EARTH
HISTORY TERM
PAPER
We donÕt get a chance to cover a fraction of the
topics that
could be covered in a class on the history of the Earth.
Your term paper is a chance for you to
explore one of the topics we havenÕt covered in more detail.
Topic choice is on a first come basis (first to submit to Char, in
writing, their topic. you don't need to wait unit March 17th!)
Possible
topics include:
the fossil record of human evolution
the environments in which our African ancestors evolved
possible impacts of dissolved CO2 levels in sea water and
how marine animals make their shells/skeletons: extinction in the
making?
newest strategies to date rocks: obsidian hydration, fission tracks,
cosmogenic isotopes
the evolution of feathers
evolution of the modern horse - not as straightforward as it seems
pick a hypotheisized asteroid impact site (ex, Chesapeake Bay) and
summarize the evidence
the Yellowstone hot spot - when is the next caldera going to form?
Paleoclimates of New England, 600 million years ago to the present
Explore a climate proxy in more detail, with some examples
Populating the Americas: plate tectonics, sea level and mammal migration
where is the world's coal? can we predict where to look for it?
predicting where the petroleum formed: oceanic upwelling zones in
Paleozoic and Mesozoic seas
modern invasive species (like the zebra mussel): what would
Darwin say?
Email to me by
March 24th your requested term paper topic ( I will certainly
accept them earlier!) and in class on
March 18th I'll confirm that the topic is approved and no one
else snagged it before you. By April 7th IÕd like you to submit
via email a list of at least
5 references that you have
identified as resources for your paper.
No more than 2 of these can be web sources.
An Òannotated bibliographyÓ is more than a citation of
sources. It also includes one or
two sentences of description of the material contained within this
source. The annotated bibliography serves the purpose of
confirming to both you and me that there is enough material for you to
complete the assignment. A first draft of your term paper is due
on APRIL 17TH.
Sample
annotated bibliography:
For example, if you were interested in the
environments that
comprise modern coral reefs, you might use the following publication:
Mehrtens, C., B. Rosenheim, M. Modley and R. Young, 2001, Reef Morphology and Sediment Attributes, Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras. Carbonates and Evaporites, vol. 16, no. 2, pp. 141-140. This paper describes the bathymetry, macrofauna distribution, sediment composition, and size of the fringing reef off the coast of Roatan. The paper also includes a description of the sampling techniques.
Term
Paper Length and Referencing:
The term paper should be approx 10 types pages
(double
spaced, not including figures
or illustrations). It
should be properly referenced, which means that if an idea, fact, or
piece of data is not the result of your work, you need to cite whose it
is. For example,
"The
sedimentary rocks of the Eastport Quadrangle are intruded by Devonian
coast plutons of varying composition (Gates and Moench, 1981),
including the Red Beach Granite (Amos, 1963),
the presumed source of the Late Devonian Perry Formation, which
unconformably overlies the Eastport Formation in the study area."
In this example, from a paper of mine, I cited the
two geologists who determined that sedimentary rocks were intruded by a
granite pluton. I also cited that another geologist, Amos,
studied one of these granites. Note that you put the last name of
the source of the idea or fact that you are discussing, as well as the
year of the publication in which they put this fact or idea in
print. You also cite professional conversations, for example, if
you learned something in class that you are using in your paper, you
are correct to cite, (Mehrtens, personal communication, 2008).
Remaining Deadlines:
First
draft of the paper due on April 17th. I will read it and make comments; it will be returned
to you on April 22nd
for you to revise.
Final draft due on April 30th
(you must also re-submit your first draft along with your
final draft so I can evaluate your improvement).
A
grading rubric for the paper and talk will be posted here at the
beginning of the semester.