- Reading the Sedimentary Record: Sedimentology and Stratigraphy

Catalog description

The study of sedimentary processes and the sequence and architecture of sedimentary strata in relation to Earth history.  Sediments and sedimentary rocks cover most of the Earth, house critical resources, and underpin our understanding of the history of plate tectonics and climate change, and the evolution of life.  Students learn to apply modern-process-based models for recognizing and interpreting depositional environments. From this basis, students will then focus on the classification and correlation of more ancient sedimentary rocks and their interpretation, exploring the respective roles of tectonics, climate, and organisms in the development of continents and sedimentary basins over geologic time.  Laboratory exercises emphasize characterization and data collection/analysis of sedimentary materials in the field, hand specimen and thin section, and data analysis including using data visualization tools.