Instructor: Don Barber

Office: 132 Park Science Building; Phone: (610) 526-5110; Email: dbarber@brynmawr.edu

(also look for me in Sed/Geochem Lab: Rm 135/136)

Lecture: MW 11 - 12 noon, PSB Rm 259; Lab: Fri 11 - 12 noon, beginning in Rm 259, with continued (self-scheduled work) in one of these places: PSB Rm 200, the Geology Computer Lab, or the Sedimentology Lab (PSB Rm 136).

Schedule: View online topics, textbook chapter readings, and other events such as tests, field trips and paper due dates.

Link to pictures, data and info from the lab and field components of the course in previous years.

Overview: This course starts with an introduction to sedimentology, including the materials that become sediments and the processes responsible for erosion, transport and deposition. Next we discuss depositional environments and the characteristic sedimentary facies produced therein. This information facilitates interpretation of stratigraphic sequences and analysis of basin evolution.

Text: Principles of Sedimentology and Stratigraphy, 4th ed., Sam Boggs, Jr.

This is a comprehensive and detailed textbook on sedimentology and stratigraphy. In fact, some of it is beyond the scope of our undergraduate class, so don't expect us to whiz through the whole thing.

Grades:

Two in-class exams, each worth 20 %:	40%
Labwork & Fieldwork (hands-on exercises and field research projects):	45%
Project write-up and presentation:	15%
Total	100%

Exams: Two one-hour tests will be given in class. Tests typically include short answer or definition questions, plus longer-answer questions where course material must be brought together. There may be brief quantitative problem solving.

Lab: The lab meets once a week unless otherwise announced. NOTE: the lab schedule may vary, including holding lab and fieldtrips on different days/times depending on the activity and other factors such as weather. Labs provide hands-on experience with the analysis of sediments, sedimentary environments and depositional processes. Labwork typically includes sample description and identification, sediment analysis in the lab, computer analyses, plotting and interpretation of data, and field measurements. Lab quizzes may be given.

Homework: Homework assignments are included in the lab grade. These often involve spreadsheet (e.g., Excel) calculations. If graphs are called for they must be clear and neatly labeled. Un-annotated default output from Excel is seldom adequate. Messy, unorganized homeworks or unclear lab write-ups will be marked down.

Project write-up: A short paper is required on some facet of sedimentology, stratigraphy, sedimentary environments, or a closely related field of geology (e.g., geomorphology, paleoecology or geoarchaeology).

The paper may comprise either a literature review or a student research project carried out during the semester. Topics can be suggested if necessary, but you're encouraged to propose your own topic. See the professor regarding whether your topic idea is viable. Group projects are encouraged, but students must each submit their own write-up. Each student presents a short (10 minute), well-illustrated project summary during the 2nd-to-last week of the term.

An abstract or outline of the paper including a list of potential references or analyses to be performed is due before the mid-semester break. A complete first draft is due about one month later (exact date will be announced in class). The text must be double-spaced and no more than six pages, not including figures and references. A minimum of two figures and five references must accompany the paper; 4-6 figures are probably more appropriate. I will constructively critique the draft and return it for revision. The revised final version is due when you make your in-class presentation.

Field Trip: There will be at least two (2) day-long field trips. On each trip, students must maintain a personal field journal summarizing observations at each stop.