GEOL 631 - Isotope Geochemistry

Units: 4
This course covers rules and assumptions for radiometric dating and examples of dating rocks and other natural materials, and rules governing fractionation of stable isotopes and applications of stable isotopes as tracers of geologic and biogeochemical processes.

Strongly Recommended Preparation: GEOL 360 Mineralogy
Prerequisites: CHEM 112
Possible Instructional Methods: On-ground, or Hybrid, or Online-Asynchronous, or Online-Synchronous.
Grading: A-F grading only.
Cross-listed: ENSC 631
Student Learning Outcomes - Upon successful completion of this course students will be able to:

1. Explain the chart of the radionuclides including its organization and theoretical basis.

2. Calculate age dates of geologic materials using numerical and graphical methods.

3. Synthesize information and report on the breadth of applications and key successes of isotope geochemistry in the earth sciences.

4. Critically evaluate isotopic research presented in the primary literature.

5. Collect and interpret isotope data for application to a topic in the discipline.