Fall 2011 EARTH 121 Online University of Waterloo. Your instructor makes announcements as needed. Please check your announcements frequently.

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1 Communication /Phone Administrative questions should be directed to the Centre for Extended Learning office. Technical problems with UW-ACE should be directed to Technical Support. Academic issues (e.g., course content, deadlines, etc.) can be directed to your instructor, Professor Alan Morgan, at: Announcements Your instructor makes announcements as needed. Please check your announcements frequently. To ensure you are viewing the complete list of announcements, you must click ALL. Please note you may also be required to click MORE. Discussion Boards This course does not use Discussion Boards About the Course About the Course Author Alan Morgan Alan V. Morgan was born in Wales and became interested in geology at the age of eight. His first scientific paper on the geology of his hometown was published at the age of seventeen. Alan was educated at Barry Grammar School, and his degrees are from the University of Leicester (B.Sc.), the University of Alberta at Calgary (M.Sc.) and the University of Birmingham (Ph.D.). In 1971, after a Post-Doctoral year between the University of Waterloo and the University of Western Ontario, he became an Assistant Professor, crossappointed between the Department of Environment Resource Studies and the Department of Earth Sciences at Waterloo. Since then he has moved to Earth Sciences as Associate and then Full Professor. His teaching responsibilities are as first year instructor in Earth Sciences as well as teaching second year paleontology and fourth year and graduate classes in Quaternary geology. Alan has also developed and taught a number of online courses in the Earth Sciences from Waterloo. He has strong interests in environmental affairs, and in undergraduate teaching. Alan is the 1991 recipient of a Distinguished Teaching Award from the University of Waterloo, and was awarded the Robert H. Moss Award for Excellence in College Teaching at the National Association of Geology Teachers Eastern Section Meeting in Toronto in May In 1973 he made a CBC documentary for The Nature of Things about the Heimaey Eruption, Iceland. Since then he has assisted the Geological Survey of Canada in their video on The Science of Change, Robert Ballard s Jason Project VIII, Journey from the Centre of the Earth as well as providing footage for BBC television, and other documentaries such as Canadian Geographic. He retains a keen interest in travel and photography, and his photographs have been used in a number of textbooks from junior school to graduate specialisations. Others have been used in popular magazines and books as well as non-academic texts. His research interests are in Quaternary stratigraphy (deposits laid down over the last two million years),

2 fossil permafrost features, the interpretation of climate change from fossil beetles, and in movements of the Canadian insect fauna. In this capacity, he has acted as President of the Canadian Quaternary Association ( ), President of the American Quaternary Association ( ), and as Secretary-General of the XII International Quaternary Congress, held in Ottawa in He has been a Distinguished Visiting Scholar at the University of Washington; a visiting scientist at the United States Geological Survey at Menlo Park, California; a Guest Professor at the University of Kiel, Germany; and a visiting professor at the University of Colorado and at the University of Canterbury, in New Zealand. In 1992 he completed a two-year "Interchange Canada" secondment as Global Change Co-ordinator to the Geological Survey of Canada in Ottawa. Alan has served Canadian geoscience in a number of roles as Secretary-Treasurer of the Geological Association of Canada; as a Canadian delegate to several international geological meetings; as an Associate Editor for Geoscience Canada; as Editor for the Royal Society of Canada's Public Awareness of Science newsletter, Oyez3; and for the Canadian Geoscience Council (The Annual Report of the Geosciences in Canada and other publications). He is also a past member of the Canadian Commission for UNESCO, serving from 1988 to He has also completed two six-year terms as the Executive Director of the Canadian Geoscience Council, with his second term concluding in In 2003 he acted as the National Chair of the International Geoscience Education Organisation's Geoscied IV meeting in Calgary. Alan has been interested in promoting the public awareness of science for 30 years, and during this time he has presented more than 700 public lectures in Ontario, Québec, and overseas. He has given lecture tours in Western Canada, in the Prairie Provinces, and in the Maritimes, as well as invited public lectures in the United States and Sri Lanka. In 1994 he received the Bancroft Medal from the Royal Society of Canada for his activities in the promotion of public awareness of science. In 1997, he was awarded the J. Willis Ambrose Medal of the Geological Association of Canada for sustained distinguished service to the Geosciences in Canada. In 1998, he was awarded the E.R.W. Neale Medal of the Geological Association of Canada for outstanding efforts to communicate and explain the geosciences to the the public. He is a distinguished fellow of GAC and is one of four honourary life fellows of the Association. Alan lives in Waterloo with his wife, Anne (a Master Gardener, with an M.Sc. in Entomology and a Ph.D. in Geology), and has two children, Siân Kristina, and Alexis John. He has recently finished a number of home pages for the World Wide Web in conjunction with his son. These are on Careers in Geoscience and for a newsletter from Earth Sciences at Waterloo, called WHAT ON EARTH (WAT ON EARTH until 2002). His latest projects have been to finish a number of submissions for the edition of Microsoft's "Encarta" CD-ROM Encyclopaedia, and acting as an expert reviewer for the 2002 version of Encarta. In the mid-1990s he completed a CD-ROM on Careers in Geoscience that has been distributed to all High Schools in Ontario and Alberta and many other high schools across Canada. During the summer of 2002 he participated as a scientific lecturer on two Arctic cruises to Iceland, Jan Mayen and Spitsbergen. Currently he is working on a special project for the Centre for Extended Learning at the University of Waterloo, is preparing a GEOSCAPE educational poster on the Grand River basin and is chairing the Canadian Geoscience Education Network. Course Description This course is designed to provide a fundamental, but basic, introduction to the Earth Sciences, concentrating on the way in which our planet is formed and the forces that are constantly modifying it. The course is divided into 34 lectures broadly arranged in three different sections. The first section of 18 lectures covers the fundamental processes that form Planet Earth. These include atomic structure, composition and properties of minerals, the three major rock families and the rock cycle, volcanoes and geothermal activity, weathering and mass movement, earthquakes and understanding the interior of the planet, folds, faults and the topic of plate tectonics. The second section of 5 lectures covers the processes involved in shaping the planet. These include running water, glaciation, deserts and periglacial processes and marine activity. The third section covers Earth History and Resources. Twelve lectures cover Geological Time, fossils and their classification; Precambrian, Paleozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic history of North America; the energy minerals (coal, oil, oil sands and uranium) and concludes with Global Change.

