Geography 204
Physical Geography
Spring Semester, 2007
Tuesdays and Thursdays 10:00 –
11:50 a.m., Stevenson 3036
Instructor:
Frances Malamud-Roam.
Office: 3009A Stevenson;
email: fmalamud@eps.berkeley.edu
Office Hours: Tues/Thurs 1:00 – 2:00 and by
appointment
This
course satisfies GE Area B-3, and is also a required core course for the
Geography major.
This is a GE class: The
General Education (GE) Mission at Sonoma State University investigates the
complexity of human experience in a diverse natural and social world, and
promotes informed and ethical participation as citizens of the world. To help
achieve this mission, Geog 204, Physical Geography will help students to reach
the following fundamental Goals for all GE approved classes:
I. Help you to learn to think independently,
ethically, critically and creatively
II. Help you to learn to communicate clearly to
many audiences (e.g. participating in class discussions)
III. Help you to gain an understanding of
connections between the past and the present, and to look to the future
(particularly in the natural and human environment)
IV. Help you to learn to appreciate
intellectual, scientific, and artistic accomplishment
V. Help you to build upon your reading, writing,
research, and critical thinking skills (e.g. Do you believe everything you read
in a newspaper or blog or hear on TV? Why or Why Not?)
Course Description
Welcome to Physical Geography 204! This course covers the fundamental systems of the Earth system. You will learn about the structure and
composition of the Earth, its oceans, and the dynamics of the atmosphere and
climate. These systems are interrelated
and we will explore how they interact with life on the planet.
By the end of the course,
you should also have a good basis for understanding important environmental problems facing our planet today,
including Global Warming, pollution, and loss of biodiversity. However, this course won't be all about
bad news! You'll also learn about
landforms and landscapes - how they are formed and what they look like.
Course
Text
We will use the textbook
"Earth Science, 11 edition by E. Tarbuck and F. Lutgens. This is available at the North Lights
Bookstore.
I will post other material
occasionally on the website for you to read and will indicate that to you in
class.
Email:
Feel free to contact me via
email. However, please consider
some common email etiquette:
* Email
is not a substitute for in-person discussions. In some cases, it would probably be easiest and best to
discuss issues directly.
* Email
should be considered carefully before being sent: accidents can happen, so consider that anything you write
could be viewed by others.
*
Please use complete sentences and words in your emails (I'm of a
generation that doesn't know all the short-hands of texting!)
*
I will respond to emails within 24 hours.
Grading
Policy
The course grade will be determined as follows:
Class participation 10%
Attendance
Contribution
to discussions
Exercises 25%
Field Trip 5%
Midterm I 15%
Midterm II 20%
Final Exam 25%
|
|
Tentative Schedule of topics and readings |
|
||||
|
Week Starting |
TOPICS COVERED |
READINGS |
ASSIGNMENTS |
|||
|
1/30/07 |
Introduction; Earth system science |
Ch. 1 (p 1-22) |
|
|||
|
2/1/07 |
Formation of the Planet; minerals |
Ch. 1 (p 29-44) Ch. 2 (p 30-40) |
|
|||
|
2/6/07 |
Rock Cycle, rock types |
Ch. 3 |
|
|||
|
2/8/07 |
Weathering, mass wasting |
Ch. 4 (p. 83-90; 102-112) |
Exercise 1 due |
|||
|
2/13/07 |
Sculpting the landscape: Running water |
Ch 5 (p. 114-132) |
||||
|
2/15/07 |
Sculpting the landscape: Glaciers |
Ch. 6 (p. 153-168) |
|
|||
|
2/20/07 |
Internal processes: plate tectonics - history of a
theory |
Ch. 8 |
|
|||
|
2/22/07 |
Plate interactions |
Ch. 8 |
Exercise 2 due |
|||
|
2/27/07 |
Internal processes: Hazards - earthquakes,
volcanoes |
Ch. 7(p 187-204); Ch. 9 (p. 251-63) |
|
|||
|
3/1/07 |
Midterm I |
|
|
|||
|
3/6/07 |
Earth energy budget; Greenhouse effect, seasons |
Ch. 16
|
|
|||
|
3/8/07 |
Atmospheric
circulation |
Ch 18 (p. 510-512) |
|
|||
|
3/13/07 |
Moisture in the atmosphere |
Ch. 17 |
Exercise 3 due |
|||
|
3/15/07 |
Air pressure and winds |
Ch. 18 |
|
|||
|
3/20/07 |
Air masses and Frontal interactions |
Ch. 19 |
Exercise 4 due |
|||
|
3/22/07 |
Hurricanes, tornadoes |
Ch. 19 |
|
|||
|
3/27/07 |
Ocean currents, El Nino |
Ch 15 (p. 402-409); Ch. 18 (p. 518-522) |
|
|||
|
3/29/07 |
Climate and climatic regions |
Ch. 20 |
Exercise 5 due |
|||
|
4/3/07 |
Soils |
Ch. 4, 90-100 |
|
|||
|
4/5/07 |
Midterm II |
ch. 6 (p. 90-100) |
|
|||
|
4/10 - 12/07 |
SPRING BREAK |
|
|
|||
|
4/17/07 |
Video |
|
|
|||
|
4/19/07 |
Video |
|
|
|||
|
4/23/07 |
Biogeography and ecosystems |
Readings to be assigned |
Exercise 6 due |
|||
|
4/25/07 |
California ecosystems |
Readings to be assigned |
|
|||
|
5/8/07 |
CLIMATE CHANGE I: past climates |
Ch. 6 (p. 168-173); other readings to be assigned |
|
|||
|
5/10/07 |
CLIMATE CHANGE I: past climates |
|
|
|||
|
|
CLIMATE CHANGE II: Global Warming |
Ch 20 (p. 573-580); other readings to be assigned |
|
|||
|
5/15/07 |
Guest speaker on Climate Change and the Spread of
Infectious Disease |
|
|
|||
|
5/17/07 |
Wrap up and Review |
|
Exercise 7 due |
|||
|
5/22/07 |
Final Exam |
|
|
|||