George Mason University–Office of the Registrar UndergraduateCourse Approval Form

Please complete this form and attach a copy of the syllabus and catalog description for new courses. Forward the form and attachments to your departmental curriculum committee for approval, and then to your College/School curriculum committee, or Dean’s office, for final approval. The approved form should then be forwarded to the Academic Scheduling Office, MS 3D1. This is for undergraduate course approval only. Please see the Provost Office/Graduate Council website to obtain a copy of the Graduate Course Approval Form and for details about the graduate course approval process.

Note: Colleges andSchoolsare responsible for submitting new or modified catalog descriptions (35 words or less, using catalog format) to Creative Services by deadlines outlined in the yearly Catalog production calendar.

Please indicate: New____X___ Modify______Delete______

Department/Unit:Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Earth Sciences CourseSubject/Number:__Geol364______

Submitted by:___Barry Klinger & Randy McBride______Ext:____3-1642___ Email:; ______

CourseTitle:____Marine Geology______

Effective Term (New/Modified Courses only): ___Spring 2010___Final Term (deleted courses only):______

Credit Hours: (Fixed)__3__ (Var.)______to ______Grade Type(check one):_X_ Regular graduate(A, B, C, etc.)

____ Satisfactory/No Creditonly

____ Special graduate (A, B, C, etc. + IP)

Repeat Status*(check one): _X__NR-Not repeatable __ __ RD-Repeatable within degree ____ RT-Repeatable within term

*Note: Used only for special topics, independent study, or internships coursesTotal Number of Hours Allowed: ______

Schedule Type Code(s): 1._LEC LEC=Lecture SEM=Seminar STU=Studio INT=Internship IND=Independent Study 2.____ LAB=Lab RCT=Recitation(second code used only for courses with Lab or Rct component)

Prereq __X_ Coreq ___(Check e):_Prerequisites–Geol 101, 102, 302, and Chem211______

Note: Modified courses - review prereq or coreq for necessary changes; Deleted courses -review other courses to correct prereqs that list the deleted course.

Description of Modification(for modified courses):______

Special Instructions(major/college/class code restrictions, if needed):______

Approval Signatures:

Department or Unit:______Date: ______

(Signature)

______Date: ______

(Signature)

College/School Committee:______Date:_______

(Signature)
GeorgeMasonUniversity UndergraduateCourse Coordination Form

Approval from other units:

Please list those units outside of your own which may be affected by this new, modified, or deleted course. Each of these units should approve this action prior to its being submitted to the COS Curriculum Committee for approval.

Unit: / Head of Unit’s Signature: / Date:
Unit: / Head of Unit’s Signature: / Date:
Unit: / Head of Unit’s Signature: / Date:
Unit: / Head of Unit’s Signature: / Date:
Unit: / Head of Units Signature: / Date:

COS Curriculum Committee approval: ______Date: ______

Course Proposal Submitted to the COS Curriculum Committee

1. COURSE NUMBER AND TITLE:

Geol 364 : Marine Geology

Course Prerequisites: Geol 101, 102, 302 and Chem 211

Catalog Description:This course will present a global overview of the geologic origin and composition of the ocean seafloor, and an introduction to the basic principles of the geologic processes occurring in the marine environment. Primary topics includegeologic, tectonic and sedimentary characteristics of the deep ocean basins and continental margins;transport and deposition of marine sediments; micropaleontology and paleoceanography; geochemistry and hydrothermal systems; andmarine mineral resources.

2. COURSE JUSTIFICATION: The Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Earth Science (AOES) is planning toexpand the existingcoastal oceanography concentrationas part of the Earth Science BS, by including courses in physical oceanography, biological oceanography, geological oceanography, and chemical oceanography.

Course Objectives:The course will begin with a discussion of the geologic and tectonic characteristics of the seafloor. Assuming just the prerequisite geology and general chemistry background, the student will be introduced to basic principles of physical and geochemical processes responsible for seafloor creation. Next, continental margins will be synthesized in terms of their geologic framework and primary sediment transport processes. Marine geochemistry and primary metal deposits will be addressed, including a detailed explanation of hydrothermal vent systems along mid-oceanic ridges. The present spatial distribution of surficial sediments and microfossils across the global seafloor will be examined. Finally, all of the above information will be synthesized to understand paleoceanographic reconstructions and then analyzed to predict future changes in the oceanic system.

