Bachelor's degree

In Maynard (USA)

Price on request

Description

  • Type

    Bachelor's degree

  • Location

    Maynard (USA)

  • Start date

    Different dates available

This course introduces the parallel evolution of life and the environment. Life processes are influenced by chemical and physical processes in the atmosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere and the solid earth. In turn, life can influence chemical and physical processes on our planet. This course explores the concept of life as a geological agent and examines the interaction between biology and the earth system during the roughly 4 billion years since life first appeared.

Facilities

Location

Start date

Maynard (USA)
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02139

Start date

Different dates availableEnrolment now open

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Subjects

  • Biology

Course programme

Lectures: 2 sessions / week, 1.5 hours / session


There are no prerequisites for this course.


This course introduces the parallel evolution of life and the environment. Life processes are influenced by chemical and physical processes in the atmosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere and the solid earth. In turn, life can influence chemical and physical processes on our planet. This course explores the concept of life as a geological agent and examines the interaction between biology and the earth system during the roughly 4 billion years since life first appeared.


Stanley, Steven M. Earth System History. W. H. Freeman, 2008. ISBN: 9781429233491.


Kump, Lee R., James F. Kasting, and Robert G. Crane. The Earth System. Prentice Hall, 2003. ISBN: 9780131420595.


Madigan, Martinko, and F. Parker. Brock Biology of Microorganisms. Benjamin Cummings, 2008. ISBN: 9780132324601.


Morel, M. M., and J. Hering. Principles and Applications of Aquatic Chemistry. Wiley-Interscience, 1993. ISBN: 9780471548966.


Wills, Christopher, and Jeffrey Bada. The Spark of Life: Darwin And The Primeval Soup. Basic Books, 2000. ISBN: 9780738201962. [Preview with Google Books]


Cesare, Emiliani. Planet Earth: Cosmology, Geology and the Evolution of Life and Environment. Cambridge University Press, 1992. ISBN: 9780521409490. [Preview with Google Books]


Broecker, Wallace S. How to Build a Habitable Planet. Columbia Univ Trustees, 1998. ISBN: 9780961751111.


Additional readings provided for some lectures.


Isotope paper: Des Marais C-cycle



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Geobiology

Price on request