Earth! Origin and evolution of a turbulent planet

Semester: Autumn 
Schedule: Friday 10:15am à 12:00pm
Classroom: Internef 275
Number of hours: 28

Objective

This teaching offers the opportunity to understand the basic principles of how the earth works and how it has changed over the last 4.5 billion years. It will emphasise the importance of the fundamental interactions between the surface and the interior of the solid plane and its relationship with the living world. This lesson will show how issues relating to energy, food and industrial resources and environmental management are closely linked to the history of the Earth. The following is a list of themes that may be addressed.

Themes

1. The first hours of the universe and the solar system
2. The continental divide or the dynamics of the earth
3. Oceans and atmosphere: a solar energy machine
4. Fossils, evidence of past environments
5. Fossil dating of rocks: from Archaeology to Anthropocene!
6. The great extinctions - when's the next one?
7. Géochronology and âge of the earth 
8. The formation of mountain ranges: "the sea at 5'000m can you believe it?".
9. The destruction of mountain ranges ‘raze these mountains so we can see the sea!’
10. History of life and terrestrial environments
11. Glaciers in Switzerland, drivers of climate change
12. The great glaciations or the snowball Earth
13. Systems and volcanoes, can they be anticipated and avoided? First part 
14. Sacutes and volcanoes (continued)

Semester: Autumn
Schedule: Friday 2:15pm à 4:00pm
Course room: Anthropôle 2097
Number of hours: 28

Objective

Spark the student's curiosity by involving them actively in the course through in-depth personal work, oral presentation, and critical discussion. The seminars will focus on the impact of geological phenomena on our societies and how we can hope to manage them.

Content

Themes covered in the course will be developed around the impacts and importance of geological processes on society and its management (e.g. nature, climate, tourism, air traffic, …) such as:

• the’impact of tsunami récents on balnéaire tourism development;
• the management of the Icelandic volcanic cloud crisis in spring 2010;
• what is the legal responsibility of scientists in the prevision of natural disasters (volcanoes, seacutes);
• What is the perception of geological time in society?
• what could be the comparative impact of technical and natural solutions for CO2 sequestration;
• the continental shelf: potential economic impacts on its depletion;
etc.

The course can be taken without the séminaire. However, the seminar cannot be taken without having taken the course.

Course: continuous control (crit)
Coursework: oral and written assignments

NB : The corresponding credits for this course cannot be validated for FGSE students