3 These are all presented as PowerPoint illustrations and there are additional "enrichment" presentations that include extra lectures, podcasts and videos. Objectives Understand how minerals and rocks are formed. Examine the processes that breakdown and change rocks through time. Learn the classifications of the three great families of rocks. Understand volcanic processes and the products that emerge from volcanoes. See how geothermal fields are created and examine some of their uses. Distinguish the major types of rock folds and time breaks. Recognise that we know very little about the interior of our planet. Examine what we do know through a study of earthquakes. Develop an understanding of the concept of Plate Tectonics (shifting continents). Understand the physical processes that wear away at the landscape. Learn the terminologies involved with these processes. Recognise the main landforms produced by rivers, ice, the seas, and in deserts. Understand the immensity of geological time. Learn about different fossils, their classification, and when they existed. Understand the ways in which different scenic areas of North America were formed and when. Learn about the three major groups of energy minerals. Realise that the Earth Sciences are essential in a better understanding of our world. This online course was developed in the fall term of 2009 by Alan Morgan, with instructional design and multimedia development support provided by the Centre for Extended Learning. Grade Breakdown One Minute Summaries 5% Assignments 45% Final Exam 50% Materials and Resources The Centre for Extended Learning is no longer automatically mailing a course CD/DVD containing lectures that are also found within UW-ACE. Content available on the CD/DVD can now be downloaded free-of-charge via the Content Modules in UW-ACE. However, if you wish to purchase a CD/DVD, please visit our online ordering system. Course Notes Required: 1. Earth Sciences 121 Course Notes, Centre for Extended Learning, University of Waterloo, NOTE: THE ABOVE ITEM MUST BE ORDERED FROM THE UNIVERSITY BOOKSTORE. For textbook ordering information, please contact the Waterloo Bookstore. For your convenience, you can compile booklists of required and optional textbooks based on your current courses through BookLook using your Quest userid and password (look for the Shop Online with

