GEOLOGY
310: GENERAL PETROLOGY
SPRING 2012
Lecture: Tuesday-Thursday, 8:00 AM - 9:15
AM, RM 222 Deloach Hall.
Laboratory: Wednesday,
2:00 PM – 4:50 PM, Rm 222 Deloach Hall.
Instructors: Dr. Michael
S. Smith (smithms@uncw.edu) - Igneous Petrology, Dr. Todd A. LaMaskin (lamaskint@uncw.edu) - Sedimentary Petrology, and Dr. David E. Blake (blaked@uncw.edu) - Metamorphic Petrology
TA: Robby
Morrow; Rm 224A Deloach Hall; Main Office: (910) 962-3490; Email: rhm0002@uncw.edu
Office
Hours: Smith: Wednesday - 10:00 AM
– 12:00 (noon); Friday, 10:00 AM – 12:00 (noon). Additional hours available by appointment.
LaMaskin:
Tuesday-Thursday, 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM; Additional hours always open by
appointment.
Blake: Tuesday, 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM; Wednesday,
10:00 AM – 2:00 PM; Thursday, 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM; Additional hours always open
by appointment.
Text: Required
lecture and laboratory readings, lecture and lab materials, and notes will be
posted on Blackboard Learn. The Geoscience Handbook: AGI Data Sheets, 4th Ed.,
by J. Douglas Walker and H. A Cohen, (2006) is a useful, all encompassing
manual to aid your petrologic and geologic studies. For the Igneous Petrology component, lecture readings will be
assigned from Thorpe and Brown, The
Field Description of Igneous Rocks, 2001, Blatt and Tracy, Petrology, 1996, 2nd
ed., and Wilson, 1993, Igneous Petrogenesis, as well as material (PDF, journal
articles, etc.) available on BLACKBOARD (under Igneous laboratory material).
For the Sedimentary Petrology component, lecture readings will be derived from
Boggs, Petrology of Sedimentary Rocks,
2009, 2nd Ed. For the Metamorphic
Petrology component, we will use Blatt and Tracy, Petrology, 1996, 2nd Ed., Marshak, Earth:
Portrait of a Planet, 2008, 3rd Ed., Fry, The Field Description of Metamorphic
Rocks, 1997, Mason, Petrology
of the Metamorphic Rocks, 1978, and Fettes and Desmons, Metamorphic Rocks: A Classification and Glossary of Terms,
2007. You will be expected to read
textbook assignments prior to the tentative dates on the
syllabus. Additional readings may be assigned during the semester on
pertinent topics in current periodicals, the newspaper, or the worldwide web.
Course
Goals: The course goal is to provide the B.S. geology major with an
overview of Earth minerals and rocks and their relationship to physical geology
and Earth evolution. The lecture is
intended to provide a survey of fundamental mineral and rock properties,
classification schemes, and environments of formation for the three great
classes of rocks. Earth will be
discussed as a dynamic machine that has experienced continual change throughout
4.6 Ga of geologic time. Much of this change is due to the interaction
between Earth's interior heat energy, which creates the Plate Tectonic Cycle,
and the Sun's exterior heat energy, which drives the Hydrologic Cycle. Results
of this interaction include Earth’s physical processes, its Rock Cycle, and the
tectonic and geomorphologic features and key events in the formation of the
planet, which are highlighted in this course. Topics to be discussed are
described in the tentative syllabus below. The laboratory is intended to
provide hands-on, practical experience in understanding rocks and minerals
created by the interaction of these major energy sources. We will specifically
focus upon (1) studying material nomenclature, definitions, and physical
features and properties observed within and on planet Earth and its Moon, and
(2) attempting to master the following departmental Student Learning Outcomes (SLO) as they relate
to individual UNCW Learning
Goals (LG).
SLO 1: Students should understand and be able
to apply the scientific method to geologic problems; UNCW LG: Critical Thinking
and Creative Inquiry
SLO 2: Students should demonstrate the ability
to a) critically read, b) logically evaluate, and c) effectively communicate
data, problems, and issues in the geosciences; UNCW LG: Creative Inquiry,
Critical Thinking, and Thoughtful
Expression
SLO 3: Students should be able to identify and
describe a) common Earth materials, b) processes that form and later modify
basic Earth materials, and c) key events in the evolution of Earth; UNCW LG:
Critical Thinking and Thoughtful Expression
By
the end of the semester, you will be armed with an arsenal of concepts and
techniques with which to further investigate the geosciences. For geological terms that are new and strange,
try the Glossary of Geology by Bates and Jackson (Reference: QE5 .B38 1987). You may find it
helpful to use a Google and GoogleEarth search for key geologic and geographic words
during initial inquiries about fundamental geologic principles and
concepts. Earth’s regional geography has
geological origins and they are closely linked as the Geosciences. Geology/Geoscience
books in the Randall Library are found primarily in the QE
section of the stacks. The TN
section and those related to geography in the GB section provide
references to the technical and applied nature of geology.
