GEOL 553 LECTURE 2TODAYS MATERIAL:• Introduction to the Course• The Quaternary Period• Climatic and Geologic Processes

Instructor: Jason Robert Patton Email: Jason.Patton@humboldt.edu

Office: Founders Hall 22 Phone: 707.826.XXXX

Course Website: http://www.science.earthjay.com/?page_id=1723

Office Hours: Monday & Thursday 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM

Prerequisites: GEOL 306, General Geomorphology Field Trips: Two Weekend Field Trips

Recommended Reading:

Lowe, J. and Walker, M., 2015. Reconstructing Quaternary Environments, 3rd ed., Routledge, New York, NY, 538 p. ISBN: 978-0-415-74075-3 (hbk) ISBN: 978-0-131-27468-6 (pbk) ISBN: 978-1-315-79749-6 (ebk)

Flint, R. F., 1971, Glacial and Quaternary Geology, John Wiley, 892 p. ISBN-10: 0471264350 ISBN-13: 978-0471264354

* Please note that this document is informational and subject to change.

GEOL 553 Syllabus

Required Supplies: three ring binder for class handouts including blank paper for drawing illustrations and notes during class; colored pencils for making illustrations, field notebooks for taking notes during our field trips

Contact: Please don’t hesitate to email me with any questions, comments, or concerns. I welcome any feedback or suggestions. The best way to contact me for any reason is by sending an email directly to my HSU email jason.patton@humboldt.edu

Fulfills the following requirements: (1) the upper division geology area of specialization for the Bachelor of Science degree with a major in Geology and (2) the required course, option requirement, for the Master of Science degree in Environmental Systems, Geology option.

Course Description:

Concepts, theory, methods of Quaternary geology; soil stratigraphy, climate changes; glacial and periglacial processes and patterns.

GEOL 553 Syllabus

GradingLate Assignments are NOT ACCEPTED.

There are NO EXTRA CREDIT opportunities.Your final grade will be comprised of:

Summary PointsParticipation 100Course Notes and Illustrations 100Labs 200Research Proposal/Presentation 100

Field trips 200Research Paper 100Paper Reviews/Discussion 1001 Lab Final Exam 100Total 1000

There are 1000 points available and grades are assigned by the percentage of total points as follows:

1000-940=A 939-900=A- 899-870=B+ 869-830=B 829-800=B-799-770=C+ 769-700=C 699-670=D+ 669-600=D <599=F

GEOL 553 Syllabus

Communication

The instructor will send announcements via email to the student’s humboldt.edu email addresses. Please contact the instructor only via the email listed above. The instructor will respond at their earliest convenience. Students will exchange contact information with their peers on the first day of classes. This is important so that if anyone misses a class, they can contact more than one of their peers to go over the notes and lab materials. Also, students will need to interact during the online portion of this course and having other student’s email addresses will facilitate this.

Classroom Conduct

Side conversations among classmates are disrespectful and disruptive to the instructor and your fellow students. Questions or comments about the course material are welcome at all times but should be approached in a respectful manner.

The use of cell phones, iPods, or other items that may distract you, your instructor, or your classmates are not permitted during class. All such devices must be turned off.

You may not leave the room during an exam or quiz unless you are ready to turn in your finished exam.

GEOL 553 Syllabus

Academic HonestyYou are encouraged to work together to review notes from lectures, to work on problems from the text, and to formulate ideas for any take-home assignments. However, all work you turn in must be your own independent, original work.

In the event that any work is copied from another student, zero credit will be given to all students involved (regardless of who copied from whom).

Any sources of information used in your written work must be referenced (regardless of whether the material was copied word-for-word). This includes your text book and all internet sources (reference these by including the name and URL). Any work including un-referenced material from another source (regardless of whether it was copied word-for-word) will be given zero credit.

More information is available at: http://www.humboldt.edu/studentrights/academic_honesty.php

Academic Misconduct: Cheating, plagiarism, collusion, abuse of resource materials, computer misuse, fabrication or falsification, multiple submissions, complicity in academic misconduct, and/ or bearing false witness will not be tolerated. Violations will be dealt with according to the procedures and sanctions proscribed by Humboldt State University. Students caught plagiarizing or cheating on exams will receive an “F” in the course.

GEOL 553 Syllabus

GEOL 553 Course InformationLectures: Lectures will consist of presentations by the professor and peer reviewed paper discussions led by the students. The first two paper discussions will be led by the professor. Papers will be provided one week prior to the day that they are discussed in class. Students will each lead at least one class discussion. Reading: The readings will be supplied via electronic communication. This reading is essential to your comprehension of the material in this course and will be a key to your success. There will be material from one of the suggested texts that is associated with the lecture material. In addition, there will be at least one peer review journal article associated with the lab material. The student is expected to read the assignment before class/lab. In addition, Friday classes are reserved for discussion of at least one peer review journal article. Labs: Each week there will be a lab that will incorporate both analog and digital manipulation of data. Specialized software will either be available on campus or freely downloadable from the internet. The labs are due by the beginning of lab the following week, except for the seismic interpretation lab (the due date will be provided).

