EA1002:03
Environmental Earth ScienceEarth Sciences subjects
Cairns
HECS Band 2
39 hours lectures, 30 hours practicals, 8 hours field work. Semester 1.
Staff: Mr P Whitehead.
This subject looks at aspects of the Earth’s development that impact on people’s lives. Topics include the formation, use and care of renewable and non-renewable energy resources, ore deposits and mineral resources, the impact of their use and the long term outlook. An introduction to palaeontology and the development of life on Earth as shown by the fossil record. The concept of the geological time scale and how it is calibrated. Landform development through fluvial, glacial, aeolian and oceanic processes. Geological hazards such as earthquakes, volcanoes and mass wasting in the context of global plate tectonics. The climate of the Earth through its history and future atmospheric change.
Learning Objectives:
- to provide students with an understanding of the nature of Earth’s mineral and energy resources, their present use and future supply;
- to provide students with an appreciation of geological time and the history of the biosphere;
- the acquisition of knowledge related to the evolution of the Earth’s surface environment and the dynamics of surficial processes;
- to introduce students to the techniques of geological mapping;
- to introduce students to the concept of geological history seen through the rock record, using the Australian context.
Assessment by practical and field exercises (50%); assignments and examination (50%).