Course Syllabus

Course
C Stratigraphy & Sedimentology Geos 5441.001
Professor Dr Randy Griffin
Dr.
Term Spring 2009
Meetings
M i Lecture T & Thh 1:00
1 00 - 2:15
2 1 FN 2.104;
2 104 Labb Th
h 22:30-5:30
30 30 FAA 22.206
206

Professor'ss Contact Information

Professor
Office Phone 972 883 2430
972-883-2430
Oth Ph
Other Phone
Office Location FA 2.404
Email Address griffin@utdallas.edu
Office Hours Thursday 5:30-6:30,
5:30-6:30 or by appointment
Other Information

General Course Information

Pre-requisites, Co-
Pre-requisites
Other Restrictions
Provides
id an overviewi off sedimentology
di l gy and
d stratigraphy,
ig phy, andd serves as one off the
h
Course Description
preparatory classes for more advanced geoscience subjects.
Students will ggain a understanding
g of sedimentological
g and stratigaphhic
g p pprocesses,, and
Learning Outcomes events through readings, lectures, field trips and labarotory assignemnts. A term paper and
presentation on an agreeable subject with the instructor will be required.
required
Required Texts & Boggs, Jr., Sam, Principles of Sedimentology and Stratigraphy, 4th Ed.
Supplimental readings as assigned by instructor.
instructor There are also 4 required literature
assignments
ig scheduled
h d l d through
h gh the h semester, and d a term ppaper
p that
h shall
h ll ffocus on a li
literature
Suggested Texts,
Texts Readings
review of interest to each individual student and the instructor. Each assignment will require
& Materials
reading an assigned paper and writing a written summary. In addition to the term paper, each
student will make a 15 minute presentation to the class at the end of the semester.
semester

Assignments & Academic Calendar

Month Date(s) Topic Assignment,
Topic, Assignment Due Date(s),
Date(s) Exam Date(s)
J
January 13 Generall IInformation
G f ti and d IIntroduction
t d ti ffor L Lecture
t &L Labb
15 Ç
Çh 1: Origin
g and Transport p of Sedimentary y Materials,, Lab 1a: Weathering g and Soils
20 Ch 2: Transport & Deposition of Siliciclastic Sediments
22 Ch 3: Sedimentary Textures,
Textures Lab 1b: Sedimentary Textures
27 Ch 4: Sedimentary Structures: First Literature assignemnt
29 Ch 4:
4 Bi
Biogenic i S
Structures, L Labb 22a: S
Sedimentary
di S
Structures
February
eb ua y 3 Ichnology,
gy, Assigned
g Reading:g MUST CHOOSE TERM PAPER SUBJECT
5 Ch 5: Siliciclastic Sedimentary Rocks, Lab 2b: Ichnofacies
10 Ch 5: Siliciclastic Sedimentary Rocks: Second Literature assignment today
12 V l i l ti D
Volcaniclastic Deposits,
it A
Assigned
i dR Reading;
di L
Labb 33a: Sili
Siliciclastic
i l ti P Petrogrophy
t h
14 Dayy Trip:
ip Sitei to bbe ddetermined,
i d, Lab b 3b
b
17 Volcaniclastic Deposits, Assigned Reading
19 Review for Exam 1, 1 lecture and lab components; Lab 3c: Siliciclastic Petrography
24 Ch 6: Carbonate Sedimentary Rocks: Third Literature assignmen today
26 E
Exam 1
March 3 Ch 6: Carbonate Sedimentary y Rocks
5 Ch 7: Chemical/Biochemical/Carbonaceous Rocks; Lab 4a: Carbonates
7-8 Weekend Field Trip: Lake Murray Spillway Clastic, Clastic Kinblade Carbonate: Lab 3d, 3d 4b
10 Ch 7: Chemical/Biochemical/Carbonaceous Rocks