GEOL 553 Course Information

Lab Final Exam: The lab final is worth 100 points. The exam is a mix of multiple choice, true/false, short answer, and essay questions based on the lectures, labs, homework, and course reading. Participation: Students will be given up to 100 points for participating in class. Full credit will be given if students attend regularly, ask and answer questions in class, and participate in class discussion. When students conduct in behavior that is not respectful (as outlined in the syllabus), they jeopardize their participation grade. Missing an exam: All make-up exams should be arranged for in advance. In the event of an emergency or sudden illness that prevents you from attending the exam, you must contact me as soon as possible and arrange a time for the exam to be completed before our next regular class time. If you miss an exam (and do not contact me to make it up) or if you arrange a makeup that you do not take, you will receive a zero for that exam.

GEOL 553 Course InformationCourse Notes and Illustrations: Each lecture may include handouts and several on-board illustrations that relate to the specific topic being discussed for that day. You will use your notebook to copy and label any illustrations. You are required to have a three-ring binder containing these handouts and your notes taken during every class. The notebooks will also contain all of your course materials (labs, syllabus, exams, etc.). You will turn in your notebooks along with your activities and homework that has been completed through the semester. Your material must be well organized within the notebook. These will be evaluated during the lab final. Credit of 100 points is given for careful reproduction of the illustrations including any notes, labels, and graphs. Library Research: There is one library research assignment that is worth 100 points. The report will be typed in font size 12, double spaced, and turned in electronically by 5 PM, Dec. 15, 2015. The report will be five to ten pages long. The paper will include between 1 and 3 figures and 1 and 3 data plots or tables. Each table, plot, or figure needs to have a caption describing the table, plot, or figure The filename needs to include the course number, the subject, and your last name, in the following format: GEOL553_glaciers_lastname.docx (or *.pdf). The research topic needs to be related to subjects covered in class. Students must use at least three peer review journal articles as references for their research paper. An outline for the paper is due at the end of week 5.

GEOL 553 Course InformationField Trips: We will have two weekend field trips, one to the Medicine Lake Highlands region and one to northeastern California for the Pacific Cell Friends of the Pleistocene Field Conference. These are mandatory. Each student will turn in a field trip report. The reports will be typed in font size 12, double spaced, and turned in electronically within a week of the field trip. The reports will be three to five pages. The filename needs to include the course number, the subject, and your last name (e.g. GEOL553_field_trip_coast_lastname.docx). These field trip reports are worth 100 points each, for a total of 200 points. Research Proposal: We will spend some time reviewing the process of writing a research proposal. We will be using the National Science Foundation Grant Proposal Guide as our framework. Students will present their proposals to the class during the last week of class. The research proposal is due at this time. I will invite students and faculty from the HSU Dept. of Geology to sit in on the proposal presentations. Electronic Presentations: All electronic presentations will be posted to the website for this course. Please use these presentations to review course material and to prepare for your exams and reports.

GEOL 553 Course ExpectationsClass will start on time at 11:00 AM and the Lab will start on time at 2:00 PM. You are responsible to be present for and be attentive to all the material covered in class. If you need to leave the class early, please let me know before the class starts. This is a college-level science class, and will require a commitment of your time outside of class. This at-home time will enable you to digest the material we cover in class and help when you are asked on the exams to apply these concepts to different problems and applications. You will spend 12 to 18 hours per week on course material outside of class, on average. You are encouraged to set aside a specific time each week outside of class devoted solely to each course:

o Reviewing lecture notes and in-class exercises each weeko Reading the textbooko Studying for the exam

Note that 12 hours per week at home is the average minimum to pass. Some students may require more time at home just to pass; for some in this course that may be enough to get an A. A student who is very attentive in class, asks questions, and takes careful notes will need less at-home time.

GEOL 553 Course ExpectationsAbsences: It is extremely difficult to do well in this class without attending all the lectures. I understand there will be an occasional absence due to illness or emergency, however I consider more than two absences per semester excessive. If you do miss a class:

1. Obtain the course material online (PowerPoint slides, extra reading, and handouts). The slides will include information about any homework or in-class exercises that were assigned. Most assignments and handouts referenced by the slides will be in your handouts.

2. Next, try to obtain a copy of lecture notes from a classmate since there are many things we cover that are not spelled out directly on the slides or handouts. This is the most important step.