4 BookLook link in the centre-top section of the main Waterloo Bookstore page). If you are having difficulties ordering online and wish to call the Waterloo Bookstore, their phone number is or toll-free at Please be aware that textbook orders CANNOT be taken over the phone. Resources UW Library (Centre for Extended Learning) Policies Submission Times Please be aware that the University of Waterloo is located in the Eastern Time Zone (GMT or UTC-5 during standard time and UTC-4 during daylight saving time) and, as such, the time that your activities and/or assignments are due is based on this zone. If you are outside the Eastern Time Zone and require assistance with converting your time, please try the Ontario, Canada Time Converter. Accommodation Due to Illness If your instructor has provided specific procedures for you to follow if you miss assignment due dates, term tests, or a final examination, adhere to those instructions. Otherwise: Missed Assignments/Tests/Quizzes Contact the instructor as soon as you realize there will be a problem; follow up as quickly as possible by having a medical practitioner complete a Verification of Illness Form*. Send a scanned copy of the Verification of Illness Form to assignments@uwaterloo.ca, but please be aware that your instructor may require the original and do not lose or destroy it. In your , provide your name, student ID number, and exactly what you missed. If your instructor agrees to re-open a time-limited component, our technical support staff will require an from the instructor granting permission to allow you access. Missed Final Examinations If you miss a final examination due to illness, see a medical practitioner as quickly as possible. Submit a completed Verification of Illness Form* preferably within 48 hours, but not more than 72 hours after missing the exam. Send a scanned copy of the Verification of Illness Form by to examinations@uwaterloo.ca. In your , provide your name, student ID number, and the examination(s) missed. The original Verification of Illness Form will be required in order for your examination(s) to be rescheduled. Unless otherwise stated by your instructor, your academic faculty, or your department, an exam missed due to short-term illness must be written within the current term s examination period. * The Verification of Illness Form is normally the only acceptable medical documentation. Please make sure the medical practitioner completes the information in the Degree and Dates of Incapacitation section of the form. Academic Integrity In order to maintain a culture of academic integrity, members of the University of Waterloo community are expected to promote honesty, trust, fairness, respect, and responsibility. If you have not already completed the online tutorial regarding academic integrity you should do so as soon as possible. The undergraduate online tutorial can be found at and the graduate tutorial is at For other information about academic integrity check

5 Discipline A student is expected to know what constitutes academic integrity (check to avoid committing an academic offence, and to take responsibility for his/her actions. A student who is unsure whether an action constitutes an offence, or who needs help in learning how to avoid offences (e.g., plagiarism, cheating) or about rules for group work/collaboration should seek guidance from the course instructor, academic advisor, or the undergraduate Associate Dean. For information on categories of offences and types of penalties, students should refer to Policy 71, Student Discipline, For typical penalties check Guidelines for the Assessment of Penalties, /penaltyguidelines.htm. Appeals A decision made or penalty imposed under Policy 70, Student Petitions and Grievances, (other than a petition) or Policy 71, Student Discipline, may be appealed if there is a ground. A student who believes he/she has a ground for an appeal should refer to Policy 72, Student Appeals, Grievance A student who believes that a decision affecting some aspect of his/her university life has been unfair or unreasonable may have grounds for initiating a grievance. Read Policy 70, Student Petitions and Grievances, Section 4, When in doubt please be certain to contact the department s administrative assistant who will provide further assistance. Final Grades In accordance with Policy 19, the Centre for Extended Learning does not release final examination grades or final course grades to students. Students must go to Quest to see all final grades. Any grades posted in UW-ACE are unofficial. Note for Students with Disabilities The Office for Persons with Disabilities (OPD), located in Needles Hall, Room 1132, collaborates with all academic departments to arrange appropriate accommodations for students with disabilities without compromising the academic integrity of the curriculum. If you require academic accommodation to lessen the impact of your disability, please register with the OPD at the beginning of each academic term and for each course. Use of Computing and Network Resources Please see the Guidelines on Use of UW Computing and Network Resources. Copyright ( ) Information UW s Web Pages All rights, including copyright, images, slides, audio, and video components, of the content of this course are owned by the course author, unless otherwise stated. These Web pages are owned or controlled by the University of Waterloo, Centre for Extended Learning. By accessing the Web pages, you agree that you may only download the content for your own personal, non-commercial use. You are not permitted to copy, broadcast, download, store (in any medium), transmit, show or play in public, adapt or change in any way the content of these Web pages for any other purpose whatsoever without the prior written permission of the course author and the University of Waterloo, Centre for Extended Learning. Other Sources

6 Respect the copyright of others and abide by all copyright notices and regulations when using the computing facilities provided for your course of study by the University of Waterloo. No material on the Internet or World Wide Web (WWW) may be reproduced or distributed in any material form or in any medium, without permission from copyright holders or their assignees. To support your course of study, the University of Waterloo has provided hypertext links to relevant Web sites, resources, and services on the Web. These resources must be used in accordance with any registration requirements or conditions which may be specified. You must be aware that in providing such hypertext links the University of Waterloo has not authorized any acts (including reproduction or distribution) which, if undertaken without permission of copyright owners or their assignees, may be infringement of copyright. Permission for such acts can only be granted by copyright owners or their assignees. If there are any questions about this notice, please contact the University of Waterloo, Centre for Extended Learning, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, N2L 3G1 or by .

