GEOLOGY 315 - ADVANCED MINERALOGY
FALL 2012

http://mason.gmu.edu/~jnord/geol315/

PREREQUISITES GEOL 101 and 102 (Grade C or above)
CHEM 211 (can be a co-requisit)
CLASS MEETS Monday 1:30 - 3:20 pm, Innovation Room 139
INSTRUCTORS Dr. Julia Nord, 3055 David King Hall
Email Address - jnord@gmu.edu
OFFICE HOURS Julia - Monday 3:30 - 5:00 in the lab
others TBD
TEXTS Handouts as appropriate
OBJECTIVES

* Understanding reactions and processes operating in minerals and mineral associations

* a course for students in Mineralogy (GEOL 302) or that have taken Mineralogy elsewhere, and are going into GEOL 304, Sedimentary Geology or GEOL 308, Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology.

* as this is the first time for this course, if you have areas of mineraology that you wish to cover, please let me know.

FIELD TRIPS Three fields trips will be offered.
Friday, Sept. 28 - Sunday, Sept. 30th. - Franklin NJ
Sunday, Oct. 28th - Gold panning.
Saturday, Nov. 10 th - Contrary Creek

I would like you to participate in the Mineral Show November 16-18



COURSE SCHEDULE

DATE TOPIC READINGS
WEEK 1
AUGUST. 27
Monday
Plate tectonics. Plotting and interpreting data across a subduction zone. Subduction zone
WEEK 2
SEPTEMBER 3
Monday
LABOR DAY Hello
WEEK 3
SEPTEMBER 10
Monday
Single phase diagrams. Phase rule. Quartz phase diagram
Water phase diagram
WEEK 4
SEPTEMBER 17
Monday
Concepts of stability and activation energy Graphite / diamond and calcite / aragonite phase diagrams.
WEEK 5
SEPTEMBER 24
Monday

Northern Virginia Mineral Club meeting.
Simple binary. Anorthite/ diopside phase diagram.
SEPTEMBER 28th - 30th
friday saturday sunday
3 day Field trip - Franklin NJ
WEEK 6
OCTOBER 1
Monday

Simple binaries with thermal divide. Gibbs Free Energy for a binary phase diagram
Quartz - plagioclase - nepheline phase diagram
WEEK 7
OCTOBER 9
Tuesday
Simple solid solution plagioclase / olivine / dolomite - ankerite
WEEK 8
OCTOBER 15
Monday
Exsolution.
Feldspars. Pyroxenes
WEEK 9
OCTOBER 22
Monday

Northern Virginia Mineral Club meeting.
Calcite solubility. Calculating and plotting C stability. Magnesite - dolomite - calcite.
OCTOBER 28
Sunday
Gold Panning
Potomac, Maryland
WEEK 10
OCTOBER 29
Monday
Congruent and incongruent melting. Basic thermodynamics - what makes a reaction go. Entropy. Enthalpy.
WEEK 11

NOVEMBER 5
Monday

Bonfire Night!

Calculating and plotting Kyanite - andalusite - siliminite in PT space
NOVEMBER 10
Saturday
Contrary Creek, acid mine drainage
near Lake Anna, VA
WEEK 12

NOVEMBER 12
Monday

weathering in the tropics. Al stability
NOVEMBER 16th-18th
friday saturday sunday
21st Annual Gem Mineral and Fossil Show
WEEK 13

NOVEMBER 19
Monday

Fe stability. BIF. eH diagrams
THANKSGIVING

NOVEMBER 21 - 25

NO CLASSES
WEEK 14

NOVEMBER 26
Monday

Northern Virginia Mineral Club meeting.

Where is the data?. Simple software
WEEK 15

DECEMBER 3
Monday

Isotopes (stable). Simple software.
NO FINAL EXAM
DECEMBER 19th
monday
Geological Society of Washington
 
DECEMBER 24th
monday
Northern Virginia Mineral Club meeting.
 

GRADING

12 of 14 classes
lowest 2 are dropped
7 points each

84 points

attendance7 points
Participation9 points
TOTAL100 points