranes hold numerous clues for unraveling both modern and ancient Earth tectonic history and can provide geologists with key insights into processes operating at levels of the crust that are too deep to be accessible in recent to modern orogens. In this course, you will learn to identify, describe, and classify igneous and metamorphic rocks and textures in hand sample and thin section. You will also learn to interpret and understand the chemical and physical evolution of igneous and metamorphic rocks and rock suites. Because there is a fundamental link between igneous and metamorphic processes and plate tectonics, we will consider these rocks as sensitive recorders of tectonic processes and Earth history and will try to interpret their composition, textures, and occurrences in a plate tectonic context. Field Trips We will take two required field trips this semester. The purpose of the trips will be to study and describe igneous and metamorphic rocks in outcrop and interpret them in terms of the tectonic processes by which they were formed. The first trip will be to the St. Cloud area to study igneous rocks of the central Minnesota batholith complex, a compositionally and texturally variable suite of coarse-grained granitoids emplaced approximately 1.7 billion years ago. The second trip will to exposures along the Minnesota River Valley between Ortonville and Morton. Here we will study a sequence of igneous and deformed (folded) high-grade metamorphic rocks that formed between 2.6 and 3.6 billion years ago. Trip logistics may change as the semester rolls along, but both trips will likely be single-day trips (Saturday most likely) run later in the semester (if and when the snow melts and temperatures warm up a bit). Tentative dates are listed on the class schedule. Hand lenses You are not required to buy a hand lens for this course, but you will use them extensively to identify minerals and describe textures in hand samples. They will be especially useful (and necessary) when working with fine-grained rocks. There are a number of 10x lenses that will be available in the classroom for you to use. Please do not remove them from the room. If you choose to purchase your own (highly recommended), I recommend the Bausch and Lomb Hastings Triplet Magnifier. These are available in a variety of powers (7x,10x,14x,20x), but 10x is the most versatile. Coddington lenses are also useful and are generally less expensive. Nicer hand lenses can cost up to $40, but they are worth it. If there is sufficient interest, I will order lenses through the Geology Discipline for you to purchase (at a discounted price, of course). Attendance There is no set policy, but you are responsible for all material covered in lecture, lab, and texts. Exams There will be mid-term exam and a final exam (see lecture schedule). Exams will primarily consist of fill-in-the-blank and short answer questions, but I reserve the right to use any testing format that I believe to be the most effective. Exams will cover predominantly lecture material, but material from the text and lab are also fair game. The mid-term exam will cover igneous rocks and is tentatively scheduled for the week before spring break. The exam may be rescheduled by the instructor with at least one week's notice. The final exam will not be comprehensive and will cover metamorphism and metamorphic rocks. The lab component of the course will be evaluated through weekly exercises that will be due at the beginning of the next lab period. There will also be a final lab exercise during the last week of class. It will be a practical exam involving hand sample and thin section description, identification, and interpretation. Make-ups If you must miss a lecture exam or lab quiz, you must notify me before the scheduled exam time with an acceptable excuse. Make-up exams and quizzes must be taken within one week of the scheduled test. If you miss a lecture, it is your responsibility to find out what material was covered and if any schedule changes were announced. Late work Work turned in more than 48 hours late without an acceptable excuse will be docked one letter grade. Late assignments will not be accepted more than one week past the due date except under extreme (and pre-arranged) circumstances. Grading Final numerical grades will be calculated based on the following formula: All University Grading Standards DEFINITIONS OF GRADES AND ACADEMIC WORKLOAD EXPECTATIONS Academic Integrity For UMM policies regarding student academic integrity, refer to the Student Affairs website. Cheating or other dishonest behavior will not be tolerated, and penalties will be imposed at the discretion of the instructor. In general, if you are caught cheating, you will receive a score of zero on that exercise and will not have a chance to make it up. You will often, if not always, have the opportunity to work in groups during laboratory exercises. Unless a group report is specifically requested, you must turn in your own work in your own words. Course Evaluation A class evaluation form will be handed out at the end of the semester. However, I encourage you to make suggestions regarding content, style, and procedure throughout the semester. We're in this together, so let's work to make this the best possible experience for everyone. Discussion and Questions Questions and class discussion are welcome and expected at any time. If there is anything throughout the semester that is unclear (schedule, procedure, content, etc.), please ask as soon as possible. There is no such thing as a stupid question, and someone else in the room is probably wondering about the same thing. HOWEVER, I reserve the right to say “I don't know,” but I will do my best to find the answer before the next class meeting. If you ask a question outside of class that others might benefit from, I will share it with the entire class (without your name attached, of course). Helpful hints: • Although there will certainly be overlap between concepts discussed in lecture and lab, they may not entirely overlap in time. Keep two sets of notes (lecture and lab) so that you can combine them by subject at the end of the semester (if you wish to). • This class covers a lot of ground, and there is a lot of memorization involved. However, if you really focus on your descriptions and characterizations, mineral and rock names will usually follow. • Read the texts including all figures. Figures are incredibly useful for conveying substantial amounts of information and might take a couple of looks and/or readings to fully understand. If you don't understand what a figure, photograph, or photomicrograph is meant to convey, please ask. • Look through and use the various reference texts available to you in the lab. There are also numerous resources on the web for mineralogy and petrology. These sites often have images and descriptions that are better than anything you will find in a textbook. Be aware, however, that they might not be published by professionals and might be directed toward a specific audience (gemologists or astrologists, for example). So, if you want more information or have questions about a particular specimen, try an internet search and see what you find. Feel free to share these things with your instructor and the rest of the class, too. • Ask all questions as soon as they come to mind. If something occurs to you at 3 a.m., send an email or write it down so you'll remember it in the morning. I'll get back to you as soon as I can. You don't have to wait until class or lab to ask questions. • Even though we have a very small class, it is easy to hinder other people's progress if you remove materials from the lab. Do not remove samples, textbooks, or (especially) microscopes from the lab unless you talk to me first. • Petrographic microscopes are very expensive to buy and repair, so please be careful when using them. If at any point you suspect something is wrong with a scope, ask for help instead of trying to fix it yourself. You may put it aside and try a different scope, but please let me know about the problem so we can maintain as many functional scopes as possible. Before we use them, I will instruct you on the proper way to handle them. Please follow these guidelines closely. Thin sections are not as expensive, but they can take a long time to make. So if we break sections, we will likely lose them for the semester at least. Again, I will show you how to use the scopes and slides, and please abide by these procedures. • Yes, spelling is important. It's fluorite, not flourite. |
Questions or comments? Email me.
Site last updated:
Monday, January 21, 2008 4:56 PM