If
you seek something specific to the geologic literature, the computer database,
the library Search engine and its GEOREF/GEOBASE
counterparts are extremely useful.
Search the Randall Library under Inside UNCW on its web page.
Then search electronic resources by subject and choose GEOREF or
GEOBASE. The reference librarian in the
Randall Library will help you get started with this when you wish to use
it.
Attendance: Attendance is essential for scheduled
lecture, laboratory, and field trip activities in order for the student to gain
experience in a variety of minerals and rock types. Please plan ahead as some of the activities
such as the field trip will occur outside of the regular lecture period. Please make arrangements with other faculty
members and employers ahead of time, and let us know if an email confirmation
is needed. For an excused absence such
as a course conflict, the instructors will work with the student on an
acceptable replacement project.
Field Trip: There
will be a two-day, overnight field trip during the semester to observe igneous,
sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks in the field setting: Friday and Saturday, March 9-10, 2012; Start
of Spring Break; Raleigh-Oxford region, North Carolina, and the Deep River
Triassic basin in the northeastern Piedmont physiographic province.
There will be a nominal cost for camping fees and
meals that will need to be determined.
Payment will be by check to the Department of Geography and Geology,
February 15, 2012. In
addition, you will provide the following:
1) information concerning any health challenges
because the field trips will require some moderate exercise;
2) contact information in the event of an
emergency;
3) filled-in copy of the GLY 310 General Release Form.
Supplies: You need to purchase a 10X hand lens to begin your studies of minerals
and rocks. You also need to purchase a
3-ring binder and a hardback field book.
The binder is required in order to organize your lab handouts and
notes. Your field book will be used to
maintain field notes for this course and future classes. A transparent ruler-protractor combination,
mechanical pencil, eraser, tracing paper, set of colored pencils, and drafting
pen will be needed. A quality pair of
sturdy shoes or hiking boots would be wise for the field trip. A rock hammer and a camera are not required,
but you will find them useful in this and future courses.
Grading: Course letter grades are assigned on an A-F
scale. The +/- system will be used in
reporting final grades. There are two lecture exams that will be given
during the semester during the lecture hour.
The third will be given during the final exam period. NO
make-up exams will be offered during the semester. The final exam is scheduled for May 3,
2012, from 8:00 AM – 11:00 AM.
For each exam, you are responsible
for material discussed in lecture supplemented by reading material in the
textbook. Don't forget to review your textbook and lab handouts for
important terms and review information. Pop quizzes may be given to
assess your review capabilities. Scores on the three exams will determine
45% of the final course grade. Your
quizzes, activities on the field trip, and classroom participation are worth
10% of that grade. A lab final will be
worth 15% of the final grade. The
remaining 30% of your final course grade will come from your laboratory
results.
ACADEMIC HONOR CODE
UNCW is committed to the proposition that the pursuit
of truth requires the presence of honesty among all faculty, staff, and
students involved. It is therefore this institution's stated
policy that no form of dishonesty among its faculty or students will be
tolerated. Although all members of the University community are encouraged to
report occurrences of dishonesty, each individual is principally responsible
for their own honesty. UNCW practices a
zero-tolerance policy for violence and harassment of any kind. For
emergencies contact UNCW CARE at 962-2273, Campus Police at
962-3184, or Wilmington Police at 911. For University or community
resources visit: http://uncw.edu/wrc/crisis.htm.
TENTATIVE LECTURE SCHEDULE
A tentative course schedule
is provided below. Due to the scope of material required for the course,
we reserve the right to modify the schedule when and where needed.
