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Geo 567 Geochemistry Syllabus (Spring, 2005)

Part I: Origins

• First week: Big Bang, properties of nuclei, and the synthesis of the elements
  White, Chapter 10
• Second week: Meteorites and the origin of the solar system

Part II: Geochemistry of the core, mantle and crust

• Third week: Chemical differentiation of the Earth
  White, Chapters 11 and 12
• Fourth week: Geochemistry of mantle plumes and hotspot chains of seamounts and islands
  White, Chapter 8
• Fifth week: Geochemistry of igneous processes at island arcs
  White, Chapter 7, pp. 273-288
• Sixth week: Growth of the continents

Part III: Geochemical cycles

• Seventh week: Origin of the oceans and atmosphere
• Eight and ninth weeks: Chemical weathering, major element cycles, and biogeochemical cycles on the modern Earth

Part IV: History of the surface earth

• Tenth week: Major events in atmospheric history (faint early sun paradox, rise of atmospheric O2, regulation of the atmospheric CO2 concentration
• Eleventh and twelfth weeks: Linked changes of climate and the biosphere during great events of Earth history (rise of multicellular animals, Permian-Triassic mass extinction event, Cretaceous-Tertiary mass extinction event, Eocene-Oligocene boundary event); all student presentations.

Readings

• Geochemistry, William White (online textbook)
• Reference: Treatise on Geochemistry

Evaluation

• 1 hour midterm, 2-3 hour final
• Problem sets
• Class presentations