Course Meeting Times
Lectures: 2 sessions / week, 1.5 hours / session
Course Outline
The stratigraphic record – a time sequence of depositional surfaces – is our window to the long view of surface dynamics.
This course covers:
- Sediments in the rock cycle
- Production of sediments at the Earth's surface
- Physics and chemistry of sedimentary materials
- Scale and geometry of near-surface sedimentary bodies, including aquifers
- Sediment transport and deposition in modern sedimentary environments
- Burial and lithification
- Survey of major sedimentary rock types
- Stratigraphic relationships of sedimentary basins
- Evolution of sedimentary processes through geologic time
Prerequisite
Introduction to Geology (12.001)
Primary Textbook
Leeder, M. Sedimentology and Sedimentary Basins. Oxford, UK: Blackwell Science Ltd., 1 October 1999, 592 pp. ISBN: 9780632049769.
Secondary Textbook
Boggs, S., Jr. Principles of Sedimentology and Stratigraphy. 3rd ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 15 December 2000, 774 pp. ISBN: 9780130996961.
Grading
| activities | percentages |
|---|---|
| Midterm Exam | 30% |
| Final Exam | 30% |
| Labs | 40% |
Midterm Exam
Closed book. Will cover material presented in Lectures 2 through 12.
Final Exam
Closed book. Will cover material presented in Lectures 13 through 22.
Labs
Write-ups for all labs will be graded. Lab exam will be closed book.