Natural Sciences > Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences > Geodynamics Seminar(2005)

Geodynamics Seminar(2005) posted by duggu on 1/31/2008

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Abstract/Syllabus

Courseware/Lectures

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Course Highlights

This course features an extensive reading list and an image gallery of the class field trip to Ontario.

Course Description

In this year's seminar, we will embark on a scientific journey through some of the most controversial topics about the origin and formation of our home planet. This journey will take us to other planetary bodies - even to other solar systems - as we immerse ourselves in observations and theories from the microscopic to the universe scale.

The seminar will be organized around three broad questions: How was the Earth formed? What did early Earth look like? When did living organisms first appear on Earth?

Experts in meteorites, geology of other planets, thermodynamics and tracers of living organisms, and theories of formation and evolution of planets, including early atmosphere and oceans, will come to WHOI and help us address these questions.

Special Features

Image gallery

Syllabus

Seminar Topic: The Early Earth

In this year's seminar, we will embark on a scientific journey through some of the most controversial topics about the origin and formation of our home planet. This journey will take us to other planetary bodies-even to other solar systems-as we immerse ourselves in observations and theories from the microscopic to the universe scale.

The seminar will be organized around three broad questions: How was the Earth formed? What did early Earth look like? When did living organisms first appear on Earth?

Grading

Joint Program students enrolled in the Geodynamics seminar are required to complete a project for the class. This includes research, an oral presentation during the last two or three seminar meetings, and a written paper due at the end of the semester. For first and second year students, the project must be on a topic related to the theme of the seminar and must be different from their main research interest. For more advanced students, the topic may be closely related to their dissertation research.

Calendar

Course calendar.
SES #	SPEAKERS	TOPICS
1	Dr. John Lewis, University of Arizona	Origin of Planetary Systems
2	Dr. Gustaf Arrhenius, Scripps Institution of Oceanography	Early Earth and the Emergence of Life
3	Dr. Jay Melosh, University of Arizona	Giant Impacts and the Evolution of the Early Earth
4	Dr. Maria Zuber, Massachusetts Institute of Technology	New Perspectives on Ancient Mars
5	Dr. Dick Holland, Harvard University	Why did the Composition of Seawater Change During the Phanerozoic?
6	Dr. Ben Weiss, Massachusetts Institute of Technology	Evolution of the Martian Magnetic Field and Climate
7	Dr. Dave Stevenson, Caltech	Earth Differentiation: A Planetary Perspective
8	Dr. Ann Pearson, Harvard University	Unraveling The Early History Of Life: Using Genetics To Understand Molecular Markers In Archean Rocks
9	Dr. Dave Walker, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory	Does the Earth's Core Leak?
10	Dr. Meenakshi Wadhwa, Chicago Field Museum	From Dust to Terrestrial Planets: Time Scales from Short-Lived Radionuclides
11	Dr. Jean Bédard, Geological Survey of Canada, Quebec	Origin of Archaean Cratons and Cratonic Mantle
12	Dr. Jim Kasting, Pennsylvania State University	Environment and Life on the Early Earth
13	Dr. Olivier Rouxel, WHOI	TBA
14	Student Presentations

