EENS 6340/4340 |
The Earth |
Fall Semester 2012 |
Dr. Stephen A. Nelson |
Rm 208 Blessey |
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snelson@tulane.edu |
Office Hours MWF 1:00 - 3:00 PM |
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Revised 9/5/2012 |
I. COURSE GOALS & OBJECTIVES
This course is designed to give the student a fundamental understanding of the Earth, it's formation, structure, composition, age, and evolution to its present state. Because much of this information can only be derived from observations we can make at the surface of the Earth, we look at how these observations are made and how they constrain our models of the Earth. II. TEXTBOOKS The primary text for the course is The Inaccessible Earth: An Integrated Approach to Geophysics and Geochemistry by Brown and Mussett. This book can be purchased in the Departmental Office or from Amazon.com. Additional readings and supplementary material will be supplied as handouts in class as needed. |
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Homework 30% First Midterm Exam 20% Second Midterm Exam 20% Final Exam 30%
IV. WEB PAGE
Some course material and announcements from the instructor can be found at http://www.tulane.edu/~sanelson/eens634/ . Check the page often as contents will change frequently |
V. TENTATIVE SCHEDULE OF LECTURES & LABS
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Date | Topic |
Reading |
Sept. 4 | Gravity and the Shape of the Earth, Isostasy and Gravity Anomalies Gravity Homework Assigned |
p. 25-30 |
Sept. 6 |
Seismology - Elastic Waves |
p. 11-16 |
Sept. 11 | Seismology - The Structure of the Earth's Interior Gravity HomeworkDue Seismology Homework Assigned |
p. 16-19 |
Sept. 13 | Free Oscillations of the Earth Density Distribution in the Earth |
p. 20 - 42 |
Sept. 18 | Density Distribution in the Earth | p. 25-42 |
Sept. 20 | Isotopes and the Age of the Earth Density Distribution Homework Assigned |
p. 213-215 |
Sept. 25 | MIDTERM EXAM 1 | |
Sept. 27 | Isotopes and the Age of the Earth Isotopes Homework Assigned |
p. 213-215 |
Oct. 2 | Formation of the Solar System | p. 43-57 |
Oct. 4 | Meteorites, Nucleosynthesis, and Stellar Evolution | p. 57-72 |
Oct. 9 | Accretion and Differentiation of
the Earth Accretion Homework Assigned |
p. 73-93 |
Oct. 11 | Fall Break | |
Oct. 16 | Accretion and Differentiation of the Earth | p. 73-93 |
Oct. 18 | The Earth's Core | p. 94-107 |
Oct. 23 | The Earth's Magnetic Field Accretion Homework Due |
p. 628-636 |
Oct. 25 | The Earth's Magnetic Field Magnetism Homework Assigned |
p. 628-636 |
Oct. 30 | MIDTERM EXAM II | |
Nov. 1 | The Structure and Composition of the Earth's Mantle | p. 108-133 |
Nov. 6 | Evolution of the Earth's Mantle | |
Nov. 8 | Evolution of the Earth's Mantle Magnetism Homework Due |
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Nov. 13 | Heat Flow Thermodynamic Homework Assigned |
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Nov. 15 | Heat Flow | p. 143-150 |
Nov. 20 | Origin of the Earth's Crust Heat Flow Homework Assigned |
p. 160-204 |
Nov. 22 | HOLIDAY - THANKSGIVING | |
Nov. 27 | Plate Tectonics - History of the Theory | |
Nov. 29 | Plate Tectonics - Theory Heat Flow Homework Due |
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Dec. 4 | Plate Tectonics - The driving mechanisms | |
Dec. 6 | Evolution of the Earth's Atmosphere and Oceans | |
Dec. 13 | Final Examination 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM | |
Click here for a PDF version of the syllabus
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