Earth-science employers tell us that the three most important things they look for are the ability to think, interpret rocks in the field, and communicate. This class helps you develop those skills.
Professors
Dr. Bradley Hacker
Dr. John Cottle
Office hours: anytime. Please come and talk when you want help--we do care about your education.
Teaching Assistants
TBA
TBA
Class Meetings
Are in the field (see below) from
Mar 21 – Mar 28.
The class is physically rigorous, so if you are not able to run up & down hillsides singing,
get in shape before we go.
Lecture
There are lectures every night when we are in the field.
We will also have a meeting in Winter quarter to discuss class format and logistics.
Exams
There is a field exam.
Grading
Letter grades will be assigned according to total points earned:
Textbook and Related Equipment
Course Fees: Approximately $415; includes all campground, transportation, topographic maps, cook, and food costs.
Logistics; Read carefully
Our field area contains beautiful exposures and has an amazingly
detailed topographic basemap. It is an insanely great place to learn
how to interpret geologic relationships and pull together all of the
stuff you learned in the classroom and laboratory. It is also a
beautiful place (mostly) with an interesting flora and fauna.
All your equipment (see list below) must be packed in a few easily handleable bags and
delivered to the Tec Room by Monday March 16, 3 PM
--no exceptions (this date and time may change as the bewitching hour approaches).
Your equipment will be securely stored at the campsite, but it will get warm during the day, so careful what you put in there.
We will leave for the field from the Department loading dock Saturday
March 21 at 9:30.00
.
It is about a 4+ hour drive; we will stop
once about half way for about 15 minutes. Bring a lunch to eat on this first day.
We will return to campus by the evening of Mar 28.
If you want to drive your own vehicle, you must tell me by
March 15
so that we can make space arrangements in the campground.
You can obtain an approval code from the Undergraduate
Assistant and register for the class after the second GS 103 midterm if
I am informed by your Structural Geology instructor that you are likely
to pass GS 103 with a C- or better. You must still pass 103 with a C-
or better to attend 104B--even if you are enrolled and your equipment
is packed, your final 103 grade must be sufficient to attend the class.
Each day we will get up at 6:30, spend the entire day in the field (away from the
vehicles), spend most of the evening working, and then collapse into a deep coma.
The temperature averages a high of 72 F and a low of 47 F that time of year; record highs and
lows are 92 F and 30 F. Some days we will bake to death; some nights we may freeze.
It is often windy, such that the wind chill is about 10 F lower.
Every year the wind destroys a few tents, and every few years the wind is strong enough to blow over nearly every tent
(No, I'm not kidding).
It will probably not rain, but if it does, there may be a flash flood. In 2009 it sleeted and in 2011 it snowed.
The course syllabus and reading material will be distributed in the field. You will
complete one map in the field and turn it in before we return to UCSB;
you will complete a second map and a written report the week after we return.
Hand it in to one of the TA's or the Undergraduate Assistant by 5 PM that Friday.
Things you will need to pack and bring to school
Camp Equipment