ES 130: Geodynamics of the Terrestrial Planets: Fall
2004
Instructors
Catherine Johnson (primary contact)
Bruce Bills
822-4077
822-0767
Office 320: Munk
Office 3107:
Revelle
cljohnson@ucsd.edu
bbills@ucsd.edu
We have offices in IGPP which are the wooden buildings just up the hill
from Scripps library on the east (Revelle Lab) and west (Munk Lab) side of
the street.
Earth Science Office Contact Caren Duncansen, cduncanson@ad.ucsd.edu,
Galbraith 188
Pam Buass, pbuaas@ad.ucsd.edu, Galbraith 188
Class Times and Location
Tuesdays: 6:00 pm – 8:50 pm
SIO Viz Center, Revelle Lab Conference Rm.
Office hours
We are available to answer questions almost anytime though you should make
an appointment just to be sure! Email is the most efficient way to contact
us. I will schedule formal office hours on Mondays from 2:30pm to 5:30pm.
About This Class
In this class we will investigate the processes by which terrestrial planetary
bodies (planets and moons) form and evolve. Teaching such a class is
an incredible challenge since many physical processes operate during the formation
and evolution of a planet and, as you will see, the same fundamental processes
have resulted in vastly different outcomes for the planets and moons that
we will investigate. We cannot possibly cover the details of all the
processes involved, nor provide a complete education in comparative planetology.
The goal of this class is for you to get a sense of the spectrum of current
knowledge about the terrestrial planets, how we know what we know, how well
we know it and what further questions it raises. By engaging in this
process you will see that several key themes are fundamental to understanding
planetary evolution. We will cover a few of these themes in some detail,
from theory to observation and interpretation, using examples from planetary
data sets. Through this sequence I hope that you will come away with
an understanding of some of the techniques used to explore planetary interiors
and planetary surfaces and with an appreciation of the broader questions
motivating the use of these techniques.
Goals of the Class
- Overview of processes important in planetary evolution:
- Understand underlying theory (e.g., heat transfer mechanisms, gravity
fields, orbits).
- Understand techniques that can be used to apply the theory.
- Understand how to simplify (approximate) a real problem to enable
simple calculations, and do such calculations. Understand their limitations.
- Learn how these techniques have been applied to understanding real
planets.
- Gain experience in synthesizing and distilling information from a
variety of sources: texts, web, research articles, popular scientific literature.
- Learn how to critically evaluate the scientific literature, through
researching and reading relevant journal articles.
- Gain experience in expressing scientific concepts succinctly and accurately:
verbally, as written prose, and in performing calculations.
- To learn about the solar system, to explore and to question.
Class Format
Class will comprise distinct parts (so that we are not all asleep by 9pm!):
e.g., lecture, in-class problems/math, and specific discussions.
Each class we will cover a new topic. However, we will also review the
material covered in the previous class through a “question of the day”, perhaps
a summary of important concepts, discussion of the homework problem(s) and
assigned reading, and also discussion of any difficulties you may have had
with the subject matter. A typical class might be as follows:
Question of the day: problem or writing based on some
aspect of previous class (15 mins)
Lecture:
theory, background, examples of application
(80 mins)
Visualizations:
could be incorporated in lecture
(15 mins)
Discussion:
problem set / paper / book chapter / other
(45 mins)
Discussion:
images of the day, a popular science article
(15 mins)
A crucial aspect of this class is that everyone is expected to participate.
During each class we will rotate who is responsible for leading a given section
of that class. In particular, I will expect all of you to present one
of the lectures during the quarter. We will assign these topics on the
first day of class. More details on this are below. You will see
in the class schedule that I have indicated who is responsible for leading
a given section of class.
Giving the Class Lecture
Research on education shows that the best way to learn is by doing, and,
in particular, by teaching others. In this class, you will each be responsible
for presenting one of the lectures during the quarter. (Depending on the
number of students in the class we may do this individually or in pairs).
The first student lecture will be given in week 4 of class so do not worry
- there is time to prepare and I will provide plenty of help!
In preparing your lecture (these are a first draft at some notes on this
– the process will be fleshed out as we go along during the quarter):
- We will assign lecture topics in the first class, so you will know
from the schedule when you are expected to present.