Course Necessity:A complete presentation of an oceanography concentration as part of the Earth Science BS must include the geological component because geologyplays a major and integrated role in all disciplines of oceanography – chemical, physical, geological and biological.

Course Relationship to Existing Programs:Marine Geology will be offered by the Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic, & Earth Sciencesas part of the expanded oceanography concentration within the Earth Science BS. In addition, students could pursue the course as part of the Geology or Earth Science minors. As far as we know, this course has little to no duplication with other programs or courses at GMU.

Course Relationship to Existing Courses:The existing course of Coastal Morphology & Processes (Geol 363/Evpp 363) focuses on the geologic and physical processes of coasts and estuaries (i.e., shallow water), whereas Marine Geology (Geol 364) will emphasize the geology of deep ocean basins and continental margins (i.e., deeper water). In addition, the Introductory Oceanography course (Geol/Biol 309) is a general survey course that exposes students to the four primary areas of ocean science (i.e., biological, chemical, physical, and geological oceanography). Geological oceanography/marine geology comprises about ¼ of the Geol/Biol 309 course resulting in a brief overview of the subject. In contrast, the marine geology course (Geol 364) will be a semester-long course dedicated to an in-depth study of seafloor geology and geological processes of the ocean. Moreover,the Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Earth Sciencesis currently developing a course in physical oceanography. The physical oceanography course will complement the proposed marine geology course. The marine geology course is complementary to other existing or planned courses in biological and chemical oceanography offered by the Department of Environmental Science & Policy and the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, respectively.

3. APPROVAL HISTORY:None

4. SCHEDULING AND PROPOSED INSTRUCTORS:

Semester of Initial Offering:Spring 2010

Proposed Instructors:Drs. Verardo, Kysar, Cooper, and McBride

5. COURSE STRUCTURE

Lectures:Two 1½ hour lectures or one 3-hour lecture.

Reference Texts:

a) Seibold, E. and Berger, W.H., 1996. The Sea Floor- An Introduction to Marine Geology.3rd ed., Elsevier, 356 p. 209 illus., ISBN: 978-3-540-60191-3

b) Kennett, J.P., 1982. Marine Geology. Prentice-Hall, Inc., 813 p.

Exams: Midterm; Final

Classroom and/or homework exercises:A selective set of computational and/or interpretive exercises will be assigned throughout the semester involving stratigraphic data, micropaleontology, geochemical analysis, etc.

Paper: Students will write a 10-page, referenced paper on a topic of their choice from course themes.

Field Trips: Non-mandatory field trips may be offered.

Grades:Exercises– 25%

Paper– 20%

Midterm– 25%

Final– 30%

6. TENTATIVE SYLLABUS:

  1. Geology of Oceanic Crust and Plate Tectonics

a. Sea floor exploration overview – history and trends

b. Geophysics of the oceanic lithosphere
c. Structural geology of the seafloor part 1: analysis of rifting
structures and abyssal hills.
d. Structural geology of the seafloor part 2: compressional
systems of subduction zones
e. Fore arc and back arc basins
f. Submarine volcanism
g. Geochemistry of oceanic rocks

  1. Continental Margins
  2. Continental margin types
  3. Geological processes and the continental shelf, slope, and rise
  4. Sea-Level History and the sedimentary record
  1. Marine Geochemistry and Metal Deposits of the Seafloor
    a. Oceanic basalts and hydrothermal alteration of the seafloor.
    b. Hydrothermal vents. Origins of life. Black smokers.
    c. Seabed metals (ferromanganese nodules, cobalt crusts) and placers deposits (diamonds, gold, sand, gravel, etc.) and problems of mineral extraction/mining
    d. Seawater as an ore.
    e. Policies, legal issues, and economics of marine materials
  1. Ocean History, Sediments, and Microfossils
  2. Approaches to Paleoceanography. History and evolution of ocean basins including sediments and fossils. Modern climate system.
  3. Ocean circulation, ocean-atmosphere interactions and associated sedimentation
  4. Sea-Level Changes, Tectonics vs. Eustasy vs. Climate vs. planetary
  5. Sequence Stratigraphy
  6. Oceanic sediments and microfossils, calcareous sediments, siliceous sediments
  7. Paleoceanography
  8. Stable and radioactive isotope stratigraphy.
  9. Recent changes - Ice-core and coral records
  10. Terrigenous sediments