7 Course begins Monday, September 12, 2011 ALL TIMES EASTERN Please see the Policies section for details. The Current time in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada is 3:54:52 PM. Week / Module Modules Other Assigned Material Course Requirements and Important Dates Activities and Assignments End / Due Date Weight (%) Please review the Getting Started page and the Course Syllabus including the Policies section before you begin your course. Week 1 Module 00: Introduction Module 01: Atomic structure and minerals Module 02: Mineral Characteristics Videos: Rebirth on Planet Earth Jan Mayen, landing at Botvika Graphite and Diamond Silicates Cleavage Hardness Other Properties Order Earth Sciences 121 Course Notes from the Bookstore. See Materials and Resources section of the Syllabus for more details. Week 2 Module 03: Igneous rocks, Reaction Series Module 04: The Igneous Rocks Module 05: Volcanoes Videos: Granites and Xenoliths Slope profile of Mauna Loa Kalapana lava front 1 Kalapana lava front 2 Lava flows and tube window Pu'u O'o crater infilling Columnar basalts Week 3 Module 06: Volcanoes and Geothermal Module 07: Weathering Module 08: Mass Movement Videos: A visit to Thera Terraces at Pammukale, Turkey Hveravellir Basin, Iceland, Assignment 1 Due September 28, 2011 Available from Sunday, September 25, 9%

8 Hot springs Geothermal activity at Geysir, Iceland Fumaroles, Kilauea caldera, south rim Hawai'i Spheroidal weathering in basalt, Northern Ireland 2011 (8:00 AM) - September 28, 2011 at (11:55 PM) Week 4 Module 09: Sedimentary Rocks 1 (Clastics and Chemical Precipitates) Module 10: Sedimentary Rocks 2 - Biological Rocks. Sedimentary Rock Features And Terminology Module 11: Foliated Metamorphic Rocks (Foliated) One Minute Summary for Module 8 October 5, % Week 5 Module 12: Metamorphic Rocks (Non-Foliated) Module 13: Folded Strata Module 14: Faults Week 6 Module 15: Earthquakes and the Earth's Interior Module 16: Plate Tectonics Concepts Module 17: Plate Tectonics - Conservative and Videos: Seismograms and Seismographs Curie Point One Minute Summary for Module 14 Assignment 2 October 19, 2011 Due October 19, 2011 Available from Sunday, October 16, 2011 (8:00 AM) - 1% 9%

9 subducting boundaries October 19, 2011 at (11:55 PM) Week 7 Module 18: Fluvial Activity Module 19: Fluvial Activity (Deposition) Module 20: Glaciation Erosion and Depositional Landforms Week 8 Module 21: Marine Erosion and Deposition Module 22: Deserts and Permafrost Module 23: Time, Fossils and Clasification Video: Marine Action One Minute Summary for Module 19 Assignment 3 Due November 2, 2011 Due November 2, 2011 Available from Sunday, October 30, 2011 (8:00 AM) - November 2, 2011 at (11:55 PM) 1% 9% Week 9 Module 24: Precambrian and Paleozoic in North America Module 25: Mesozoic in North America Module 26: Cenozoic and Quaternary in North America Week 10 Module 27: The Energy Minerals: Coal (1) Module 28: Coal in North America Module 29: Conventional Oil (Petroleum) One Minute Summary for Module 26 Assignment 4 November 16, 2011 Due November 16, 2011 Available from Sunday, 1% 9%

10 November 13, 2011 (8:00 AM) - November 16, 2011 at (11:55 PM) Week 11 Module 30: Oil Sands Module 31: Uranium in Canada Module 32: Global Change Week 12 Module 33: Global Change One Minute Summary for Module 33 November 30, % Assignment 5 Due November 30, % Available from Sunday, November 27, 2011 (8:00 AM) - November 30, 2011 at (11:55 PM) Final Exam 50% Final Examination Arrangement and Schedule All students taking online courses that have a final exam must provide examination arrangement information by Friday, September 30, Examination schedule details will be available on Quest approximately four weeks prior to the exam date. For instructions on how to find exam information, go to the Quest Help page. Official Grades and Academic Standings are available through Quest. Please note: Your access to this course in UW-ACE will continue for the duration of the current term. You will not have access to this course once the next term begins.