Marks are awarded for the assignment, an oral presentation, on-line quizzes, a mid-term test, and the final exam. Assessment at Macquarie University is standards-based, as outlined in the Assessment Policy. This means that your work will be assessed against clear criteria, and these criteria (e.g. in a rubric) will be made available when the assessment tasks are released to you on iLearn. There is no requirement to pass the final exam in order to pass the unit.

Requirements to complete this unit satisfactorily

To complete this unit satisfactorily, you must:

1. Participate in the scheduled workshops;

2. Complete all assessments and the final exam; and

3. Achieve a pass grade or higher.

The descriptions for grades common to all coursework units offered by Macquarie University are outlined in Schedule 1 of the Assessment Policy.

On-line quizzes on workshops

After each workshop on Monday a quiz will open to make sure you have read and understood the lecture material, practical, and weekly reading. The 12 quizzes will be available on-line through the iLearn system and together are worth 10% of the unit mark. The quizzes are in each weekly section of iLearn; also see the shortcuts to all quizzes from the “Activities” panel on the right hand side of the iLearn page. You will do the quizzes in your own time, open book, and they will be open until 23:59 on the following Friday (4¹/₂ days to do each of them). The question order will be forced (i.e. you can’t go back to a question later) and random, there will be a time limit of 30 mins on the workshop quizzes, and you only get one go. There is no workshop or quiz in week 13 (oral presentation day). The 10% quiz mark will be derived by summing all 12 of the lecture quizzes and normalising.

Practicals

A very important component of GEOS3130 are the practicals. These are for 3¹/₂–4 hours per week during the workshops, and enable several of the topics to be dealt with in greater depth. The mode of presentation of these practicals will vary considerably week to week. Some weeks, the practicals will be a more tutorial format, with group work and discussion. Other weeks the practicals will be more hands-on oriented. Some weeks you will be working on computers, other times on microscopes or virtual microscopes, or hard copy work sheets. You will be given specific details of what is expected for the practical when you begin each section of the class. Please bring pencils, pens, coloured pencils and a ruler to the practicals.

Mid-semester test

The mid-semester test will occur at the start of the week 7 workshop on Monday 7 September, immediately after the semester break. It will be a short test of the week 1–6 lectures, unit reading material, and practical exercises. The educational rationale for the mid-semester test is to check that you are on track in terms of your learnings from the unit.

Final Exam

The unit examination will be based on lectures, unit reading material, practical exercises, information you should have absorbed through completing the assignment and oral presentation, and any other material presented during classes. The educational rationale for the exam is to check the acquired knowledge by the students at the end of the unit. The University Examination period in the Second Half Year 2020 is from Monday 9 November 2020 to Friday 27 November 2020. You are expected to present yourself for examination at the time and place designated in the University Examination Timetable. Details of exam conditions and timetables can be found on the Exams and Results portal. The timetable will be available in draft form approximately eight weeks before the commencement of the examinations and in final form approximately four weeks before the commencement of the examinations. http://www.timetables.mq.edu.au/

You are advised that it is Macquarie University policy not to set early examinations for individuals or groups of students. All students are expected to ensure that they are available until the end of the teaching session, that is, the final day of the official examination period. The only exception to not sitting an examination at the designated time is because of documented illness or unavoidable disruption. In these circumstances you may wish to consider applying for a “Disruption to Studies”. The following is a link to the University’s Special Consideration Policy, which you should read at the start of the session:

https://students.mq.edu.au/study/my-study-program/special-consideration

If a Supplementary Examination is granted as a result of the Disruption to Studies process, that examination will be scheduled after the conclusion of the official examination period.

There is a procedure for appealing against final unit grades, which is documented here:

http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/gradeappeal/policy.html

We suggest that you discuss these sorts of problems with Prof. Simon George in the first instance.

Assignment

You will be given specific details of what is expected for the Earth System Science Research Report when it is released. The assignment will involve a written research report, in which your use of English and referencing the source of your ideas is important. The assignments will be released to you on iLearn in Week 3, and will be discussed in that week’s workshop.

