| LEC # | TOPICS | ASSIGNMENTS |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Overview of course; time scales; formation of matter by nucleosynthesis; introduction to geological processes | Stanley, chapter 1, pp. 289-302. |
| 2 | How stars and planets form; Earth segregation; formation and composition of early atmosphere; characteristics of the habitable zone Guest lecture: Professor Richard Binzel | Broecker, chapters 6 and 7. Cowan and Thielemann. "R-Process Nucleosynthesis in Supernovae." Physics Today (October 2004): 47-53. |
| 3 | Theories about the origin of life | Stanley, pp. 306-311. |
| 4 | Evidence for antiquity of life | Stanley, pp. 320-323. |
| 5 | Antiquity and origin of life (cont.) Subsurface biosphere | Nisbet, E. G., and N. H. Sleep. "The Habitat and Nature of Early Life." Nature 409 (2001): 1083. Schopf, J. W., et al. "Laser Raman Imagery of Earth's Earliest Fossils." Nature 416 (2002): 73. Brasier, M. D., et al. "Questioning the Evidence for Earth's Oldest Fossils." Nature 416 (2002): 76. Garcia-Ruiz, J. M., S. T. Hyde, A. M. Carnerup, Christy v, M. J. Van Kranendonk, and N. J. Welham. "Self-Assembled Silica-Carbonate Structures and Detection of Ancient Microfossils." Science 302 (2003): 1194-7. Hofmann, H. J., K. Grey, A. H. Hickman, and R. Thorpe. Origin of 3.45 Ga Coniform Stromatolites in Warrawoona Group. Western Australia. Geological Society of America, Bulletin, v. 111 (8), pp. 1256-1262. Allwood, et al. "Stromatolite Reef from the Early Archaeanera of Australia." Nature 441 (2006): 714. William Schopf, J. "Fossil Evidence of Archaean Life." Phil Trans R Soc B 361 (2006): 869-885. Brasier, Martin, Nicola McLoughlin, Owen Green, and David Wacey "A Fresh Look at the Fossil Evidence for Early Archaeancellular Life." Phil Trans R Soc B 361 (2006): 887-902. |
| 6 | Redox chemistry; anaerobic metabolism, energy yields, deep subsurface biosphere | Brock Biology of Microorganisms. Fenchel and Finlay. Ecology and Evolution in Anoxic Worlds. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 1995. Hoehler, T. M., et al. "Thermodynamic Control on Hydrogen Concentration Inanoxic Sediments." Geochim Cosmochim Acta 62 (1998): 1745-1756. ———. "Comparative Ecology of H2 Cycling in Sedimentary and Phototrophic Ecosystems." Antonie von Leeuwenhoek 81 (2002): 575-582. ———. "Apparent Minimum Free Energy Requirements for Methanogenic Archaea and Sulfate Reducing Bacteria in an Anoxic Marine Sediment." FEMS Microbial Ecol 38 (2001): 33-41. |
| 7 | Oxygenic photosynthesis; the rise of atmospheric O2 | Nisbet, E. G., and N. H. Sleep. "The Habitat and Nature of Early Life." Nature 409 (2001): 1083. Schopf, J. W., et al. "Laser Raman Imagery of Earth's Earliest Fossils." Nature 416 (2002): 73. Brasier, M. D., et al. "Questioning the Evidence for Earth's Oldest Fossils." Nature 416 (2002): 76. Garcia-Ruiz, J. M., S. T. Hyde, A. M. Carnerup, Christy v, M. J. Van Kranendonk, and N. J. Welham. "Self-Assembled Silica-Carbonate Structures and Detection of Ancient Microfossils." Science 302 (2003): 1194-7. Hofmann, H. J., K. Grey, A. H. Hickman, and R. Thorpe. Origin of 3.45 Ga Coniform Stromatolites in Warrawoona Group. Western Australia. Geological Society of America, Bulletin, Vol. 111. (8), pp. 1256-1262. Allwood, et al. "Stromatolite Reef from the Early Archaeanera of Australia." Nature 441 (2006): 714. William Schopf, J. "Fossil Evidence of Archaean Life." Phil Trans R Soc B 361 (2006): 869-885. Brasier, Martin, Nicola McLoughlin, Owen Green, and David Wacey "A Fresh Look at the Fossil Evidence for Early Archaeancellular Life." Phil Trans R Soc B 361 (2006): 887-902. |