Readings

Course readings.
SES #	SPEAKERS	READINGS FOR DISCUSSION	READINGS FOR REFERENCE
1	Dr. John Lewis	To stimulate a wider view of the issue of formation of planetary systems, perhaps the students can visit the The Extrasolar Planets Encyclopaedia Web site and read through the Extra-solar Planets Catalog to get an idea of how bizarrely different these systems can be. They list 135 planets of the 140 or so presently under discussion as candidates.
2	Dr. Gustaf Arrhenius	Arrhenius, G., and A. Lepland. "Accretion of Moon and Earth and the emergence of life." Chemical Geology 169 (2000): 69-82. van Zuilen, Mark A., A. Lepland, Jan Teranes, J. Finarelli, M. Wahlen, and G. Arrhenius. "Graphite and carbonates in the 3.8 Ga old Isua Supracrustal Belt, southern West Greenland." Precambrian Research 126 (2003): 331-348. Arrhenius, O. Gustaf. "Crystals and Life." Helvetica Chimica 86 (2003): 1569-1586.
3	Dr. Jay Melosh	Melosh, H. J. "Giant Impacts and the Thermal State of the Early Earth." In Origin of the Earth. Edited by J. H. Jones and H. E. Newsom. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1990, pp. 69-83. ISBN: 9780195066197. ———. "Giant Impacts and the Thermal State of the Early Earth." In Encyclopedia of Planetary Sciences. Edited by Shirley and Fairbridge. New York, NY: Springer, 1990, pp. 1-33. ISBN: 9780412069512.
4	Dr. Maria Zuber	Soloman, S. C., O. Aharonson, et al. "New Perspectives on Ancient Mars." Science 307 (2005): 1214-1220.
5	Dr. Dick Holland	Hardie, L. A. "Secular variations in seawater chemistry: An explanation for the coupled secular variation in the mineralogies of marine limestones and potash evaporites over the past 600 My." Geology 24 (1996): 279-283. Holland, H. D. "The geologic history of seawater." In The Oceans and Marine Geochemistry. Edited by H. Elderfield. (Vol. Ed.) Vol. 6. Treatise on Geochemistry. Holland, HD; Turekian, KK (Exec. Eds.), Elsevier, 2003, pp. 583-625. ISBN: 978-0080451015. Lowenstein, T. K., M. N. Timofeeff, S. T. Brennan, L. A. Hardie, and R. V. Demicco. "Oscillations in Phanerozoic seawater chemistry: Evidence from fluid inclusions." Science 294 (2001): 1086-1088. ———. "Secular variation in seawater chemistry and the origin of calcium chloride basinal brines." Geology 31 (2003): 857-860.
6	Dr. Ben Weiss	Weiss, Benjamin P., Hojatollah Vali, Franz J. Baudenbacher', Joseph L. Kirschvink, Sarah T. Stewart, and David L. Shuster. "Records of an ancient Martian magnetic field in ALH84001, Elsevier Science." Earth and Planetary Science Letters 201 (2002): 449-463. Weiss, Benjamin P., David L. Shuster, and G. Sarah T. Stewart. "Temperatures on Mars from 40Ar/39Ar thermochronology of ALH84001, Elsevier Science." Earth and Planetary Science Letters 201 (2002): 465-472. Stevenson, David J. "Mars' Core and Magnetism." Nature 412 (July 12, 2001).
7	Dr. David Stevenson	Halliday, A. N. "The Origin and Earliest History of the Earth." In Meteorites, Comets and Planets: Treatise on Geochemistry, Volume 1. Edited by A. M. Davis. Amsterdam, NL: Elsevier B.V., 2003, pp. 509-557. ISBN: 0080447201 Chambers, J. E. "Planet Formation." In Meteorites, Comets and Planets: Treatise on Geochemistry, Volume 1. Edited by A. M. Davis. Amsterdam, NL: Elsevier B.V., 2003, pp. 461-475. ISBN: 0080447201
8	Dr. Ann Pearson	Pearson, Ann, Meytal Budin, and Jochen J. Brocks. "Phylogenetic and biochemical evidence for sterol synthesis in the bacterium Gemmata obscuriglobus." PNAS 100, no. 26 (December 23, 2003): 15352-15357. Behrens, Anke, Philippe Schaeffer, Stefano Bernasconi, and Pierre Albrecht. "17(E)-13 alpha (H)-Malabarica-14(27), 17, 21-triene, an unexpected tricyclic hydrocarbon in sediments." Organic Geochemistry 30 (1999): 379-383. Jochen Brocks, Graham Logan, Roger Buick, and Roger Summons. "Archean Molecular Fossils and the Early Rise of Eukaryotes." Science 285 (August 13, 1999).
