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Spring 2008 GEL 32 - Volcanoes Instructor: Professor Kari M. Cooper Reader: Naomi Marks |
[ Class schedule ] [ Lecture notes - password required ]
Course Overview:
This course is an introductory course exploring volcanoes and volcanic eruptions on Earth and in the solar system. We will examine the science of how volcanoes work and how they affect the environment, life, and human societies. We will illustrate the principles using local examples of recent volcanism and ancient examples of mega-eruptions, and evaluate the possibility of predicting future eruptions.
Course Policies:
Format:
This course is a lecture course, meeting three hours per week. Students are expected to attend all lectures. Exams will be drawn from the material covered in lectures, with the textbook serving as a source of additional information. Attending the lectures is also the only way to see videos or video clips shown during lectures – these will not be available outside of class. If you miss any lectures for any reason, it is your responsibility to find out what you missed, either from your fellow students or by coming to office hours.
Course communications:
Announcements will be made in class, and most of the time will also be posted on the course website. Occasionally I will send out announcements by email – these will be sent to your official UCD email address. If your UC Davis account is not your primary email account, make sure to check it and/or the website frequently for announcements. Most relevant information about the course can be found on the website, which will be updated regularly (though not necessarily daily!) throughout the quarter. I'll also be using the quiz and discussion board functions on MyUCDavis.
Grading:
Grades are based on two exams during the quarter, a final exam, and quizzes, as follows:
Final Exam 40% Exams: Exams 1 and 2 will not be cumulative (in Exam 2 you will be tested only on material covered between Exam 1 and Exam 2), but the final will include material covered in the entire course. The exams will be a combination of multiple choice and short-answer questions and you are responsible for bringing a scantron form and a #2 pencil to the exams. There will be one make-up exam time for each exam – you are allowed to take one make-up exam, no questions asked, but with the following conditions:
- There is only one opportunity to take a make-up exam. If you can’t make that time, you cannot make up the exam.
- The make-up exams will not have the same questions as the regular exam, and may include more short-answer questions and possibly even some essay questions.
- You are allowed to take only one of the exams as a make-up exam, no exceptions. If you miss two exams, you will receive a zero for the second exam.
- The make-up exams will be graded after the regular exams, so you will have to wait longer to get your results.
- There is no make-up for the final. If you miss the final, you get a zero for 40% of your grade.
If you have concerns about accessibility or require special accommodations for exams or lectures, contact me directly and we will work out a solution.
Quizzes:
There will be quizzes each week (except the weeks of the exams). These will be given during lectures, and/or will be given electronically, with announcements about how and when to access the quizzes given during lecture. These are not scheduled ahead of time, and cannot be made up. Keep in mind that while each individual quiz is worth only a small fraction of the total points, if you miss a lot of them the zeros you get for those can make a surprising difference in your overall grade.Extra Credit - Participation:
You can earn extra credit points by participating in the on-line discussion board available through the class site on MyUC Davis. You can earn a maximum of 5% of the course grade through extra credit. Postings to the class discussion board can be questions about course material, comments and links to information you have found about volcanoes elsewhere, and answering other students’ questions. The purpose of the discussion board is for students to interact with each other – it will be monitored by the Reader for the course, who will correct mistakes in the comments and answers and will (if time permits) post answers to questions that no one has answered, but there is no guarantee that all questions posted will be answered by the Reader. You will get more credit for posting comments or for (correctly) answering other students’ questions than for simply posting questions, but all participation will get some credit (except for purely logistical postings like asking when the exams are). Grading for the extra credit will be done at the end of the class and will be graded on a curve – those who participate most will receive the full 5% extra credit, others will get extra credit scaled to the level of their participation.
Academic honesty:
Academic misconduct such as cheating or plagiarism will be dealt with in accord with the Code of Academic Conduct (see http://sja.ucdavis.edu/cac.html). Academic Senate policy requires instructors to report any suspected cases of cheating or plagiarism to Student Judicial Affairs.
|
week #
|
lecture #
|
Day |
Date
|
Topic
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Readings
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| 1 | 1 | M |
31-Mar
|
Course intro |
chapter 6
|
| 2 | W |
2-Apr
|
Plate Tectonics 1 |
chapter 1
|
|
| 3 | F |
4-Apr
|
Plate Tectonics 2 |
chapter 1
|
|
| 2 | 4 | M |
7-Apr
|
Plate Tectonics 3 |
chapter 1
|
| 5 | W |
9-Apr
|
Ocean Islands 1 |
ch 8, ch 7
|
|
| 6 | F |
11-Apr
|
Ocean Islands 2, flood basalts |
ch 8, ch 7
|
|
| 3 | 7 | M |
14-Apr
|
Mid-ocean ridges |
chapter 3
|
| 8 | W |
16-Apr
|
MOR/Life in extreme environments |
chapter 3
|
|
| F |
18-Apr
|
EXAM 1 |
– – –
|
||
| 4 | 9 | M |
21-Apr
|
How Volcanoes work 1 |
ch 9; ch 13
|
| 10 | W |
23-Apr
|
How Volcanoes work 2 |
ch 9; ch 13
|
|
| 11 | F |
25-Apr
|
How Volcanoes work 3 |
ch 9; ch 13
|
|
| 5 | 12 | M |
28-Apr
|
Climate 1 |
chapter 17
|
|
13
|
W
|
30-Apr
|
Climate 2
|
chapter 17
|
|
|
14
|
F
|
2-May
|
Hazards 1
|
ch 10; ch 14
|
|
| 6 |
15
|
M
|
5-May
|
Hazards 2
|
ch 10; ch 14
|
|
16
|
W
|
7-May
|
Mt. Pinatubo, Mammoth: science-policy interface
|
chapter 5
|
|
|
17
|
F
|
9-May
|
Science-policy interface, risk, probability
|
ch 18; ch 19
|
|
| 7 |
18
|
M
|
12-May
|
Science-policy 3
|
|
|
|
W
|
14-May
|
EXAM 2
|
– – –
|
|
|
19
|
F
|
16-May
|
Mt St Helens
|
chapter 4
|
|
| 8 |
20
|
M
|
19-May
|
Human history, mythology 1
|
|
|
21
|
W
|
21-May
|
Human history, mythology 2
|
|
|
|
22
|
F
|
23-May
|
Human history, mythology 3
|
chapter 12
|
|
| 9 |
|
M
|
26-May
|
No class: Memorial day holiday
|
– – –
|
|
23
|
W
|
28-May
|
Extraterrestrial volcanoes
|
chapter 20
|
|
|
24
|
F
|
30-May
|
Extraterrestrial life (revised - XT 2)
|
chapter 20
|
|
| 10 |
25
|
M
|
2-Jun
|
people & volcanoes
|
chapters 15-16
|
|
26
|
W
|
4-Jun
|
synthesis
|
|
|
|
|
Sa
|
7-Jun
|
FINAL EXAM: 10:30 AM
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– – –
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