| 8 | Techniques in geobiology 1: Fractionated isotopes | Stanley, 2nd ed. Chapter 10, pp. 221-240. Kump, Lee R., James F. Kasting, and Robert G. The Earth System. Crane Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ, Chapter 7, 2004. Hayes, J. M. Introduction to Isotopic Calculations. (PDF) Hayes, J. M., H. Strauss, and A. J. Kaufman. "The Abundance of 13C in Marine Organic Matter and Isotopic Fractionation in the Global Biogeochemical Cycle of Carbon During the Past 800 Ma." Chem Geol 161 (1999): 103-125. Hayes, J. M. "Fractionation of the Isotopes of Carbon and Hydrogen in Biosynthetic Processes." Reviews in Mineralogy Stable Isotopic Geochemistry. Edited by John W. Valley and David R. Cole. (PDF)# Ono, S., et al. "New Insights into Archeansulfur Cycle from Mass-Independent Sulfur Isotope Records from the Hamersley Basin, Australia." Earth and Planetary Science Letters 213 (2003): 15-30. Shen, Y., et al. "Isotopic Evidence for Microbial Sulphate Reduction in the Early Archaeanera." Nature 410 (March 1, 2001): 77. |
| 9 | Techniques in geobiology 2: More about fractionated isotopes | Stanley, 2nd ed. Chapter 10, pp. 221-240. Hayes, J. M. "Fractionation of the Isotopes of Carbon and Hydrogen in Biosynthetic Processes." Reviews in Mineralogy Stable Isotopic Geochemistry. Edited by John W. Valley and David R. Cole. (PDF)# Hayes, J. M. Concepts and Calculations from MIT Server. |
| 10 | Biogeochemical carbon cycle | Kump, et al. Chapter 7. Stanley, chapter 10, pp. 221-244. Hayes, J. M., H. Strauss, and A. J. Kaufman. "The Abundance of 13C in Marine Organic Matter and Isotopic Fractionation in the Global Biogeochemical Cycle of Carbon During the Past 800 Ma." Chem Geol 161 (1999): 103-125. Kerr, R. A. "The Story of O2." News Focus Article from Science 308: 1730 (MIT Server) Catling, et al. Astrobiology 5 (2005): 415. Logan, G. A., J. M. Hayes, G. B. Hieshima, and R. E. Summons. "Terminal Proterozoic Reorganisation of Biogeochemical Cycles." Nature 376 (1995): 53-56. Rothman, D. H., J. M. Hayes, and R. E. Summons. "Dynamics of the Neoproterozoic Carbon Cycle." Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (USA) 100 (2003): 8124-8129. |
| 11 | Long-term climate cycles 1: Faint young sun paradox; CO2 climate connection; snowball earth | Stanley, pp. 269-282 and 325-329. ———, pp. 84-101 and 288-289. Kump, L. R., J. F. Kasting, and R. G. Crane. The Earth System. Chapter 7, 1999. Royer, D. L., R. A. Berner, I. P. Montanez, N. J. Tabor, and D. J. Beerling. "CO2 as a Primary Driver of Phanerozoic Climate." GSA Today. March 2004, pp. 4-10. Hoffman and Schrag. Terra Nova 14, no. 3 (2002): 129-155. ———. Scientific American (January 2000): 68-75. Lubick. Nature 417 (2002): 12-13. |
| 12 | Evolution and radiation of animals (and plants???) | |
| Mid-term exam | ||
| 13 | Mass extinctions and re-radiation 1; PC-C boundary, P-T boundary | Stanley, chapter 7, pp. 341-360 and 369-386. ———, chapter 3, pp. 49-77 and later sections pp. 222-228, 337-347, and 456-60. Delwiche, C. F. "Tracing the Thread of Plastid Diversity through the Tapestry of Life." American Naturalist 154 (1999): S164-S177. Keeling, et al. "The tree of eukaryotes." Trends in Eco and Evo 20 (2005): 670-676. Heckman, et al. "Molecular Evidence for the Early Colonization of Land by Fungi and Plants." Science 293 (2002): 1129. |
| 14 | Mass extinctions and re-radiation 2; K-T boundary, LPTM Volcanism, carbon cycle perturbation or impact? | Stanley, chapter 7, pp. 341-360 and 369-386. Anbar, A. D., and A. H. Knoll. "Proterozoic Ocean Chemistry and Evolution: A Bioinorganic Bridge?" Science 297 (2002): 1137-1142. Erwin, D. H. "The Permo-Triassic Extinction." Nature 367 (1994): 231-236. Knoll, A. H., R. K. Bambach, D. E. Canfield, and J. P. Grotzinger. "Comparative Earth History and Late Permian Mass Extinction." Science 273 (1996): 455. Erwin, D. H. "The Mother of Mass Extinctions." Scientific American 275 (1996): 72-78. Erwin, D. H. Extinction: How Life on Earth Nearly Ended 250 Million Years Ago. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2006. Becker, L., R. J. Poreda, A. R. Basu, K. O. Pope, T. M. Harrison, C. Nicholson, and R. Iasky "Bedout: A Possible End-Permian Impact Crater Offshore of Northwestern Australia." Science 304 (June 4, 2004): 1469-1476. Published online May 13, 2004. Grice, Kliti, et al. "Photic Zone Euxinia During the Permian-Triassic Superanoxic Event." Science 307 (February 4, 2005): 706-709. Published online January 20, 2005. Kump, Pavlov, and Arthur. "Sulfide Hypothesis of Lee Kump." Geology 33 (May 2005). |
