Advanced Topics (450-0-06)

Topic

Plate Tectonics Revolution

Instructors

Elvira Mulyukova

Meeting Info

Technological Institute F380: Tues, Thurs 9:30AM - 10:50AM

Overview of class

Plate tectonics is one of the grand unifying theories of the physics of the Earth, and its inception in the 1960s revolutionized all the Earth sciences. It provides the mathematical and physical framework for understanding how the entire Earth's surface moves, deforms, and recycles through the mantle. Plate tectonics is the paradigm on which essentially all of Earth science is built today; it helps explain the Earth's geological activity associated with earthquakes, volcanic activity, and mountain building, as well as surface processes controlling the evolution of the Earth's atmosphere and climate and the maturation of hydrocarbons. In this course, we will discuss the works of some of the most important scientific actors in the Plate Tectonics revolution, including W. Jason Morgan, Daniel P. McKenzie, Frederick J. Vine, Lawrence Morley, Marie Tharp, Harry Hess, Robert S. Dietz, Xavier Le Pichon, Stanley K. Runcorn, J. Tuzo Wilson, and others.

Class Materials (Required)

No required course materials.

Class Notes

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Enrollment Requirements

Enrollment Requirements: Registration is reserved for Earth & Planetary Sciences majors, minors, and graduate students AND Environmental Science majors.