NATURAL DISASTERS - Geology 303
Course Outline, Fall 2009
TTh 1230-1345
Dr. Vic Camp
Office -- GMCS-228K
Office Hours: Monday through Friday, 1100-1200
email -- vcamp@geology.sdsu.edu
Optional Text -- Abbott, Natural Disasters, 7th edition (or any older editions)
Course Description -- This is a general education course for upper-division students. The course will examine the earth and its dynamic natural processes, particularly those that affect humankind. The course will emphasize the inner workings and principles underlying natural disasters such as volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, landslides, meteorite impacts, floods, and various forms of severe weather, such as hurricanes and tornadoes. Many examples will be drawn from historic catastrophes, including some which have occurred in southern California. This science course is largely descriptive. It requires critical thinking and analysis through the use of words and diagrams, generally without recourse to mathematical formulas and chemical equations. You are encouraged to ask questions and invoke discussion at any time.
Examinations and Grading -- Final grades will be based on four exams, each worth 100 points, and an essay take-home quiz worth 20 points. Guidelines for the take-home quiz will be available on Blackboard on Sept. 19 and the due date is Sept. 24. Late quizzes will not be accepted. Your lowest exam score will be dropped and the final grade assigned on the basis of 320 total points. The final exam is 50% comprehensive, with half of the exam testing you on material covered in the first three exams, and the other half from material covered since exam 3. There will be no make-up exams. If you miss an exam, it will be dropped as your lowest score; however, you cannot drop the final examination. If you are taking the course CR/NC, you must obtain a C grade for Credit. Class grades will be based on the following scale:
A = 100 - 92 %
A- = 91.99 - 90% D+ = 64.99 - 63%
D = 62.99 - 55%
D- = 54.99 - 50%
B+ = 89.99 - 88%
B = 87.99 - 82 %
B- = 81.99 - 80% F < 50%
C+ = 79.99 - 78%
C = 77.99 - 70%
C- = 69.99 - 65% Scantron -- Purchase one large red Parscore Scantron (F-288) for the first exam, and three normal-sized Parscore Scantrons (F-289) for the remaining exams.
Goals and Objectives -- This course has several overarching goals to empower students in their ability to think critically, identify connections, and apply scientific principles to the understanding of Natural Disasters. These learning outcomes meet several of the stated Goals and Objectives for GE courses, as outlined in the SDSU Curriculum guide.
After completing the course, students will be able to:
1. Identify the scientific principles and analytical tools used by earth scientists in developing and scrutinizing theories on the Earth's evolution.
2. Apply critical thinking to questions focusing on the science of natural disasters, and the interaction of natural disasters to civilization.
3. Analyze data sets used in the prediction of earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, global warming, severe forms of weather, floods, meteorite impacts, and mass extinctions.
4. Understand the origin and evolution of Earth as part of our solar system, and articulate the role of meteorite and comet impacts in the early history of the Earth's formation.
5. Describe the Earth's tectonic plates, the global mechanisms responsible for plate motion, and the geologic processes inherent at plate boundaries.
6. Identify the physical and chemical properties of the Earth's interior and the sources of the heat energy that drive the plate motion and associated natural disasters.
7. Convey the vastness of geologic time, the methodologies used in reconstructing the Earth's history, the terminology used in organizing geologic time, and the proposed mechanisms of mass extinctions observed in the geologic time scale.
8. Identify the different types of faults and articulate an understanding of their distribution, origin, stress regimes, and relationship to earthquakes that affect humankind.
9. Articulate the different types of seismic waves, their variabie velocities and amplitudes, and the behavior of each as they pass through rocks having different mechanical properties.
10. Describe the genesis and distribution of tsunami and their impact on humankind.
11. Distinguish between the different types of volcanoes, their origin, distribution, eruptive behaviors, catastrophic hazards, and their destructive effects on civilization.
12. Identify the different types of landslides and mass wasting, and describe their distribution, their variable origins, and their effects on the human population.
13. Articulate the fundamental principles of weather and global climate change.
14. Analyze atmospheric conditions and predict the origin of severe forms of weather, such as hurricanes, thunderstorms, tornadoes, lightning and floods. Understand the nature of present and past climate changes, and recognize how climate change and severe weather has impacted humankind.
Preliminary Class Schedule
(Changes may be made as necessary)
WEEK
LECTURE TOPIC
Sept. 1/3 Introduction / Earth's Development
Sept. 8/10 Energy Sources for Disasters / Geologic time / Earth Materials
Sept. 15/17 Plate Tectonics / EXAM 1 (Sept. 17)
Sept. 22/24 Extinctions and Meteorite Impacts / Writing Assignment Due (Sept. 24)
Sept. 29 / Oct. 1 Extinction and Meteorite Impacts / Volcanoes
Oct. 6/8 Volcanoes
Oct 13/15 Volcanoes
Oct. 20/22 Furlough Day - no class (Oct. 20) / EXAM 2 (Oct. 22)
Oct. 27/29 Earthquakes
Nov. 3/5 Earthquakes
Nov. 10/12 Earthquakes
Nov. 17/19 Earthquakes / Landslides
Nov. 24 EXAM 3
Nov. 26 ** Thanksgiving Holiday **
Dec. 1/3 Global warming / Severe Weather
Dec. 8/10 Severe Weather / Flooding
Dec. 17 (Thursday) FINAL EXAM (1300-1500)
Note: Final exam must be taken at this time - no exceptions