*Note course content may vary from year to year

Case Study 1 (Geological Principles and Fossil Basics) provides a basic overview of the scientific method and some of the key geological concepts needed to appreciate Earth's past environments and major life events. Units include learning about geological time, dating, continental drift, and basic paleontology in terms of how fossils can be used to help interpret Earth's history.

Case Study 2 (Origins and Extinctions) begins by focusing on the formation of the Earth / Moon system, the origin of life, the first microbes and Earth's early biosphere. This is followed by a detailed look at the Cambrian Explosion and its role in the diversification of life. You will then examine the five mass extinctions in Earth's past, with a focus on the Permo-Triassic and the Cretaceous-Paleogene events. 

Case Study 3 (Reefs as Proxies to Measure the Health of Life on Earth) examines fossil and modern reefs to see what they reveal about ancient environments through time. You will focus on the different lifestyles and niches animals occupy in the ocean, and more specifically, within reef ecosystems. Next you will learn about some of the main members of reef communities and how major turnovers within these communities often signal extinction events brought on by large scale changes in Earth's environment.

Case Study 4 (Paleozoic Fossils as Mark Time and Environmental Changes) examines how the rock and fossil record provides clues to Earth's past environments. Specifically, you learn how to identify sea level changes in rocks and what factors lead to these changes on both regional and global scales. Following this, you learn about the biology and evolutionary history of trilobites and graptolites. Finally, you consider the implications of finding these fossil groups in different areas with respect to environmental change through time.

Case Study 5 (Fossils Reveal Earth’s Ancient Geography) begins by considering how processes occurring near and upon Earth's surface have been instrumental in changing the configuration, topography and environment over the last 570 million years. Next you learn about the biology and life history of ammonites as well as vertebrate and dinosaur origins. The course finishes with a study of how the changing distributions of these important groups in real time, allow us to unravel past land movements, including the opening and closing of ancient oceans and continental seaways that once crossed North America.

Course Materials

Course Notes, Extra Readings, Course Recordings and Outside Media are included directly on the course website on Canvas. There is no required textbook for this course.