3. Read the required reading covering the material you missed.4. After this, feel free to contact me by email with any questions.

Final grade active attendance boost: If your final course grade after rounding to the nearest whole number is within 1 point of a grade transition (C to C+, D to C, A- to A, etc.) I will give you the boost needed to obtain the higher grade if you have actively attended most classes and succeeded in many of the in-class pop quiz questions. More than 2 unexcused absences is considered excessive and will disqualify you from this opportunity. Conduct not in accordance with that outlined below will also prevent you from receiving this bonus.

GEOL 553 Course ExpectationsComputer skills: This class will require computer use outside of class. Activities involving the 4 skills listed below will be included throughout the semester. In addition, you will be expected to check Moodle and your email regularly for announcements.

1. Send and receive email from your Humboldt State University email account. 2. Open a web browser and access a web page if you are given the web address.3. Access the course material online (handouts, slides, announcements, etc.).4. Create, edit, and export Microsoft word (.doc or .docx), Microsoft Excel (.xls or .xlsx) and Adobe .pdf documents. We will also be using specialized software to create, edit, and export files of other formats.

GEOL 553 Course Schedule

What is the Scientific Method?What are the steps?

http://www.thwink.org/sustain/deadlock/WhyUnableToSolveProblem.htm

1. Observe a phenomenon.2. Formulate an hypothesis.3. Design an experiment to test the hypothesis.4. Perform the experiment.5. Accept, reject, or modify the hypothesis.

The Quaternary PeriodWhat is the time span for the Quaternary Period?2.588 Ma through today

The International Commission on Stratigraphy is the largest and oldest constituent scientific body in the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS). Its primary objective is to precisely define global units (systems, series, and stages) of the International Chronostratigraphic Chart that, in turn, are the basis for the units (periods, epochs, and age) of the International Geologic Time Scale; thus setting global standards for the fundamental scale for expressing the history of the Earth.

The Quaternary relative to the geological timescale. (The oxygen isotope trace (section 3.10) from deep-ocean sediments a) is after Shackleton et al., 1990).

The maximum glaciation of the Northern Hemisphere during the Quaternary (after Ehlers & Gibbard, 2007).(Mountain High Maps® copyright © 1993 Digital Wisdom.)

The astronomically driven millennial-scale climatic oscillations are present throughout, but their frequency and amplitude changes over time, and especially after the Mid-Pleistocene Revolution at c. 800 ka when climatic extremes increased and Northern Hemisphere ice sheets reached their greatest extents.

Climatic trends during the past 3 Ma reflected in a stacked (composite) oxygen isotope record. The isotopic trace can be read as a proxy climate record with ‘peaks’ marking warmer (interglacial) intervals and ‘troughs’ colder (glacial) episodes.

The MIS record based on a composite of deep-ocean cores (V19-30, ODP-677 and ODP-846) (left) and the Quaternary stratigraphy of the Northern Hemisphere set against this record (right). The marine isotope signal shows the oxygen isotope stages back to 2.6 Ma. In the correlation table, temperate (interglacial) stages are shown in upper case, while cold (glacial) stages are in lower case. Complexes which include both temperate and cold stages are in italics.

The δ18O record from the GRIP Greenland ice core showing the Lateglacial event stratigraphy (left) and the stratigraphic subdivision of the Lateglacial in northwest Europe and the British Isles. The isotopic record is based on the GRIP ss08c ice-core chronology, and the colder stadial episodes are indicated by dark shading. The radiocarbon timescales (right) are shown as ‘indicative’ (or ‘average’) radiocarbon (14C) ages and their ‘calibrated’ (cal.) equivalents.SMOW = isotopic composition of fresh water

The components of the Astronomical Theory of climate change: a) eccentricity of the orbitb) obliquity of the eclipticc) precession of the equinoxes.

a) Variations in eccentricity, obliquity and the precessional index over the past 800 ka. The three time series have been normalized and added to form the composite eccentricity-tilt-precession curve (ETP). The scale for obliquity is in degrees and for the ETP is in standard deviation units.

b) Normalized and smoothed variations in the oxygen isotope signal (δ18O) in five deep-sea cores. Note the similarity between this record and the ETP curve above.

Variations in temperature, dust flux, CO2, and CH4 from the EPICA Dome C ice-core record, Antarctica, over the last 800 ka (based on Masson-Delmotte et al., 2010).

Absorption of radiation by gases in the atmosphere. The shaded area represents the percent of radiation absorbed by each gas. The strongest absorbers of infrared radiation are water vapor and carbon dioxide. The bottom figure represents the percent of radiation absorbed by all of the atmospheric gases.

