Details of ES4105 (Autumn 2016)

Level: 4 Type: Theory Credits: 3.0

Course CodeCourse NameInstructor(s)
ES4105 Isotope Geology Prasanta Sanyal,
Tarun Kumar Dalai

Preamble
This course will introduce stable isotope and radiogenic isotope systematic, and their applications in earth sciences. The objective of this course is to understand the mechanisms of distribution (stable isotopes) and evolution (radiogenic isotopes) of isotope composition in natural materials, e.g. minerals, rocks, sediments, water, gases, biological materials; and apply this knowledge to understand processes operating on the surface and in the interior of the earth.

Syllabus
Radioactive decay law, geochronometry equation, dating by isochron method, dating of igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks by Rb-Sr isotope systematic. Sm-Nd isotope systematic. CHUR model ages and crustal extraction through time. Nd isotopes as tracers of sediment provenance. Coupled Sr-Nd-Pb isotopes as tracers in evolution of crust and mantle, U-Th-Pb isochron dating, U-Pb dating of zircons, Pb-Pb isotope isochron dating, Model (galena) ages using Pb-Pb isotope dating. U-Th disequilibrium series. Application of radioactive disequilibrium in dating of rocks, and in estimation of sedimentation accumulation rates. Sr and Nd isotopes in river and seawater: evolution of isotope composition during weathering and transport. Marine Sr isotopes as tracers of continental weathering. Re-Os isotope systematic and its utility in dating of organic rich sediments. Marine 187Os/188Os record as tracers of global events: glacial-interglacial climate change, extraterrestrial impacts and massive volcanism.


Isotopic fractionation; kinetic and equilibrium fractionation; causes of fractionation; stable isotope standards and notations; distribution of oxygen and hydrogen isotopes in nature and fractionation relation; oxygen and hydrogen isotopes as tracers for monsoon vapour source; paleoclimate and oxygen and hydrogen isotopes of pedogenic minerals; oxygen and carbon isotope and diagenesis; carbon and nitrogen isotopes and paleoecology; carbon isotopes and paleo-atmospheric CO2; isotope thermometry; microbial processes and their role in sulphur isotope distribution; sulphur isotopes in marine sulphate through time and link between sulphur cycle and atmospheric oxygen.

Prerequisite
Sedimentology, Geochemistry and Mineralogy

References
1.Stable isotope Geochemistry by Jochen Hoefs
2.Isotope Geology by Claude Allegre, Cambridge Univ Press 2008
3. Radiogenic Isotope Geology by A.P. Dickin, Cambridge Univ Press 2005
4. Isotopes: Principles and Applications by Gunter Faure and Teresa Mensing, John Wiley and Sons 2005

Course Credit Options

Sl. No.ProgrammeSemester NoCourse Choice
1 IP 1 Not Allowed
2 IP 3 Elective
3 IP 5 Not Allowed
4 MR 1 Not Allowed
5 MR 3 Not Allowed
6 MS 7 Core
7 RS 1 Elective
8 RS 2 Elective