Courses
GEOL 1020 History of a Habitable Planet (course offered every semester, I teach it every 2 years): In this three-credit lecture course, we explore how the physical aspects of the Earth (its oceans, crust, environments, atmosphere, and the climate) have changed over time due to the origin and evolution of life. We will use observations from the rock and fossil record, along with insights and comparisons to modern Earth processes, to analyze the pattern and explore the causes of those changes over billions of years. Because thinking about deep time and historical sciences are outside of our everyday experiences, we will learn about the history of deep time.
GEOL 3430 Sedimentology and Stratigraphy (course offered every Spring): This course focuses on (1) the processes by which sediments are formed, transported and deposited; (2) how sequences of sediments and sedimentary rocks are created; and (3) the sedimentologic and stratigraphic principles are used to interpret layered rock successions. The fundamental question we will pursue is how does a geologist go about interpreting the sedimentary record? Observation and description of sediments and sedimentary rocks are one important aspect. What those observations and features mean is the next important step. Interpretation also depends on the theoretical framework that has been established, for example, sequence stratigraphic principles. We are going to start at the smallest scale, that of grains, and work our way into bigger and bigger packages of sedimentary rock.
GEOL 4755/5755 Field Geobiology (course offered every Fall): This course provides students technical fieldwork skills in the interdisciplinary field of geobiology, spanning modern environments and to ancient environments in preserved in rock record, and spanning techniques from geochemistry, environmental microbiology, and sedimentology. The course will rotate through four subtopics: (1) Modern and Ancient Geobiology (last offered 2021), (2) Extreme Events (last offered 2022), (3) Deep Time Geobiology (will be offered 2023), and (4) Geobiology and Astrobiology (will be offered 2024).
GEOL 4660/5660 Sedimentology and Geobiology of Carbonates (every 2-3 years): Carbonate sedimentary rocks are a significant component of the geobiological rock record, capturing a history of organisms and the environments they inhabit. This course will focus on how carbonate sediments are formed, deposited, and lithified and what influences the preservation and alteration of textural and geochemical signals. We cover facies identification, interpreting depositional environment, and carbonate geochemistry, with a particular emphasis on recent advances and unanswered questions at the intersection of carbonates and geobiology, including the role of microbial carbonate precipitation and/or dissolution in the formation and degradation of stromatolites, carbonate mud, ooids, etc.
GEOL 5704 Carbonates Seminar (every semester; taught by Trower in Spring semesters and Snell in Fall semesters): This course is a reading and discussion seminar focused broadly on the topic of carbonates, including sedimentology, geochemistry, and geobiology of carbonates. Each semester will have a distinct theme under these sub-topics. Students will be responsible for leading discussion on individual readings and will be able to provide input on both the theme and the individual reading selections.
GEOL 6310 Sedimentary Petrology (offered irregularly based on demand, last offered in Spring 2021): This course provides students with sufficient background and experience in sedimentary petrology so that they can make a reasonable interpretation of any sedimentary rock’s diagenetic history. In so doing, they will learn how to recognize primary depositional material, distinguish primary from diagenetic, and develop an understanding of how sediments and sedimentary rocks evolve through diagenesis. In addition, (and perhaps most importantly) students will gain skills in critically evaluating a sedimentary rock’s evolution.
GEOL 3430 Sedimentology and Stratigraphy (course offered every Spring): This course focuses on (1) the processes by which sediments are formed, transported and deposited; (2) how sequences of sediments and sedimentary rocks are created; and (3) the sedimentologic and stratigraphic principles are used to interpret layered rock successions. The fundamental question we will pursue is how does a geologist go about interpreting the sedimentary record? Observation and description of sediments and sedimentary rocks are one important aspect. What those observations and features mean is the next important step. Interpretation also depends on the theoretical framework that has been established, for example, sequence stratigraphic principles. We are going to start at the smallest scale, that of grains, and work our way into bigger and bigger packages of sedimentary rock.
GEOL 4755/5755 Field Geobiology (course offered every Fall): This course provides students technical fieldwork skills in the interdisciplinary field of geobiology, spanning modern environments and to ancient environments in preserved in rock record, and spanning techniques from geochemistry, environmental microbiology, and sedimentology. The course will rotate through four subtopics: (1) Modern and Ancient Geobiology (last offered 2021), (2) Extreme Events (last offered 2022), (3) Deep Time Geobiology (will be offered 2023), and (4) Geobiology and Astrobiology (will be offered 2024).
GEOL 4660/5660 Sedimentology and Geobiology of Carbonates (every 2-3 years): Carbonate sedimentary rocks are a significant component of the geobiological rock record, capturing a history of organisms and the environments they inhabit. This course will focus on how carbonate sediments are formed, deposited, and lithified and what influences the preservation and alteration of textural and geochemical signals. We cover facies identification, interpreting depositional environment, and carbonate geochemistry, with a particular emphasis on recent advances and unanswered questions at the intersection of carbonates and geobiology, including the role of microbial carbonate precipitation and/or dissolution in the formation and degradation of stromatolites, carbonate mud, ooids, etc.
GEOL 5704 Carbonates Seminar (every semester; taught by Trower in Spring semesters and Snell in Fall semesters): This course is a reading and discussion seminar focused broadly on the topic of carbonates, including sedimentology, geochemistry, and geobiology of carbonates. Each semester will have a distinct theme under these sub-topics. Students will be responsible for leading discussion on individual readings and will be able to provide input on both the theme and the individual reading selections.
GEOL 6310 Sedimentary Petrology (offered irregularly based on demand, last offered in Spring 2021): This course provides students with sufficient background and experience in sedimentary petrology so that they can make a reasonable interpretation of any sedimentary rock’s diagenetic history. In so doing, they will learn how to recognize primary depositional material, distinguish primary from diagenetic, and develop an understanding of how sediments and sedimentary rocks evolve through diagenesis. In addition, (and perhaps most importantly) students will gain skills in critically evaluating a sedimentary rock’s evolution.