1020. Spring 2007

From GeoClasses

ESCI 1020: Landforms

Time: Summer 2007: 8:55 - ???

Text: Geosystems: An introduction to Physical Geography (6th Edition) by Christopherson.

Instructor

Instructor: Lensyl Urbano, Ph.D.	Email: lurbano
Office: 204 Johnson Hall	Office Phone: (901) 678-4543
Office Hours: MWF 10:00AM to 12:00AM or by Appointment
web page: http://lurbano-5.memphis.edu/Classes/index.php/1040._Spring_2007

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Course objectives

To learn about the processes that shape the surface of the Earth and to interpret and understand the landforms that result.

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Grading

Student grades (+/– grading will be used) will be earned from:

2 Exams (60%): A midterm and final each worth 30% of your grade.
- Exams will be a mix of multiple choice and short answer questions.
Term project (30%): The topic and method of your term project will be determined during the first week of classes in consultation with your instructor. All projects must be approved by the instructor.
- Project grades will include a peer review component, which means that you will be graded on your reviews of other students' projects.
  - 20% of your grade will be based on your project and 10% on your peer reviews.
- Projects are due on the last day of classes.
- You may work in groups but individual responsibilities must be determined before projects will be approved.
In-class quizzes (10%): These randomly assigned quizzes will be worth a total of 10% of your grade so I strongly suggest you attend class regularly.
Extra-credit: Extra-credit assignments are allowed. The maximum potential grade will depend on the scope of the project and will be determined before the project is approved.

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Lecture notes

Lecture notes, PowerPoints or web pages will be posted on this website after they are presented in class.

Reading assignments are posted with the Course Outline. Most of the reading come from the text, but some will consist of web-pages either created on this website or linked to from here.

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Exams

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Exam 1

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Exam 2

Landforms Study Guide for Exam 2

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Term projects

Dates:

Project due: Friday, 29th June (11:59 pm).
Peer review: Monday, 2nd July (12:00- noon).
Revised project: Tuesday, 3rd July (11:59 pm)

Summer 2007 Projects Page

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Course Outline

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Review of basic concepts:

Latitude and longitude - Lat-long movie
Maps, scale and projections
Reading: Chapter 1. The science of geography (p. 16-27).

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The scientific method

Reading: Chapter 1. The science of geography (p. 6)
Reading: Origin of the Earth

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Plate Tectonics

Reading: Text Chapter 11. The Dynamic Planet
Reading: Text Chapter 12. Tectonics, Earthquakes and Volcanism

Reading: Continental Jigsaw
Reading: Theory of Plate Tectonics
- Plate tectonics and earthquakes
- Earthquake animations (big files): http://pasadena.wr.usgs.gov/office/baagaard/research/animations/animations.html
- Reading: What drives plate tectonics - The Interior of the Earth
Reading: What is a Tectonic Plate
Reading: Plate Boundaries
Reading: Plate tectonics summary
Reading: Tectonic features

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Quizzes

Quiz 1: What is plate tectonics and how is it different from continental drift?
1. The crust of the earth is made of plates (tectonic plates)
2. The plates move because of convection in the mantle.
3. Convection in the mantle results from heat generated by radioactive decay of radioactive elements, pressure and freezing of the outer core.
4. At the plate boundaries, the collision and movement of the plates create large scale features on the surface of the earth.
5. Continental drift is the theory that the continents move over the surface of the earth, while plate tectonics explains why they move.
- Note: Plate tectonics is the theory. Plates are large bits of the crust of the Earth, and tectonics refers to the motions and their consequences.

Quiz 2: Find 3 different types of plate boundaries and describe (and name) the features associated with each. Name the plates that are interacting. You cannot use the Andes margin, the mid-atlantic ridge or the San Andreas.

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Rocks

Types of rocks
Minerals
- A Diamond is Not Forever
Weathering and Mass Wasting
Quiz 3: In the rocks of the Grand Canyon, there are layers of sandstone and shale.
1. What are sandstone and shale and how do they form?
  - Sedimentary rocks
  - Sandstone - sand grains; shale - from clay, very fine grained
  - Diagenesis - pressure, cement
2. Why do layers of sandstone and shale alternate?
  - Sea-level change - facies change.
3. How does the relative hardness of sandstone and shale affect the shape of the Grand Canyon?
  - Sandstone tends to be harder than shale because of the cement
  - Form sandstone cliffs with tallus slopes beneath them covering the shale.

Quiz 4: Diorite is a course-grained, igneous rock with a mixture of felsic and mafic minerals. Describe the weathering processes that will affect this rock from the time it forms deep beneath surface, until it is all weathered away at the surface.
1. Pressure release -> cracks, joints and faults (primarily horizontal)
2. Chemical weathering by groundwater
  1. Hydrolysis -> breaks down silicates (mafic minerals first) to produce clay and leaves behind quartz (felsic) sand.
  2. Oxidation of any metal oxides (like iron oxide minerals - magnetite) to create hematite.
3. Thermal expansion and contraction at the surface -> mineral grains
4. Dissolution by acidity in rainwater.
5. Frost wedging if water get into clays that have been produced by hydrolysis.
6. Biological weathering, physical and chemical by tree roots etc.

Quiz 5: Draw 3 cross-sectional diagrams showing the features (mountains, trenches, crust thickness etc) associated with;
1. Convergent margin - continental-oceanic collision
2. Convergent margin - continent-continent collision
3. Divergent margin - rift margin with oceanic ridge

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Fluvial systems

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Term projects

You need to submit a short paragraph outlining your term project.
The best projects involve the landforms of a place you have been to or are very interested in.

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Karst

Quiz 6: Why are limestone caves formed at different levels?
- Caves tend to form at the level of the water table.
- The level of the water table can rise and fall because of climate change, changing sea-levels and tectonic movement.

EC: What is karst?
- Karst refers to the features and landforms created when limestone is broken down (dissolved) and re-precipitated. These include caves, sinkholes, stalactites, stalagmites and columns.

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