EOSC 326 · Earth and Life Through Time

The fossil record of adaptation and extinction emphasizing the interaction of biological and geological processes. Not for credit in Geological Sciences and Geophysics specializations. Please consult the Faculty of Science Credit Exclusion List: http://www.calendar.ubc.ca/vancouver/index.cfm?tree=12,215,410,414.

Pre-reqs: (Biology 100-level and third-year standing in Science.)

 Course Availability & Schedule

 Course Syllabus

 Distance education offered

 Non-specialist course

Learning goals: 

1. Express how the concept of geological time is an important factor in our understanding of the evolution of the Earth System. 2. Apply basic geological principles and geoscience knowledge in the interpretation of Earth’s geological and biological history. 3. Describe how the biosphere has adapted to exploit various environments over time.

Learning Goals

1. Express how the concept of geological time is an important factor in our  understanding of the evolution of the Earth System.

2. Apply basic geological principles and geoscience knowledge in the interpretation of Earth’s geological and biological history.

3. Describe how the biosphere has adapted to exploit various environments in the Earth's oceans over time.

See also learning goals for non-specialist courses.

Instructors

Face-to-Face Version: Stuart Sutherland

Distance Education Version: Louise Longridge

Textbook

Face-to-face Version: Levin, H. L. The Earth Through Time

Distance Education Version: No required textbook. All course material is contained directly on the course website or through live links to outside resources.

Course Content

Face-to-Face Course Web Site: On Canvas

Distance-Education Course Web Site: On Canvas

Lecture Topics

Note! although overall learning goals between face to face and distance education versions of this course are the same the content for some modules is different. Exams are different.

FACE TO FACE VERSION: 

INTRODUCTION
1. & 2. Welcome to the course / Earth System Science
MODULE 1: GEOLOGICAL AND PALEONTOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES 
3. The Basics of Stratigraphy
4. Facies: Sediments in Time and Space
5. Correlating Rocks: Biostratigraphy and Type Sections
6. The interpretation of fossils
MODULE 2: EARTH ORIGINS AND EARLY LIFE 
7. Formation of Continents / Oceans/ Atmosphere
8. Early LIfe: The Paleontological evidence
9. Snowball Earth: the rise of the Metazoa
10. The Cambrian Explosion
MODULE 3: MASS EXTINCTIONS
11. Extinctions 1: The Mass Extinction Concept
12. Extinctions 2: P-Tr and K-P
MODULE 4: THE VERTEBRATES
13. The origin of the Vertebrates
14. Moving onto land
 

DISTANCE EDUCATION VERSION: 

MODULE A: GEOLOGICAL TIME
1. Time, Rocks and Stratigraphy
2. Sediments and Geology
3. Correlating Rocks
4. Fossil Basics
MODULE B: ORIGINS AND EXTINCTIONS
5. Early Earth and Earliest Life
6. The Cambrian Explosion
7. Mass Extinctions
MODULE C: LIFE THROUGH SPACE AND DEEP TIME
8. Case Study 1: Trilobites and Graptolites Reveal Earth's Ancient Paleoenvironments
9. Case Study 2: Ammonites Help Unwind Earth's Ancient Geography
10. Case Study 3: Reefs as Barometers for the Health and Stability of Earth's System
11. Case Study 4: Vertebrates Demonstrate the Convoluted Path of Evolution

Labs

Face-to face version: The labs are intended to give you hands on experience of some of the major fossil groups we are dealing with. You will be assigned to one lab section. There are no lectures scheduled during lab weeks. Labs will be held in EOS-Main.

Distance Education version: The labs are intended to give you 'hands on' experience (via 3D videos) of some of the major fossil groups we are dealing with. They are all taken online and are available to take at your convenience, during set periods throughout the term.

Distance Education Assessment Style

All assessments are taken remotely through the course website except the Final Exam. The Final Exam is a written exam, taken 'in person', either at UBC, Point Grey Campus or at another prearranged exam centre away from UBC.