Notes for Eesa

EESA06 – Introduction to Planet Earth – Lecture Schedule Winter 2016

Week

1

Date

January 4

Lecture Topics

Textbook Readings

Outline and scope of course:

How planet Earth formed and is evolving

Chapters 1 - 4

2

January 11

Continental drift vs. plate tectonics. The life cycle of

continents and oceans: the supercontinent cycle.

Chapters 1 - 4

3

January 18

Probing the Earth’s deep interior: the mantle and the

core.

Chapters 1 - 4

4

January 25

How continents breakup and oceans are born: The

African Rift from Kenya, Ethiopia, Egypt, Jordan,

Israel and Turkey.

5

February 1

How oceans widen and mature: Iceland and the

Atlantic Ocean.

February 8

When continents collide and oceans die: the

beginning of the next supercontinent: Pangea II.

The Mediterranean Sea and Pacific Ocean; from

Italy to New Zealand, Indonesia, Japan, Nepal,

Alaska, California and Chile.

6

Chapter 2 and

CBC Geologic Journey

Episode 2: “Along the

African Rift”

Chapter 2 and CBC

Geologic Journey Episode

1: “Tectonic Europe”

Chapter 2 and CBC

Geologic Journey episodes:

3 “The Western Pacific

Rim”; 4 Pacific Rim

Americas”; 5 “Collision

Zone: Asia”.

February

15-19

Reading Week – No Class

7

February

22

(cont’d) How oceans die: the beginning of the next

supercontinent: Pangea II.

The Mediterranean Sea and Pacific Ocean; from

Italy to New Zealand, Indonesia, Japan, Nepal,

Alaska, California and Chile

Chapter 2 and CBC

Geologic Journey episodes:

3 “The Western Pacific

Rim”; 4 Pacific Rim

Americas”; 5 “Collision

Zone: Asia”.

8

March 29

Geologic time: how we date the past.

Chapters 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11,

and 19.

9

March 7

Poster presentation: Planet Earth Conference:

Ontario: 3 billion years of environmental change

Chapters 16, 20

http://planetrocks.utsc.utoro

nto.ca

10

March 14

Geological history of Canada and Ontario: 4 billion

years of environmental change...