Modified: 2/16/2009 <Professor's Name> Page 1

 Course Syllabus

12 Ch 8: Continental Environments; Lab 4c: Carbonate Petrography

17 Spring Break
19 Spring Break
24 Ch 9:
9 MMarginal-Marine
i lM i E Environments:
i t Fourth
F th Literature
Lit t A
Assignment
i t today
t d
26 Ch 10: Siliclastic Marine Environments
27-29
27 29 Palo Duro Canyon, Siliciclastic and Carbonate Caprock; Lab 5a
31 Ch 11: Carbonate and Evaporite Environments
April 2 Ch 11: Carbonate and Evaporite Environments; Lab 5b
7 Ch 12:
12 Li
Lithostratigraphy
h ig phy
9 Ch 13: Seismic, Sequence and Magnetic Stratigraphy; Lab 5c
14 Ch 14: Biostratigraphy
16 Ch 15: Chronostratigraphy and Geologic Time; Lab 6
21 Ch 16:
16 BBasin
i AAnalysis,
l i Tectonics,
T t i and dSSedimentation
di t ti
Mantle Plumes: The Sedimentological
g Response:
p Term Paper
p Presentations,, Paper
p
23 dueToday
28 Mantle Plumes: The Sedimentological Response
30 Review for comprehensive final exam; Lab Final Exam
M
May 5 R di D
Reading Day, N No Cl
Class
7 Final Exam,, Timee 11:00
:00 AM

Course & Universityy Policies

Grading (credit) Criteria Lab Assignments: 1-6 @ 5% each, 4 reading assignments @ 2.5% each,
and Term Paper 15%: Total 55%
Exam 1: 15%
Lab
b Final:
i l 15%
Final Exam: 15%
Final grades will be assigned as follows: 100-97=A+,
100-97=A+ 96-93=A,
96-93=A 90-92=A-,
90-92=A- 89-87=A+.
89-87=A+ 86-
83=B 82-80=B-,
83=B, 82 80=B 70-77=C+,
70 77=C+ 76-73=C,
76 73=C 72-70=C-,
72 70=C <=69=F

Make-up
p Exams Will arrange
g if ggiven pprior notice

Extra Credit None

L
Late W
Work
k 5 ppoints
i offff for
f every
y dday
y llate

Special Assignments Assigned reading from the literature

Cl
Class Attendance
Att d St
Strongly
l encouraged
d

Classroom Citizenship

There will be a three mandatory field trips: a 1 day trip

trip, and 2 weekend fieldtrips
fieldtrips. These
fi ldt i require
fieldtrips i work k which
hi h will
ill bbe evaluated
l t d as a partt off th
the llab
b assignment
i t as iindicated
di t d iin
Field Trip Policies
the schedule. UTD will pprovide transportation,
p , the use of ppersonal cars is ggenerally y not
allowed.

Modified: 2/16/2009 <Professor's Name> Page 2

 Course Syllabus

The U
Th University
i it off T
Texas S
System
t and d Th
The UUniversity
i it off T
Texas att D
Dallas
ll hhave rulesl and
d
regulations
g for the orderly
y and efficient conduct of their business. It is the responsibility
p y of
each student and each student organization to be knowledgeable about the rules and
regulations which govern student conduct and activities.
activities General information on student
conduct and discipline is contained in the UTD publication,
publication A to Z Guide , which is provided
to all
ll registered
i d students
d each
h academic
d i year.

The U
Th University
i i y off T
Texas at D
Dallas
ll administers
d i i student
d didiscipline
ipli within
i hi the
h pprocedures
d off
recognized and established due process. Procedures are defined and described in the Rules
Student Conduct & and Regulations, Board of Regents, The University of Texas System, Part 1, Chapter VI,
Discipline Section 3 , and in Title V,
V Rules on Student Services and Activities of the university’s
H db k off Operating
Handbook O ti Procedures
P d . Copies
C i off these
th rules
l and d regulations
l ti are available
il bl tto
students in the Office of the Dean of Students,, where staff members are available to assist
students in interpreting the rules and regulations (SU 1.602, 972/883
972/883-6391).
6391).

A student at the university neither loses the rights nor escapes the responsibilities of
citizenship He or she is expected to obey federal,
citizenship. federal state,
state and local laws as well as the
Regents’ Rules,
Rules university regulations,
regulations and administrative rules.
rules Students are subject to
di ipli ffor violating
discipline i l i g the
h standards
d d off conduct
d whether
h h such h conduct
d takesk pplace
l on or off
ff
campus, or whether civil or criminal penalties are also imposed for such conduct.