| 15 | Techniques in geobiology 3 Genomics DNA, sequencing, trees, environmental shotguns | Alvarez, L. W., W. Alvarez, F. Asaro, and W. V. Michel. "Extraterrestrial Cause of the Cretaceous-Tertiary Extinctions." Science 208 (1980): 1095-1108. D'Hondt, S., P. Donaghay, J. C. Zachos, D. Luttenberg, and M. Lindinger. "Organic Carbon Fluxes and Ecological Recovery from the Cretaceous-Tertiary Mass Extinction." Science 282 (1998): 276-279. Keller, G. "Chicxulub Impact Predates the K-T Boundary Mass Extinction." PNAS 101 (2004): 3753-3758. |
| 16 | Techniques in Geobiology 4 Lipid biomarkers; life's three domains; fossil and biogeochemical evidence for their presence and evolution through geological time | Alvarez, L. W., W. Alvarez, F. Asaro, and W. V. Michel. "Extraterrestrial Cause of the Cretaceous-Tertiary Extinctions." Science 208 (1980): 1095-1108. D'Hondt, S., P. Donaghay, J. C. Zachos, D. Luttenberg, and M. Lindinger. "Organic Carbon Fluxes and Ecological Recovery from the Cretaceous-Tertiary Mass Extinction." Science 282 (1998): 276-279. Keller, G. "Chicxulub Impact Predates the K-T Boundary Mass Extinction." PNAS 101 (2004): 3753-3758. |
| 17 | Sedimentary records of life and environment; fossils and their preservation | |
| 18 | Sedimentary records of microbes and their environmental preferences; marine crenarchaeota and tex 86; AOM; anammox | |
| 19 | Microbially-dominated ecosystems: Extreme environments | |
| 20 | Fossil fuels: Fate of buried organic carbon; petroleum and natural gas occurrence and distribution Methane hydrates | Berner, Robert. "Examination of hypotheses for the Permo-Triassic boundary extinction by carbon cycle modeling." PNAS 99 (2002): 4172-4177. Dickens. "The potential volume of oceanic methane hydrates with variable external conditions." Org Geochem 32 (2001): 1179. Katz, et al. "The Source and Fate of Massive Carbon Input During the Latest Paleocene Thermal Maximum." Science 286 (1999): 1531. |
| 21 | Climate change: Mesozoic warming, Cenozoic cooling; Pleistocene glaciations Guest lecture: Ed Boyle | Kump, et al., chapter 11. Stanley, pp. 526-536. Broecker. Fossil Fuel CO2 and the Angry Climate Beast. New York, NY: Eldigio Press, 2003, p. 115. |
| 22 | Holocene climate; abrupt climate change; anthropogenic forcing Guest lecture: Ed Boyle | |
| 23-24 | Student presentations | |
| Exam review |
Table of Contents
Study Materials
Readings
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Textbook
Stanley, Steven M. Earth System History. NY, New York: W.H. Freeman & Co. 2006. ISBN: 9780716778271.
Available at the class Web site and on reserve in Lindgren Library. (Note: The 1st edition, published in 1999, is very similar and is fine to use. I will post the page #'s for both editions in the reading lists on the class Web site. The pages listed below refer to those in the 1st edition.)
Recommended Readings
Wills, Christopher, and Jeffrey Bada. The Spark of Life. Cambridge, MA: Perseus Publishing, 2000. ISBN: 9780738201962.
Kump, Lee R., James F. Kasting, and Robert G. Crane. The Earth System. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2004. ISBN: 9780131420595.
Cesare, Emiliani. Planet Earth: Cosmology, Geology and the Evolution of Life and Environment. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1992. ISBN: 9780521401234.
Broecker, Wallace S. How to Build a Habitable Planet. New York, NY: Eldigio Press, Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory, 1985 (3rd printing 1998). ISBN: 9780961751111.
Additional readings provided for most lectures.
Weekly Reading Assignments