GEOL243-17S1 (C) Semester One 2017

Depositional Environments and Stratigraphy

15 points

Details:
Start Date: Monday, 20 February 2017
End Date: Sunday, 25 June 2017
Withdrawal Dates
Last Day to withdraw from this course:
  • Without financial penalty (full fee refund): Friday, 3 March 2017
  • Without academic penalty (including no fee refund): Friday, 19 May 2017

Description

This course focuses on modern sedimentary environments, oceanography and marine organisms as a key to interpreting depositional environments, and the techniques and approaches that allow geologist to deal with geological time. The fundamental underpinning is stratigraphy, and using sedimentary features and fossils as palaeoenvironment indicators, with particular attention paid to New Zealand examples.

This course focusses on modern sedimentary environments at the surface of the Earth as a key to interpreting the past, and the techniques and approaches that allow geologists to deal with geological time. The course opens with lectures and laboratory classes that introduce the principles of fluid flow, sediment transport, and sedimentary depositional environments and how these processes affect the texture and composition of sedimentary rocks. The course then moves on to carbonate sedimentology and oceanography, and the interpretation of carbonate environments. The interaction of biota with substrates is introduced with trace fossils and the preservation potential of different fossils groups. The focus is on how sedimentary features, along with fossils, are used to interpret past environments. The fundamental underpinning is stratigraphy, that is, the study of the layers of sedimentary rocks in the earth’s crust, and the interpretation of depositional environments.

Timetable:
Lectures  - 3 lectures per week - TBA by central timetabling
Laboratories - 1 lab (2.5 hour) per week – TBA by central timetabling

Learning Outcomes

  • Goal of the Course:
    For students to be able to describe and interpret siliciclastic and carbonate sedimentary rocks and depositional environments, and to apply these interpretations to understanding stratigraphic successions.

    Learning Outcomes:
    Students successfully completing this course will:
  •  Have developed an understanding of sedimentary processes occurring at the surface of the Earth.
  •  Be able to classify and identify common sedimentary rocks in both hand specimen and under the microscope.  
  •  Be able to use sedimentary and biofacies analysis to interpret ancient environments and to reconstruct palaeogeography.
  •  Be able to construct and correlate stratigraphic columns from a variety of data.
  •  Be able to recognise and utilise important fossil groups used in NZ stratigraphy and environmental interpretation.

Prerequisites

(1) GEOL111, and (2) GEOL113 or GEOL115

Course Coordinator

For further information see School of Earth and Environment Head of Department

Assessment

Assessment Due Date Percentage  Description
Laboratory Assessment 15% Written facies exercise
Laboratory Assessment 30% Laboratory test
Laboratory Assessment 5% Stratigraphy exercise
Final Examination 50% Final Examination

Additional Course Outline Information

Academic integrity

GENERAL INFORMATION

Marks and Grades
The Department of Geological Sciences uses the following scale to convert marks into grades:
100 – 90 A+ 75 – 79 B+ 60 – 64 C+
89 – 85 A 70 – 74 B 55 – 59 C
84 – 80 A- 65 – 69 B- 50 – 54 C-
Below 50 D/E

The Department of Geological Sciences reserves the right to adjust this mark/grade conversion, when deemed necessary.

Late Work
It is the policy for this course that late work is not accepted. Or, late work should be accompanied with a detailed explanation of why the work is late.  The work will be marked and marks will be subtracted for each day the work is late.  Days late include week-end and holidays.  

Academic Liaison
Alex Nichols (room 321, HUalex.nichols@canterbury.ac.nzUH, phone (03) 364 2987 ext 94410) is in charge of liaison with students in geology courses.  Each year level will appoint a student representative(s) to the liaison committee at the start of the semester.  Please feel free to talk to the Academic Liaison or the student rep about any problems or concerns that you might have.