01/11: Lab
1: Course Overview- The Rock Cycle
01/12: The Rock
Cycle: Relationship of the three rock
types,
common
Earth processes and the hypothesis of plate tectonics
01/16: MLK
01/17: Introduction
to igneous rock-forming minerals, igneous classification and terminology
Blatt
and Tracy, Chapters 1-4; Thorpe and Brown, pp. 26-49
01/18: Lab
2: Igneous Rock-Forming Minerals and
Igneous Rock Textures
01/19: Igneous
processes (melting and crystallization) and Bowen’s reaction series
Wilson,
Magmatic differentiation, pp. 611-624 (on BLACKBOARD)
01/24: Melting of
the upper mantle: ultramafic and mafic magma generation and emplacement
Blatt
and Tracy, Chapter 5; Thorpe and Brown, pp. 57-65; 126-136
01/25: Lab
3: Ultramafic to Mafic Igneous Rocks
01/26: Basaltic
volcanism, ocean floor production, and remnant magnetism
Blatt
and Tracy, Chapters 6-7; Thorpe and Brown, pp. 66-75; 89-99
01/31: Intermediate
to felsic magmatism: crustal contamination and fluid interactions
Blatt
and Tracy, Chapter 8
02/01: Lab
4: Intermediate to Felsic Igneous rocks
02/02: Igneous
processes and economic mineral formation and emplacement
Blatt
and Tracy, Chapter 9
02/07: Silicic volcanism,
subduction, and explosive eruptive behavior
Blatt
and Tracy, Chapter 10; Thorpe and Brown, pp. 54-57; 76-88.
02/08: Lab
5: Eruptive volcanic rocks (lava, tephra
and other pyroclastic deposits)
02/09: Syn- and
post-eruptive volcanic processes – an introduction to volcanic hazards
02/14: EXAM
I: Igneous Petrology
02/15: Lab
6: Introduction to Sedimentary Petrology and Sedimentary Rocks
Boggs, p. 3-18, In-class Handouts
02/16: Fundamentals
of Sedimentology, Grain Size, and Sedimentary Structures
Boggs,
p. 21-110
02/21: Siliciclastic
Rocks and Environments (Pt. 1)
Boggs,
p. 111-194
02/22: Lab
7: Siliciclastic Rocks
In-class
Handouts
02/23: Siliciclastic
Rocks and Environments (Pt. 2)
Boggs,
p. 194-268
02/28: Carbonate
Rocks and Environments (Pt. 1)
Boggs,
p. 313-381
02/29: Lab
8: Carbonate Rocks
In-class
Handouts
03/01: Carbonate
Rocks and Environments (Pt. 2)
Boggs,
p. 381-457
03/06: Chemical
Sedimentary Rocks
Boggs, p.
461-526
03/07: Lab
9: Chemical and Miscellaneous Rocks
In-class
Handouts
03/08: Carbonaceous
and Iron-Rich Sedimentary Rocks
Boggs, p.
527-555
03/09-10 Raleigh-Oxford
Field Trip with GLY 311-592
03/10-18: Spring
Break!!
03/20: Applications
of Sedimentary Petrology; Petrophysics; Stratigraphy
03/21: Lab 10:
Introduction to Metamorphism and Metamorphic Rocks
In-class
Handouts; Blatt and
03/22: EXAM
II: Sedimentary Petrology
03/27: Metamorphism
and Metamorphic Rocks
03/28: Lab
11: Metamorphic Classification Schemes
Fettes
and
03/29: Mapping in
Metamorphic Terranes
04/03: Metamorphic
Types, Grades, and Facies
Fettes
and
04/04: Lab
12: Regional Metamorphic Rocks
In-class
Handouts
04/05-06: State
04/10: Metamorphic
and Structural Terms
Fettes
and
04/11-15:
04/11: Lab
13: Regional Metamorphic Rocks – non-GLY
390 students
In-class
Handouts
04/12: Low Grade
Metamorphic Rocks
Fettes
and
04/17: High Grade
Metamorphic Rocks and Migmatites
Fettes
and
04/18: Lab
14: Contact Metamorphic and Metasomatic
Rocks
In-class
Handouts
04/19: Metacarbonate,
Amphibolite, and Granulite
Fettes
and
04/24: Contact
Metamorphic Rocks
Fettes
and
04/25: Lab
15: Igneous, Sedimentary, and
Metamorphic Lab Final
04/26: Contact
Metasomatic Rocks
Fettes
and
04/30: Reading
Day!!!!
05/03 EXAM
III: Metamorphic Petrology, 8:00 AM –
11:00 AM
