Mike Horne FGS

Dynamic Earth

tutor: Mike Horne FGS

for the University of Hull, Centre for Lifelong Learning

Our planet formed over 4 billion years ago and is forever changing - in this course we look at the processes that shaped it in the past and are still continuing. Topics covered include -

This course will cover the major theories in Geology and provide a larger scale background to local geology. It will be less 'hands - on' than the other courses taught by the tutor - Mike Horne.

Content will include (time permitting):

The Rock Cycle.

The structure of the earth and how we investigate it.

Plate tectonics

Folding and faulting

Earthquakes, mountain building and volcanoes

Weathering, erosion and deposition

Geological time and how it is measured

Stratigraphy and the use of fossils for dating

Evolution

The geological history of England

The Ice Age

Other topics of interest to the students

Suitable for beginners and experienced students. Students will be expected to take notes during the course and study other sources. They will be able to borrow books from the Book Box. They will be asked to write short reports on aspects of the work covered, for assessment. They may prefer to give a short presentation to the class or tutor, or demonstrate their understanding to the tutor on an individual basis.

The classes will mainly consist of lectures and talks illustrated with slides and OHP; discussion in class ; practical work with specimens in the University Collection. No field trips are planned, but a visit to a local cemetery to look at rock types could replace one of the evenings.

The course consisted of ten Wednesday evening meetings from 7-30pm until 9-30pm, in the Department of Geography, University of Hull. The course was run in Spring 1999, Autumn 2001, Autumn 2004, Autumn 2007 and Autumn 2010.

Links to some Modules -

Risk assessment for laboratory work

Properties of minerals in hand specimen

The Rock Cycle

Describing rocks

Stratigraphy

Eastern Yorkshire Geological Time-line

geological timescale for East Yorkshire

A Quaternary Timescale

Ice ages in East Yorkshire

Palaeoecology

recommended reading -

Bell R 1996. Yorkshire Rock - a journey through time. British Geological Survey. 64pp.

Bryson B 2003. A short history of nearly everything. Black Swann Books, London. 485pp

Hamblin W E 1989 - The Earth's Dynamic Systems

The Penguin Dictionary of Geology

Press F & Siever R 1994 - Understanding Earth

Roberts J L - The Macmillan guide to geological structures.

Rothery D A 1997. Teach yourself geology. Hodder & Stoughton, London. 236pp. isbn 0-340-67992-1

Skinner, B J , C. Porter, & J Park, 2004. Dynamic Earth: An Introduction to Physical Geology, Fifth Edition ISBN 0-471-15228-5

copyright Mike Horne - October 2016

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