GEOL 474 - Quaternary Geology

Description:
Study of geological processes affecting Earth’s most recent history. Course emphasizes marine and continental quarternary environmental change, glacial epochs, paleoclimatic methods, and dating techniques. GEOL 474 and GEOL 574 are layered courses; students may not receive credit for both.

Prerequisites:
Prerequisites: either GEOG 386 or GEOL 386 or GEOL 370.

Credits: (4)

Learner Outcomes:
Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:

Explain the proposed causes of Quaternary glacial and interglacial climates and discuss how and why the glacial records differ in the northern and southern hemispheres.
Describe commonly-used Quaternary dating techniques and be able to explain their applications to different types of geological processes and features.
Synthesize and compare the data from different paleoenvironmental proxy indicators for the same geographic region.
Discuss the relevance of Quaternary geology to the scientific analysis of modern climate change.
Read and critique primary scientific literature on Quaternary research topics.
Summarize and assess the connections between Quaternary geology and other areas of geological research.

Learner Outcomes Approval Date:
05/01/2014

Anticipated Course Offering Terms and Locations: