Sedimentary basins are the source of all our fossil fuel resources, paleoclimate records and make our planet distinctive. This course will cover sedimentary basin development and the methods used to correlate sedimentary sections around the world. The architecture of large sedimentary basins (greater than 500 km across) will be investigated, with an emphasis on how and why they form. Correlation of rock units in time and space rely on global stratigraphic methods, with emphasis placed on 'event' stratigraphy such as Oceanic Anoxic Events and warm intervals from the sedimentary record like the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) and other times of 'Extreme' climate that occurred during the past 100 million years. The skills learned in this course provide the building blocks of climate reconstructions.
This course is co-taught with undergraduate students but assessed separately.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
- Assess large scale sedimentary basin architecture using seismic stratigraphy, well logs, coring and in some cases outcrops.
- Describe depositional history of selected basins using case studies from the literature. Demonstrate an understanding of how magnetostratigraphy works.
- Evaluate how constructing stratigraphies using stable isotopes of oxygen and carbon is accomplished.
- Develop a working knowledge of how paleotemperature and atmospheric CO2 are reconstructed.
- Analyse and understand how extreme climate events such as the PETM and OAEs are reconstructed.
- Critically analyse how the stratigraphic record can inform us about future climate change and sea level rise, examples from Pliocene stratigraphic study.
Other Information
Indicative field trip costs are approximately $200 and are in addition to the standard course costs. Field trips payments are made through Scienceshop
Indicative Assessment
- 6 quizzes (30) [LO 1,2,3,4,5,6]
- Weekly practical assignments (6 assessed, including the field trip) (30) [LO 1,2,3,4,5,6]
- Theory exam (20) [LO 1,2,3,4,5,6]
- Research paper (20) [LO 1,2,3,4,5,6]
In response to COVID-19: Please note that Semester 2 Class Summary information (available under the classes tab) is as up to date as possible. Changes to Class Summaries not captured by this publication will be available to enrolled students via Wattle.
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Workload
The expected workload will consist of approximately 130 hours throughout the semester including:
- Face-to face component which will consist of 2 x 1 hour lectures plus 1 X 3 hour practical per week.
- A weekend field trip is planned to the South Coast of New South Wales during the first month of the course.
- Approximately 56 hours of self-study which will include preparation for lectures, presentations and other assessment tasks.
Inherent Requirements
To be determined
Requisite and Incompatibility
Prescribed Texts
There will be no set text, but a series of journal articles will be included in the course material.
Assumed Knowledge
Bachelor degree including Earth Science/Geology or Chemistry to a first year level
Fees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
If you are a domestic graduate coursework or international student you will be required to pay tuition fees. Tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 2
- Unit value:
- 6 units
If you are an undergraduate student and have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). You can find your student contribution amount for each course at Fees. Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.
| Units | EFTSL |
|---|---|
| 6.00 | 0.12500 |
Course fees
- Domestic fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2020 | $4050 |
- International fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2020 | $5760 |
Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links
ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.
Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.
First Semester
| Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4579 | 24 Feb 2020 | 02 Mar 2020 | 08 May 2020 | 05 Jun 2020 | In Person | View |