9	Dr. Dave Walker	Walker, Richard, and David Walker. "Does the Core Leak?" Submitted to EOS, February 18, 2005. Walker, Dave. "Core Issues, Canadian Mineralogist." Amended ms. #3306 for Fleet Symposium Issue, February 5, 2005.	Walker, Dave. "Core Participation in Mantle Geochemistry: Geochemical Society Ingerson Lecture, GSA Denver 1999." Geochimica et Cosmochinica Acta 64, no. 17 (2000): 2897-2911. Walker, Dave, et al. "O2 volumes at high pressure from KClO4 decomposition: D as a siderophile element pump instead of a lid on the core." Geochemistry, Geophysics and Geosystems - G3 3, no. 11 (November 23, 2002). Knittle, Elise, and Raymond Jeanloz. "Earth's Core-Mantle Boundary: Results of Experiments at High Pressures and Temperatures." Science 251, no. 5000 (March 22, 1991): 1438-1443. (New Series) Hugh, St., and C. O'Neill. "Oxide-metal equilibria to 2500 degree C and 25 GPa: Implications for core formation and the light component in the Earth's core." Journal of Geophysical Research 103, no. B6 (June 10, 1998): 12, 239-12, 260.
10	Dr. Meenakshi Wadhwa	Wadhwa, M., G. Srinivasan, and R. W. Carlson. "Time Scales of Planetesimal Differentiation." In Meteorites and the Early Solar System II . Edited by D. Lauretta, L. A. Leshin and H. Y. McSween, Jr. Tuscon, AZ: University of Arizona Press, 2005. ISBN: 9780816525621. Foley, C. N., M. Wadhwa, L. Borg, P. E. Janney, R. Hines, and T. L. Grove. "The Early Differentiation History of Mars from New Constraints on the 182W-142Nd Isotope Systematics in SNC Meteorites." Geochimica Cosmochimica Acta (2005) in revision. Dauphas, N., M. van Zuilen, M. Wadhwa, A. M. Davis, S. Marty, and P. E. Janney. "Clues from Fe Isotope Variations on the Origin of Early Archean BIFs from Greenland." Science 306 (2004): 2077-2080.
11	Dr. Jean Bédard	Bédard, Jean H. "Evidence for Regional-Scale, Pluton-Driven, High-Grade Metamorphism in Archaean Minto Block, Northern Superior Province, Canada." The Journal of Geology 111 (2003): 183-205. Bédard, Jean H., Pierre Brouillette, Louis Madore, and Alain Berclaz. "Archean cratonization and deformation in the northern Superior Province, Canada: an evaluation of plate tectonic versus verticle tectonic models, Elsevier." Precambrian Research 127 (2003): 61-87. Bédard, J. H. "Erratum to Archaean cratonization and deformation in the northern Superior Province, Canada: an evaluation of plate tectonic versus vertical tectonic models." Precambian Research 127 (2003): 61-87, and "Elsevier." Precambrian Research 131 (2004): 373-374.
12	Dr. Jim Kasting	Feng Tian, Owen B. Toon, Alexander A. Pavlov, and H. De Sterck. "A Hydrogen-Rich Early Earth Atmosphere." Sciencexpress 7 (April 2005): 1/10.1126/science.1106983. James Kasting, and David Catling. "Evolution of a Habitable Planet." Annual Revised Astron. Astrophys 41 (2003): 429-63.
13	Dr. Olivier Rouxel	Canfeld, D. E. "A New Model for Proterozoic Ocean Chemistry." Nature 396 (December 3, 1998). Rouxel, Olivier J., Andrey Bekker, and Katrina J. Edwards. "Iron Isotope Constraints on the Archean and Paleoproterozoic." Science 307 (February 18, 2005). Yamaguchi, Kosei E., Clark M. Johnson, Brian L. Beard, and Hiroshi Ohmoto. "Biogeochemical cycling of iron in the Archean-Paleoproterozoic Earth: Constraints from iron isotope variations in sedimentary rocks from the Kaapvaal and Pilbara Cratons." Chemical Geology, Article in Press; accepted 26 January 2005.
14	Student Presentations