The assignment is essay based, so skill at writing reports is important. The assignment topic must be fully researched and the report written in your own words. Cutting and pasting information from web pages is NOT acceptable. Information you obtain from other sources (brief quotes, images, ideas) must be fully referenced in the text (author, year), with references listed at the end of the essay (year, author, title, journal or link). See later in the handout for sections on academic honesty and referencing. Students who fail in these fundamental principles and basic skills may score zero for the assignment. The assignment will be submitted for turnitin checking and grademark assessment through iLearn. You will not need to produce hard copy. The assignment will be due on Friday of Week 7 at 5pm.

Macquarie University promotes student awareness of information management and information ethics. As well as training and the provision of general information, the University tackles the issue of plagiarism through use of an online plagiarism detection tool (Turnitin). This software is used in conjunction with a set of procedures to ensure its use is equitable. Turnitin automatically compares your work to the work of your classmates, previous students from Macquarie and other universities, and with material available on the Internet, both freely available and in subscription-based electronic journals and books. The results will be sent to your lecturers, who will analyse these in reference to the University's standard Policy on Plagiarism.

GEOS3130 is a component of the Bachelor of Marine Science, the Bachelor of Science specialisation in Earth and Environmental Sciences, and the Bachelor of Environment, major in Environmental Geoscience.

The unit will be presented in 4 broad themes:

Theme 1: Introduction to Earth System Science: The introduction to the unit will show how the Earth works as a System. Major (bio)geochemical cycles and the climate system will be introduced.

Theme 2: Physical, chemical and biological records of the past: This theme will include how the Earth’s climate is influenced by the carbon cycle and feedback loops. Key thresholds and palaeotemperature history will be introduced, together with the use of isotopes and proxies for understanding the past. In this theme the physical sedimentary environment will be considered, and the concept of sequence stratigraphy will be introduced.

Theme 3: Precambrian Earth System Shifts: This theme involves a look at two major Precambrian events that changed the Earth for ever. One is the evolution of oxygenic photosynthesis which ultimately led to the Great Oxidation Event, the second are the Neoproterozoic glaciations which are connected with the radiation of animals.

Theme 4: Phanerozoic Earth System Shifts: This is the largest of our themes. The theme considers important periods in the Phanerozoic when the Earth System underwent significant change. First, we examine the Cambrian when there was a major and unique radiation of animal life. Then, in the early Palaeozoic, the land was invaded by higher plants for the first time. We also investigate the mass extinction at the end of the Cretaceous, the various hyperthermals in the Cenozoic, and the recent Pleistocene glaciations in depth.

Across all themes you will gain an understanding of sediments and sedimentary rocks, both in hand specimen and by practical microscopy, learn to consider Earth as an integrated biogeochemical system, and develop your critical thinking and communication skills.

Delivery and Resources

Classes and contact hours

Attend the five-hour workshop each week.

11 Wally’s Walk, 210, Mondays, 10:00-15:00.

Each 5 hour workshop will include about 60 mins to 90 mins of mini-lectures, with the rest of the time spent on practical activities. The lecture material will mostly be delivered in small blocks, interspersed with the practicals. The mini-lectures may be at any time during the workshop, as decided by the person teaching each week. The lectures will typically give a broad overview of the topics, provide background information and introduce new ideas and concepts that link in with the practical activities. The lectures will be interactive, with questions and answers throughout. The lectures will be recorded using Echo 360 active learning (audio and screen capture), and files of the lecture graphics will also be made available through iLearn. These will be particularly useful for revision purposes.

At the moment this unit is set to be delivered with workshops on campus. It is possible that COVID-19 will disrupt these plans during semester 2. For up-to-date information from the university about precautions to take during semester 2, please visit the Coronavirus (COVID-19) infection latest information pages.

Late Enrolments

If you enrol late in the unit, you will have already missed one or more workshops. It is your responsibility to catch up. Also, you will still be expected to submit all assignments within the remaining time.