The ffaculty
Th lt expects
t ffrom it
its students
t d t a hi high
h llevell off responsibility
ibilit and
d academic
d i hhonesty.
t
Because the value of an academic degree
g dependsp upon
p the absolute integrity
g y of the work
done by the student for that degree, it is imperative that a student demonstrate a high standard
of individual honor in his or her scholastic work.
work

Scholastic
S h l ti didishonesty
h t iincludes,
l d bbutt iis nott li
limited
it d tto, statements,
t t t acts
t or omissions
i i related
l t d tto
applications
pp for enrollment or the award of a degree,
g , and/or the submission as one’s own
Academic Integrity work or material that is not one
one’ss own. As a general rule, scholastic dishonesty involves one
of the following acts: cheating,
cheating plagiarism,
plagiarism collusion and/or falsifying academic records.
records
Students suspected of academic dishonesty are subject to disciplinary proceedings.
proceedings

Plagiarism, especially from the web, from portions of papers for other classes, and from any
other source is unacceptable and will be dealt with under the university
university’ss policy on
plagiarism (see general catalog for details).
details) This course will use the resources of
t iti
turnitin.com, which
hi h searches
h ththe webb ffor possible
ibl plagiarism
l i i and d iis over 90% effective.
ff ti

Modified: 2/16/2009 <Professor's Name> Page 3

 Course Syllabus

The University of Texas at Dallas recognizes the value and efficiency of communication
between faculty/staff and students through electronic mail.mail At the same time,
time email raises
some iissues concerningi securityit and
d th
the id
identity
tit off each
h iindividual
di id l iin an email il exchange.
h
The university y encourages
g all official student email correspondence
p be sent only y to a
student’ss U.T. Dallas email address and that faculty and staff consider email from students
student
Email Use official only if it originates from a UTD student account.
account This allows the university to
maintain a high degree of confidence in the identity of all individual corresponding and the
security
i y off the
h transmitted
i d iinformation.
f i UTD ffurnishes
i h each h student
d with i h a ffree email il
account that is to be used in all communication with university personnel. The Department of
Information Resources at U.T. Dallas provides a method for students to have their U.T.
Dallas mail forwarded to other accounts.
accounts

The administration
Th d i i t ti off thi this iinstitution
tit ti has
h sett deadlines
d dli ffor withdrawal
ithd l off any college-level
ll l l
courses. These dates and times are ppublished in that semester's course catalog. g
Administration procedures must be followed. It is the studentstudent'ss responsibility to handle
Withd
Withdrawal
l from
f Cl
Class
withdrawal requirements from any class. class In other words,
words I cannot drop or withdraw any
student You must do the proper paperwork to ensure that you will not receive a final grade
student.
off "F" in
i a course if yyou choose
h not to attend
d the
h class
l once yyou are enrolled ll d

Procedures for student grievances are found in Title V,

V Rules on Student Services and
A ti iti off th
Activities, the university’s
i it ’ Handbook
H db k off Operating
O ti Procedures
P d .

In attempting to resolve any student grievance regarding grades, grades evaluations,

evaluations or other
fulfillments of academic responsibility,
responsibility it is the obligation of the student first to make a
serious
i effort
ff t to
t resolve
l th
the matter
tt with ith th
the iinstructor,
t t supervisor, i administrator,
d i i t t or
committee with whom the ggrievance originates g ((hereafter called “the respondent”).
p )
Individual faculty members retain primary responsibility for assigning grades and
evaluations If the matter cannot be resolved at that level,
evaluations. level the grievance must be submitted in
Student Grievance
writing to the respondent with a copy of the respondent’s School Dean. Dean If the matter is not
Procedures
resolved
l d bby
y the
h written
i response
p pprovided
id d bby
y the
h respondent,
p d the
h student
d may y submit
b i a
written appeal to the School Dean. If the grievance is not resolved by the School Dean Dean’ss
decision, the student may make a written appeal to the Dean of Graduate or Undergraduate
Education and the deal will appoint and convene an Academic Appeals Panel.
Education, Panel The decision
off the
th AAcademic
d i A Appeals
l PPanell iis fi
final.
l Th
The resultslt off th
the academic
d i appeals l process will
ill bbe
distributed to all involved pparties.