Students with Disabilities
Students with disabilities should speak with someone at Disability Resource Service. Their office is on Level 2 of the Puaka-James Hight Building (Central Library). Phone: +64 3 369 3334 or ext 93334, email: disabilities@canterbury.ac.nz

Policy on Dishonest Practice
Plagiarism, collusion, copying and ghost writing are unacceptable and dishonest practices.
• Plagiarism is the presentation of any material (text, data, figures or drawings, on any medium including computer files) from any other source without clear and adequate acknowledgement of the source.
• Collusion is the presentation of work performed in conjunction with another person or persons, but submitted as if it has been completed only by the names author(s).  
• Copying is the use of material (in any medium, including computer files) produced by another person(s) with or without their knowledge and approval.
• Ghost writing is the use of another person(s) (with or without payment) to prepare all or part of an item submitted for assessment.  

In cases where dishonest practice is involved in tests or other work submitted for credit, the student will be referred to the University Proctor.  The instructor may choose to not mark the work.  

Reconsideration of Grades
Students should, in the first instance, speak to the course co-ordinator about their marks.  If they cannot reach an agreeable solution, students should then speak to the Head of the Geological Sciences Department. Students can appeal any decision made on their final grade.  You can apply at the Registry to appeal the final grade within 4 weeks of the end of the semester.  Be aware that there are time limits for each step of the appeals process.  

Special Considerations Applications
If you feel that illness, injury, bereavement or other critical circumstances has prevented you from completing an item of assessment or affected your performance, you should complete a Special Considerations application form, available from the Registry or the Student Health and Counselling Service.  This should be within five days of the due date for the required work or the date of the examination.  In the case of illness or injury, medical consultation should normally have taken place shortly before or within 24 hours after the due date for the required work, or the date of the test or examination.  For further details on Special Consideration applications, please refer to the Enrolment Handbook or visit http://www.canterbury.ac.nz/exams/special-consideration.shtml.  You have the right to appeal any decision made, including Special Considerations decisions.  

Missing of Tests
In rare cases a student will not be able to sit a test.  In such cases, the student should consult with the course co-ordinator to the Head of the Department of Geological Sciences to arrange alternative procedures.   This must be done well in advance of the set date for the test.

Summary of the Course Content

The topics coved by this course are:
•  Sediment transport processes and sedimentary textures
•  Terrestrial and marine depositional environments
•  Clastic and Carbonate sedimentology
•  Basic principles of oceanography
•  Use of microfossils in stratigraphy, and modern and ancient environment analysis
•  Trace fossils in marine environments
•  Sequence-, litho- and biostratigraphy.

Lecture / Laboratory timetable (minor revisions may occur prior to start of lectures)

Week #  -  Dates  -  Lectures (3 x 1 hr)  -  Lecturer  -  Laboratory (1 x 2.5 hr)

9  -  20 Feb  -  Introduction stratigraphy and lithostratigraphy  -  KNB  -  Lithostratigraphy ex
10  -  27th Feb  -  Sedimentary framework  -  KNB  -  Clastic sedimentary rock textures
11  -  6th March  -  Sediment transport processes and textures  -  KNB  -  Sedimentary structures/flume
12  -  13th March  -  Sediment transport processes and textures  -   KNB  -  Braided river field trip
13  -  20th March  -  Terrestrial depositional settings -  KNB  -  Estuary/beach field trip
14  -  27th March  -  Submarine depositional settings  -  KNB  -  Clastic sedimentary rock compositions
15  -  3rd April  -  Carbonates  -  CMR  -  Carbonates I
BREAK
19  -  1st May  -  Carbonates   -  CMR  -  Carbonates II
20  -  8th May  -  Oceanography and phosphorites   -  CMR  -  Carbonates III
21  -  15th May  -  Micropaleontology and trace fossils -  CMR  -  LAB TEST
22  -  22nd May  -  Taphonomy and Zealandia  -  CMR  -  Trace fossils and macrofossils
23  -  29th May  -  Sequence- and biostratigraphy  -  CMR  -  Stratigraphic correlation exercise

Indicative Fees

Domestic fee $848.00

International fee $3,713.00

* All fees are inclusive of NZ GST or any equivalent overseas tax, and do not include any programme level discount or additional course-related expenses.

Minimum enrolments

This course will not be offered if fewer than 30 people apply to enrol.

For further information see School of Earth and Environment .

All GEOL243 Occurrences

  • GEOL243-17S1 (C) Semester One 2017