Ge161 (Plate Tectonics), Fall 2009 

Class Meeting Times: Mon & Wed. 10-11; Thursday 9-10:30; 215 North Mudd  
Instructor:  Joann Stock, 395-6938, 356 South Mudd, jstock@gps.caltech.edu 
Teaching assistant: Laura Alisic, 395-6974, 362 South Mudd, alisic@gps.caltech.edu  
Ombudsperson: Will Steinhardt  
Office hours: Laura: Tuesday 3-5 p.m.  

The textbook for reading is: Fowler, The Solid Earth (2nd ed.), Cambridge University Press. Another useful book which will be on reserve (but not required since it is out of print) is: Cox and Hart, Plate Tectonics: How it Works, Blackwell Scientific Publications. Finally, at the end of the course we will read one chapter from Don Anderson's book "New Theory of the Earth".

 
Dates
Lecture Topics
Reading assignment
Homework schedule and handouts
Week 1: Sept. 30; Oct. 1; Oct. 5 Introduction. Plate motions on a flat earth. Triple junctions on a flat earth. Age distribution of oceanic plates. Fowler, p. 1-14, 24-31. 
Cox and Hart Ch. 1 and 2.		 Handouts: Lowman's map ; Peter Bird's map and plate list ; class collaboration policy; Class info sheet & questionnaire.
PS 1 given out. Class questionnaires due. Student study areas need to be chosen or assigned.
Thursday, Oct. 8 Introduction to Unix/Linux (optional). See link to left and documents mentioned therein.
Week 2. Oct. 12 & 14, 10-11 a.m.; Oct. 15 9-10 a.m. (SHAKEOUT on 10/15 at 10:15). Start on marine magnetics. Magnetic reversal time scales. Methods of measurement of the magnetic field. Magnitudes and shapes of magnetic anomalies. Distribution of the world's magnetic anomalies. Fowler p. 43-94 (chapter 3). 
Cox and Hart ch. 3 and 8.  		PS 1 due Monday, Oct. 12.  
PS 2 given out 
Handouts: magnetic anomaly handout. Magnetic reversal timescale handout. Geologic time scale handout. International Stratigraphic Chart. Magnetic field maps. Magnetometer handout. Magnetic anomaly map of the world.
Week 3. Oct. 19 & 21, 10-11 a.m.; Oct. 22, 9-10:30 a.m. Instantaneous plate motions and angular velocity vectors. Kinematics of instantaneous plate motions; data and kinematics from Nuvel-1A, REVEL, and other models.  Cox and Hart ch. 4
Fowler p. 14-24.		 Handouts: Instantaneous plate motion models & maps.
PS 2 due Thursday, October 22.
PS 3 given out. You will need graph paper.  
Monday, Oct. 19, 12-1 Stereonet review session. Keep the stereonet to use with problem sets. Optional handout about stereonets . Optional stereonet practice problems .
Week 4. Oct. 26 & 28, 10-11 a.m.; Oct. 29, 9-10:30 a.m. Finite rotations. Rotation matrices in 2 and 3 dimensions. Quaternions and the Euler construction. Order of summation of rotations; notation conventions. Cox and Hart ch. 7. PS 3 due Thurs., Oct. 29 but you can ask for an extension if you need one because of midterm exams.
PS 4 handed out. Instructions for Computer programs to use with PS4. Pages from C&H . 
Week 5. Nov 2 & 4, 10-11; GMT orientation on NOV 5 Seismicity and plate tectonics Cox and Hart ch. 6 

Fowler skim ch. 4; read in detail pages 88-122, 130-140 (first edition) or 115-122, 130-168 (2nd ed). 

Fowler 2nd ed. sections 10.2.2 and 10.2.3.

 PS 4 due.
PS 5 assigned. Program instructions and GMT script to download  

Thursday, Nov. 5 Orientation to Generic Mapping Tools software (GMT). Optional on-line tutorial about GMT.
Week 6. Nov. 16, 18, 19. Geology of spreading centers, convergent boundaries and transform faults; satellite gravity; start paleomag  Fowler 2nd edition, chapter 9; section 10.2.1; p. 348-350 from ch. 8. Oceanic crustal model 1 and Oceanic crustal models 2
PS 5 due on Monday Nov. 16.
PS 6 assigned on Monday Nov. 16. It uses this file: gravmap_agemap.gmt
Week 7. Monday Nov. 23. No class the rest of the week due to Thanksgiving. Continue paleomagnetics   Cox and Hart Ch. 9 
Fowler 2nd ed. pp. 43-54 or 1st ed. 32-41.
PS 6 due Monday Nov. 23.
PS 7 assigned on Monday Nov. 23.
Week 8. Nov. 30, Dec. 2, 3. Thermal structure of plates. Absolute plate motions, hotspots, reference frames. Class presentations Fowler 2nd ed. pp. 288-298; skim p. 269-285. Anderson chapter 4
PS 7 due by Thurs., Dec. 3 (last day of classes).

Dec. 11 , 2009. Last day to turn in the final report.
Last updated 4 November 2009 by J. Stock .