Copies
p of these rules and regulations
g are available to students in the Office of the Dean of
Students, where staff members are available to assist students in interpreting the rules and
regulations

Modified: 2/16/2009 <Professor's Name> Page 4

 Course Syllabus

As per university
A i it policy,
li iincomplete
l t grades
d will
ill bbe granted
t d only
l ffor work
k unavoidably
id bl
missed at the semester’s end and only
y if 70% of the course work has been completed.
p An
incomplete grade must be resolved within eight (8) weeks from the first day of the
I
Incomplete
l t GGrades
d
subsequent long semester.
semester If the required work to complete the course and to remove the
incomplete grade is not submitted by the specified deadline,
deadline the incomplete grade is changed
automatically
i ll to a grade
d off F.
F

The goal of Disability Services is to provide students with disabilities educational

opportunities
t iti equall tto th
those off th
their
i non-disabled
di bl d peers. Di
Disability
bilit SServices
i iis llocated
t d iin
room 1.610 iin the
h Student
d Union. i Office
ffi hhours are Monday
d y and
d Thursday,
h d y, 8:30 a.m. to 6:30
p.m.; Tuesday and Wednesday, 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.; and Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
The contact information for the Office of Disability
y Services is:
The University of Texas at Dallas, SU 22
PO Box 830688
Richardson Texas 75083-0688
Richardson, 75083 0688
(972) 883-2098
883 2098 (voice
( i or TTY)

Essentially, the law requires that colleges and universities make those reasonable adjustments
necessary to eliminate discrimination on the basis of disability.
disability For example,
example it may be
Disability
y Services
necessar to remove
necessary remo e classroom prohibitions against tape recorders or animals (in the case of
d g gguides)
dog id ) for
f students
d who
h are bli
blind.
d OOccasionally
i lly an assignment
ig requirement
q i may
y bbe
substituted (for example, a research paper versus an oral presentation for a student who is
hearing impaired). Classes enrolled students with mobility impairments may have to be
rescheduled in accessible facilities.
facilities The college or university may need to provide special
services
i suchh as registration,
i t ti note-taking,
t t ki or mobility
bilit assistance.
it

It is
i the
th student’s
t d t’ responsibility
ibilit to
t notify
tif his
hi or her
h professors
f off the
th needd for
f suchh an
accommodation. Disability y Services pprovides students with letters to ppresent to faculty
y
members to verify that the student has a disability and needs accommodations. Individuals
requiring special accommodation should contact the professor after class or during office
hours.
hours

Modified: 2/16/2009 <Professor's Name> Page 5

 Course Syllabus

The U
Th University
i it off T
Texas att D
Dallas
ll will
ill excuse a student
t d t ffrom class
l or other
th required
i d activities
ti iti
for the travel to and observance of a religious
g holy
y day
y for a religion
g whose pplaces of worship p
are exempt from property tax under Section 11.20, Tax Code, Texas Code Annotated.

The student is encouraged to notify the instructor or activity sponsor as soon as possible
regarding the absence,
absence preferably in advance of the assignment.
assignment The student,
student so excused,
excused
will
ill be
b allowed
ll d to take
k the
h exam or complete
l theh assignment
i within
i hi a reasonable
bl time
i after
f
the absence: a period equal to the length of the absence, up to a maximum of one week. A
student who notifies the instructor and completes any missed exam or assignment may not be
R ligi
Religious Holy
H ly Days
D y
penalized for the absence.
absence A student who fails to complete the exam or assignment within the
prescribed
ib d period
i d may receive
i a ffailing
ili grade
d ffor th
thatt exam or assignment.
i t

If a student or an instructor disagrees about the nature of the absence [i.e.,

[i e for the purpose of
observing a religious holy day] or if there is similar disagreement about whether the student
h been
has b given
i a reasonable
bl time
ti tot complete
l t any missed
i d assignments
i t or examinations,
i ti either
ith
the student or the instructor may y request
q a ruling
g from the chief executive officer of the
institution, or his or her designee. The chief executive officer or designee must take into
account the legislative intent of TEC 51.911(b),
51 911(b) and the student and instructor will abide by
the decision of the chief executive officer or designee.
designee

Off-campus, out-of-state,
Off t f t t and d fforeign
i iinstruction
t ti and d activities
ti iti are subject
bj t tto state
t t llaw and
d
University
y ppolicies and pprocedures regarding
g g travel and risk-related activities. Information
Off-Campus Instruction
regarding these rules and regulations may be found at the website
andd Course
C Activities
A ti iti
http://www utdallas edu/BusinessAffairs/Travel Risk Activities htm Additional
http://www.utdallas.edu/BusinessAffairs/Travel_Risk_Activities.htm.
information is available from the office of the school dean.
dean

These descriptions and timelines are subject to change at the discretion of the Professor

Modified: 2/16/2009 <Professor's Name> Page 6