Details of ES1201 (Spring 2019)
| Level: 1 | Type: Theory | Credits: 3.0 |
| Course Code | Course Name | Instructor(s) |
|---|---|---|
| ES1201 | Earth System Processes | Manoj Kumar Jaiswal, Sayantan Sarkar, Somnath Dasgupta |
| Preamble |
|---|
| This course introduces issues of modern problems of global change with observational data and how the Earth responds under stress. The surface process section of the course would cover topics on how the Earth works as a system, and on global events in the history of the Earth that provide lessons for the future. The next section of the course would cover topics related to lithospheric process. |
| Syllabus |
|---|
| Earth as a system- an introduction
I. Lithospheric processes- exogeneous and endogenous Isotopic reservoir: Introduction to evolution of isotopic reservoirs particularly relevant to core, mantle and crust formation. a. Endogenous processes: Dynamics of the earths core, processes operative in the core-mantle boundary, processes in the earths mantle- convection, melting, phase transitions, mantle heat flow, geotherm. Processes at plate boundaries and evolution of the lower continental crust. b. Exogenous processes and products: Agents and processes responsible for shaping landscapes Tectonics and landform evolution Tectonics and climate II. Atmospheric and oceanic processes in relation to climate a) Climate system concepts: state, coupling, feedback, equilibrium; formation of the atmosphere; composition of the early atmosphere; formation of oceans; the origin of life; effect of life on the early atmosphere rise of oxygen and ozone. b) Role of the atmosphere and oceans in energy redistribution: global energy distribution; general circulation of the atmosphere; surface and deep-ocean circulation; energy redistribution over short and long timescales; global profiles of temperature and precipitation. c) Global energy balance and climate change: fundamentals of planetary energy balance and the greenhouse effect; long-term climate regulation glacial-interglacial periods and Milankovitch cycles; longterm CO2 records; examples of climate regulation by natural factors the faint young sun paradox and the snowball earth; a critical review of the Gaia hypothesis and the Daisyworld climate system. |
| References |
|---|
| L.R. Kump, J.F. Kasting and R.G. Crane, The Earth system, Prentice Hall, (2012)
B. Skinner and B. W. Murck, The Blue Planet, Wiley. C.M.R. Fowler, The Solid Earth: An Introduction to Global Geophysics, Cambridge Unoversity Press (2005). G. Davies, Dynamic Earth, Plates, Plumes and mantle Convection , Cambridge (2001). G. Schubert, D. Turcotte, and P. Olson, Theory of Mantle Convection and Plumes , Cambridge (2000) |
Course Credit Options
| Sl. No. | Programme | Semester No | Course Choice |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | IP | 2 | Not Allowed |
| 2 | IP | 4 | Not Allowed |
| 3 | IP | 6 | Not Allowed |
| 4 | MR | 2 | Not Allowed |
| 5 | MR | 4 | Not Allowed |
| 6 | MS | 2 | Core |
| 7 | RS | 1 | Not Allowed |
| 8 | RS | 2 | Not Allowed |