FIELD GEOLOGY

This is a field geology course focusing on the Apennine Mountains of central Italy, where a developing “accretionary prism” (associated with oceanic crust subduction) can be observed directly. Students will learn how to interpret the evolution of paleo-environments from the sediment lithologies, textures, fossils, compositions; and the tectonic history from the present day spatial and structural relationships. The rocks range from early Mesozoic oceanic crust and sediments to late Cenozoic sediments impacted by the rise of the Alps. The course visits several classic geological localities, including the Gubbio site of the discovery that the dinosaur extinction was caused by a meteorite, a Carrara Marble quarry (favored by Michelangelo for his sculptures), evaporite sediments from the dry-down of the Mediterranean, the magnificent Frasassi Cave, and effects of recent earthquakes.

Priority: This course has a limited number of spaces, and enrollment requires the instructors' permission. Students interested in enrolling are instructed to contact the instructors by email. Priority is given to Columbia College and General Studies senior and junior majors and minors in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, and Barnard senior and junior majors and minors in Environmental Science. Barnard students must receive permission from the Barnard Environmental Science department chair in order to receive the subsidy.