Workload

This is a 10 credit point unit. It is anticipated that you will spend 150 hours on this unit. About 60 hours (12 weeks × 5 hours) will be spent in the weekly workshops (weeks 1–12), 5 hours in the oral presentations in week 13, and the remainder (85 hours) will be spent reviewing lecture material, completing practical work, undertaking the weekly quizzes, completing the assignment, preparing your oral presentation, and preparing for the two exams (mid-term test; final exam).

GEOS3130 prize and PESA

The Petroleum Exploration Society of Australia (PESA) prize for proficiency in the unit GEOS3130 Earth System History (value $500) is awarded annually to the best performing student on GEOS3130. Consider joining PESA, the membership is FREE for students in 2020! They offer a variety of resources for their members including face-to face lunchtime talks (only $10 if any run), free zoom talks, and there is the possibility of scholarships, and great networking! Simon can sponsor you as a PESA financial member if necessary. Learn more on their website: https://www.pesa.com.au/

Textbook and Readings

• Earth System History, Steven M. Stanley and John A. Luczaj, 2015, Fourth Edition, Freeman/Macmillan Learning
• Macquarie Library Level 1/Level 2 QE28.3.S735 2015  
• https://multisearch.mq.edu.au/primo-explore/fulldisplay?docid=MQ_ALMA21157705280002171&context=L&vid=MQ&lang=en_US&search_scope=PC_PLUS_LOCAL&adaptor=Local%20Search%20Engine&tab=books_more&query=any,contains,Earth%20System%20History&offset=0
• There are 4 copies in the library, 3 available for loan (no reserve due to COVID)
• It can also be purchased as a cheap ebook (pdf file).
• e.g. https://collegestudenttextbook.org/product/earth-system-history-4th-edition-ebook/, US$13.
• Or from Macmillan: https://store.macmillanlearning.com/us/product/Earth-System-History/p/1429255269?_ga=2.230914459.529381458.1594707400-1498979216.1594707400
• Deals such as 6 month rental for $58.99.
• Other readings will be supplied on iLearn.

Web pages and electronic resources

The main unit web page is on iLearn:  https://ilearn.mq.edu.au/login/MQ/

Assignments, hand-outs, reading material and on-line quizzes will be available here.

iLearn Communication Tools: The unit iLearn page includes three messaging tools, the Announcements tool, the General Discussions forum and the Dialogue tool. In the Announcements Forum, the teaching staff will make unit-wide announcements. These will mostly concern administrative matters (Please note: students cannot post in this forum). All participants are subscribed to this forum. The General Discussions forum is used for messages that either everyone enrolled or selected groups in an online unit can read. Students and teaching staff can post and reply to these messages. The Dialogue tool is used for private messages between you, your lecturer and students in a unit. It is suggested that you check for new discussion and mail messages at least once every day.

Sound recordings and pdf files of the lecture components of the workshops: Sound recordings and video display capture will be available from the link in iLearn (on right hand side of page) to the Echo 360 site. Pdf files of each lecture will be available for download from the iLearn site, 1-2 days before each lecture. These will be in the weekly section, and will be available as pdf files in 2 formats: (1) colour, 1 page per slide, not suitable for printing, but ideal for looking at on your computer; and (2) no colour background, 3 slides per page (these are good for printing to bring to lectures).

Technology Used and Required

This unit will use iLearn and Echo360. See the Instructions on how to log in to iLearn and the iLearn quick guides for students which will help you:

• Getting started - Find out how to navigate and familiarise yourself with the iLearn environment.
• Activities - Learn how to effectively complete the activities required of you in iLearn.
• Assignments and Gradebook - Find out how to submit assessments and view your grades using iLearn.
• Online study tips - Studying online is a unique experience, learn how to navigate it here.
• Discussion forums - Explore the different types, and features of discussion forums in iLearn.
• Lecture recordings - Find out how to access lectures online, as well as the features available to you.

GEOS3130: Earth System History (Semester 2, 2020): Workshop Schedule

Who: SCG = Prof. Simon George (convenor), SCL = Dr Stefan Löhr, AA = Dr April Abbott, SM = Dr Sean Murray.

Since 2019 there was a reordering of the unit content. The mid-semester test is now worth 10% (in 2019 was 15%) and the final exam is now worth 40% (in 2019 was 35%).