This course seeks to understand the 'how' of Earth history by integrating many branches of Earth system science including geochronology, paleomagnetism, tectonics, petrology, paleoclimate, sedimentology, geochemistry, and geobiology. Through a detailed study of the relevant datasets, models, and theories, students in this course will engage and struggle with these seemingly disparate fields to arrive at a better understanding of how an imperfect geologic record can be used to produce an accurate representation of our planet's history.
Courses
Undergraduate Courses
Fall 2020
Mineralogy
Minerals are the fundamental building blocks of the Earth. Their physical, chemical, and structural properties determine the nature of the Earth and they are the primary recorders of the past history of the Earth and other planets. This course will provide a survey of the properties of the major rock-forming minerals. Topics include crystallography, crystal chemistry, mineral thermodynamics and mineral occurrence. Emphasis will be on the role of minerals in understanding geological processes. Laboratories will focus on developing an understanding of crystallography, structure-property relationships, and modern analytical techniques.
Instructors: Thomas S. Duffy
Data, Models, and Uncertainty in the Natural Sciences
This course is for those who want to turn data into models and subsequently evaluate their uniqueness and uncertainty. Three main topics are: 1. Elementary inferential statistics, 2. Model parameter estimation via matrix inverse methods, and 3. Time series analysis and Fourier spectral density estimation. Problem sets and computer programming exercises form integral parts of the course. While the instructor's and textbook examples will be derived mostly from the physical sciences, students are encouraged to bring their own data sets for discussion. Prior programming experience in MATLAB is helpful but not required.
Introduction to Ocean Physics for Climate
The study of the oceans as a major influence on the atmosphere and the world environment. The contrasts between the properties of the upper and deep oceans; the effects of stratification; the effect of rotation; the wind-driven gyres; the thermohaline circulation.
Instructors: Sonya Allayne Legg, Gabriel Andres Vecchi
Geodynamics
An advanced introduction to setting up and solving boundary value problems relevant to the solid earth sciences. Topics include heat flow, fluid flow, elasticity and plate flexure, and rock rheology, with applications to mantle convection, magma transport, lithospheric deformation, structural geology, and fault mechanics.
Instructors: Allan Mattathias Rubin
Graduate Courses
Fall 2020
Theoretical Geophysics
Geophysical applications of the principles of continuum mechanics; conservation laws and constitutive relations and tensor analysis; acoustic, elastic, and gravity wave propagation are studied.
Instructors: Jeroen Tromp