ONLINE: Earth is the product of billions of years of geological change. This lecture-based course presents an overview of Earth's history from 4.56 billion years ago to the present. Topics will include: continental formation and movement, the evolution of life as revealed through fossil study and sedimentary environments, and ecologies. We will learn the basics of tectonics and how to recognize ancient environments, plant and animal fossils, and the previous ecologies in which they lived. Students will learn how geologists collect data to date and reconstruct geologic event sequences. We will explore extraterrestrial influences affecting Earth, such as climate variations and meteor strikes. One course goal is a basic understanding of the "deep time" of our planetary geological history. This course will outline the relevant geologic concepts using a PowerPoint lecture format and conceptual examples. Links will be provided to lecture-cited references, videos and agency information sources. | Lecture + Q&A.
Max enrollment: 50.