- When you have been assigned a topic for your lecture you should start
by thinking broadly about this topic: What is it? What do you think
it covers? What does it mean to you? How might it be applied to
learn about planets? Do you know of research related to this topic?
Write short notes, even if your thoughts at this point seem disorganized.
- Gather resources – ESPECIALLY chapters in textbooks that you think
are relevant. Try to skim the most important one or two.
- In week 3 we will spend part of the class working on your lectures.
Be prepared in class to present a single overhead or powerpoint slide on your
topic – what it is, why it is important and what kinds of things you might
cover. This can be a bulleted list. We will discuss it as a group.
The idea is to share why your topic is relevant and why we will talk about
it later in the quarter. After some group discussion Bruce and I will
work with each of you individually to help you start to flesh out your lecture:
e.g., help you prepare a list of guiding questions for your topic.
- Think of examples of research done using your topic – Bruce and I
can help.
- You must prepare notes for the rest of the class on your topic as
well as your lecture presentation. These will go on the web.
You must include a reference list.
- Your lecture should include:
- a. Theory – basic physics and math
- b. Applications - examples of science done with the theory
- c. Assignment of a problem – you should have done the problem and
shown me the solution and rationale ahead of time. I will assign a second
problem or a relevant scientific paper to read.
- The following week we will review your topic through group discussion,
myself or Bruce following up with any extra notes or helping fill in holes
as necessary, through discussing and grading in class the homework problem,
discussing any relevant research papers.
What I Expect of You
- Class attendance is mandatory –let me know as soon as possible if you
will be absent
- Active participation in class: discussions will involve everyone
- If you are presenting the lecture I expect you to
- understand the material you are presenting
- have prepared a clear, well-structured lecture with equations where
necessary
- have prepared notes that others can use to study this topic – these
will go on the web
- assign a homework problem related to the material you cover
- I expect everyone to do the reading related to the content that we
cover.
- You should do any assigned homework problems and bring them to the
following class for discussion and/or grading
- If you are presenting the image of the day you should come with the
image to show, and ready to discuss it in some detail: how obtained, why
important, what process it shows.
Class Project
There will be a class project that will be due at the end of the quarter.
The final exam will be a presentation of your project to the class and a written
report. We will discuss the project more during the quarter. It
will involve visualization of a planetary data set and discussion of some
research that has been done with that data set demonstrating an application
of one or more of the topics we have covered in class.
Computers
You will need access to computers with internet access, word processing
capabilities and email.
We will discuss this in class. There are Macs available in IGPP and
I will try to reserve one or two of them for a given time period during the
week if needed.
Grading
The following breakout of grading is subject to change as appropriate:
the bottom line is that you should be engaged in all aspects of the class.
Class participation
15%
Question of the day
10%
Homework assignments – these will be self-graded,
but I will check over them 15%
Lecture (grade will consider the following):
30%
Presentation content
Presentation clarity
Notes
Overall preparation
Final exam (project – report and presentation)
30%
Recommended Texts
There is no one all-encompassing text. Much of the theory for the
class is covered in a terrestrial geodynamics book by Turcotte & Schubert.
Decent planetary texts are listed below. So that you don’t have to purchase
these I will put 1 spare copy of each of them in the reading room in IGPP.
Please do not remove them from there.
Title: Geodynamics
Authors: Turcotte and Schubert
Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2002
Title: The Planetary System
Authors: David Morrison and Tobias Owen
Publisher: Addison Wesley, 2003
Title: Solar System Evolution
Author: Stuart Ross Taylor
Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2001
Title: Planetary Sciences
Authors: Imke de Pater & Jack Lissauer
Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2001
Title: Planetary Scientist's Companion
Authors: Katharina Lodders and Bruce Fegley Jr.
Publisher: Oxford University Press, 1998
Title: The New Solar System
Editors: J. Kelly Beatty, Carolyn Collins Petersen, Andrew
Chaikin
Publisher: Cambridge Univ Press, 4th edition, 1998
Title: Moons and Planets
Authors: William K. Hartman
Publisher: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1999
Title: Exploring the Planets
Authors: Eric Christiansen and W. Kenneth Hamblin
Publisher: Prentice-Hall, 2nd edition, 1995