GEOLOGY 303 - NATURAL DISASTERS - SPRING 2003 - TTh @ 12:30 - CG-333
Dr. Patrick L. Abbott -- Office in EL-102; Phone: 594-5591; e-mail: pabbott@geology.sdsu.edu
Office hours: Tuesday & Thursday 11-12; Wednesday 10-12; and others by appointment
Textbook: Abbott, P.L. (2002) Natural Disasters: WCB McGraw-Hill, 422 p.
General Information:
This is a general education course for upper division students and does not count toward a geology degree. The course will examine how the Earth works and in particular how natural processes impact upon humans. This is a science course that requires critical thinking. We will build hypotheses upon data, but we will emphasize understanding via words and drawings, rather than from mathematical formulas and chemical equations.
Course emphases will be upon the principles underlying natural disasters such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, climate change, floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, coastal processes, asteroid impacts, fires, and mass extinctions. Many examples will be drawn from the southern California area.
Course goals include having you observe the Earth's natural processes involving land, water, atmosphere and sky. You can improve your mental abilities by forming hypotheses that explain your observations — and then revising your hypotheses as new data are obtained. The goal of an education is to learn to observe and explain, then keep searching for new facts allowing you to critically evaluate and revise your understanding. This should become part of a like-long habit that enriches your life, develops your mind, and interests and involves your friends and family. OBSERVE; THINK; EXPLAIN; DISCUSS.
Our classroom is OPEN. Please invite any interested friends and family members to visit and participate in our classes.
Questions and discussions during the lecture periods are encouraged. Don't let the large auditorium discourage you from asking questions or making comments. No one will be embarrassed or made to feel bad for asking questions.
Lectures will supplement the readings. Your attendance and participation in class will definitely help your understanding of the subject and improve your performance on the exams.
Exam questions will be drawn from lectures, textbook reading and films. Questions will be multiple choice. Exams will contain photocopies of some book figures that will be used in answering some questions. Exams will be taken on red Scantron answer sheets; exam 1 requires the 6” wide red Scantron form filled out on both sides, then exams 2 and 3 require the narrow (41/4” wide) red form.
Exams: There will be two exams during the semester and a third during the final exam week.
Each exam (including the final) will be worth 100 points. NO MAKEUP EXAMS
1st exam — Thursday, February 20
2nd exam — Tuesday, March 25
3rd exam — Tuesday, May 13, from 1300 to1500
READING ASSIGNMENTS
WEEK OF TUESDAY THURSDAY
21 – 23 Jan Chap.
1 - Energy Sources of Disasters Chap
2 - Plate Tectonics &
Earthquakes
28 – 30 Jan Chap 2 - Plate Tectonics & EQ’s Chap 3 - Earthquake Geology
4 – 6 Feb Chap. 3 - Seismology Chap. 3 - Tsunami
11 – 13 Feb Chap. 4 - Earthquakes in Western North America
18 – 20 Feb Chap. 4 - EQ’s (cont'd) EXAM 1
25 – 27 Feb Exam 1 returned Chap. 6 - Volcanoes
4 – 6 Mar Chap. 7 - Volcanism & Plate Tectonics
11 – 13 Mar Chap. 8 - Mass Movements
18 – 20 Mar Chap. 9 - Climate Change – (long term) Chap. 9 – (short term)
25 - 27 Mar EXAM 2 Exam 2 returned
1 – 4 Apr Spring break week
8 – 10 Apr Chap. 10 - Severe Weather Chap. 10 - Tornadoes
15 – 17 Apr Chap. 11 - Hurricanes Chap. 11 - Coastlines
22 – 24 Apr Video: The Rise and Fall of San Diego Chap. 12 - Floods
29 Apr – 1 May Chap. 13 - Fire Chap. 14 - Great Dyings
6 – 8 May Chap. 15 – Impacts Chap. 16 - Population
Geology 303: SEMESTER WRITING ASSIGNMENT
Your writing assignment is part of the University-mandated Writing Across the Curriculum Requirement. Thus, your report is first an exercise in achieving excellence in writing in the English language, and second, an effort at scientific understanding of a natural phenomenon affecting your life.
Your topic is the natural disaster that has most affected your life. Half of your paper should describe your personal experience and the emotions you felt, and half should give a good scientific explanation of the natural phenomenon you experienced. If a natural disaster has never invaded your life, then select the natural disaster that frightens you the most.
Please write your paper carefully and then set it aside for a few days. After this delay, pick up your paper again and painstakingly evaluate and improve it for clarity of expression, sentence structure, word selection, punctuation, spelling, et cetera.
Your paper should be typed, single-spaced and two full pages long. You can list print and electronic references on a third page.
Your paper is due before class on Tuesday, April 8, or it may be turned in any day before the deadline. The assignment is worth 40 points -- 20 for writing accomplishments and 20 for quality of scientific explanation. There will be a 1 point per weekday penalty for being late. Avoid hassles, turn your paper in early. (NO electronic papers please).
Please make your paper enjoyable for us to read. Be creative. Adopt any style you like, e.g., standard prose, newspaper article, poem, business report.