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EA2220:03

Earth Materials

Townsville

HECS Band 2

24 hours lectures, 32 hours practicals. Semester 1.

Staff:

Dr P Williams.

Mineralogy as applied to rocks, sediments and soils. Applications of the polarising microscope to mineral identification and textural interpretation of Earth materials. Introductory mineral chemistry and its applications. Characterisation and description of igneous rocks in terms of major element geochemistry, mineralogy, texture, genetic processes and tectonic setting. Characterisation of metamorphic rocks. Metamorphic facies, isograds and thermal metamorphism.

Learning Objectives:

to develop skills and knowledge for the recognition of minerals in hand specimens and to classify common types of rocks;

to provide an introduction to the techniques of determinative mineralogy and mineral chemistry including optical microscopy, X-ray diffractometry and electron probe microanalysis;

acquisition of the observational skills and knowledge to interpret the textures of common rocks in terms of rock-forming processes;

to develop an appreciation of the genetic processes and crustal settings of igneous and metamorphic rocks.

Assessment by end-of-semester examination (50%); other examinations (15%); assignments (20%); laboratory exercises (15%).