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(a) Near the surface in an atmosphere with little or no greenhouse gases, the earth’s surface would constantly emit infrared (IR) radiation upward, both during the day and at night. Incoming energy from the sun would equal outgoing energy from the surface, but the surface would receive virtually no IR radiation from its lower atmosphere. (No atmospheric greenhouse effect.) The earth’s surface air temperature would be quite low, and small amounts of water found on the planet would be in the form of ice. (b) In an atmosphere with greenhouse gases, the earth’s surface not only receives energy from the sun but also infrared energy from the atmosphere. Incoming energy still equals outgoing energy, but the added IR energy from the greenhouse gases raises the earth’s average surface temperature to a more habitable level.

On the average, of all the solar energy that reaches the earth’s atmosphere annually, about 30 percent (30/100) is reflected and scattered back to space, giving the earth and its atmosphere an albedo of 30 percent. Of the remaining solar energy, about 19 percent is absorbed by the atmosphere and clouds, and 51 percent is absorbed at the surface.

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The earth-atmosphere energy balance. Numbers represent approximations based on surface observations and satellite data. While the actual value of each process may vary by several percent, it is the relative size of the numbers that is important.

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Latitudinal variations:Between 38°N and S = net energy surplusesPoleward of 38o = net energy deficitsWinter hemispheres - Net energy deficits poleward of 15o

The idealized wind and surface-pressure distribution over a uniformly water-covered rotating earth.

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Average position and extent of the major surface ocean currents. Cold currents are shown in blue; warm currents are shown in red.

Sunlight that strikes a surface at an angle is spread over a larger area than sunlight that strikes the surface directly. Oblique sun rays deliver less energy (are less intense) to a surface than direct sun rays.

The apparent path of the sun across the sky as observed at different latitudes on the June solstice (June 21), the December solstice (December 21), and the equinox (March 20 and September 22).

Annual variation in daily duration of available insolation

Relations between mean monthly temperature and latitude

1. Eccentricity• 3% range of variation of E-S distance due to elliptical orbit around Sun, Pull of large planets• Now, perihelion occurs during northern Winter (3 January)• 100ky and 413ky periods• Now, e =.0167 (relatively circular)

2. Tilt – Reason for Seasons

• Now tilt is 23.5°, and is decreasing.• Higher the tilt, higher the seasonal differences• Has gone from 24.5° -22.2°, varied by pull of large planets• 41 ky period

3. Precession - WobbleVaries E-S distance with season

• Variation of the direction in which the E axis leans.• Caused by the pull of Sun and moon on Earth• Now Earth’s axis points to Polaris• 23 ky stronger period - combined wobble and slow turning of elliptical orbit.

Now

11Kya

Milankovitch Theory of ice ages

What triggers an ice age? Low insolation:• when tilt is small (~22°)(seasonality differences are smallest)• Eccentricity is large (very elliptical orbit)• Perihelion occurs during the northern hemisphere’s winter

Deglaciation can be triggered when:• perihelion occurs in July (e.g. 11K ya)• the Earth’s tilt is near its maximum

What are the mechanisms that amplify orbital variations in insolation?(1) Ice-albedo feedback(2) ocean circulation/CO2 feedback (Shackleton 2000) – ice lags CO2 and orbital changes

Cycle of ice sheet growth:What makes ice sheets grow and shrink?

ablationaccumulation

P = Climate Point, where equilibrium line intersects surface

Equilibrium line = Boundary between areas of net ice ablation and accumulation.Cooling at higher altitudes, 6.5°C cooling per km of altitude. = Ice Elevation Feedback

D.* Ice growth continues becauseInsolation levels are still relativelyLow and most of ice is at highelevation

Cycle of ice sheet growth -

ablationaccumulation

3 Factors control ice sheets:

1. Insolation control of IS size

2. Initial lag of vol behind Insolation

3. Subsequent lag of bedrock depression and rebound behindice loading and unloading.

Isotopic and spectral evidence of transition to 100ky ice age periodicity…

Raymo, 1994, Ann Rev Ea Planet Sci 22, 353

How orbital theory, climate records (δ18O) and northern hemisphere insolation (i.e. melting in N. Atlantic) compare over the past 600ky.

Cold warm

nowLGM18ky

http://www.sciencemag.org/content/321/5889/680/F1.large.jpg

The Greenland Ice Sheet Project (GISP) was a decade-long project to drill ice cores in Greenland that involved scientists and funding agencies from Denmark, Switzerland and the United States

http://www.euanmearns.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/antarctic_ice_core_stations.jpg

In January 1998, the collaborative ice-drilling project between Russia, the United States, and France at the Russian Vostok station in East Antarctica yielded the deepest ice core ever recovered, reaching a depth of 3,623 m (Petit et al. 1997, 1999).