Macquarie University

Marine Sediments and Energy Resources - GEOS309

This unit focuses on the evolution of the Earth as a system. The thin layer of sediments and sedimentary rocks at the Earth’s surface contains a unique record of the planet’s long history. This record reveals the gradual and at times spectacular (co)evolution of the geological, ocean, atmosphere and biological components which make the planet the complex system that it is today. An understanding of this system is critical for predicting the consequences of future climate and environmental change, the origin and distribution of the resources that are critical to society, and allows us to place modern rates of extinction into a geological context.

Lectures and case studies will highlight the fascinating ways in which conditions at the Earth’s surface have changed over time. Examples will include the causes and consequences of the rise in atmospheric oxygen, the invasion of land by plants and animals, the fall of the dinosaurs, periods of increased volcanism, as well as episodes of global warming and cooling. Hands-on practicals will give you the skills to read and interpret the physical, chemical and biological clues to the Earth’s past, and allow you to critically assess the ongoing scientific controversies in this area.

This unit is of interest to those majoring in geology, marine science, palaeobiology and environmental science.