Timothy Ian Eglinton: Catalogue data in Autumn Semester 2016

Name Prof. Dr. Timothy Ian Eglinton
FieldBiogeosciences
Address
Geologisches Institut
ETH Zürich, NO G 59
Sonneggstrasse 5
8092 Zürich
SWITZERLAND
Telephone+41 44 633 92 91
E-mailtimothy.eglinton@erdw.ethz.ch
DepartmentEarth Sciences
RelationshipFull Professor

NumberTitleECTSHoursLecturers
651-1091-00LColloquium Department Earth Sciences0 credits1KT. I. Eglinton
AbstractInvited speakers from the entire range of Earth Sciences.
ObjectiveSelected themes in sedimentology, tectonics, paläontology, geophysics, mineralogy, paleoclimate and engineering geology on a regional and global scale.
ContentAccording to variable program.
Lecture notesNo
LiteratureNo
651-4143-00LGeobiology3 credits2VT. I. Eglinton
AbstractWe will study traces in the lithosphere that have been left behind by organisms in the course of Earth history and mineral components, which were built through biological processes or used as sources of energy and nutrients. Traces of life from the past will be compared with the development of the diversity of and the disparities in today's organisms.
ObjectiveThe course will allow students to ask questions about the origin and the evolution of life on Earth, to understand contemporary hypotheses and create new methods of developing them further. Theory is supplemented with observations in the field, exercises and the application of simple mathematical models. The course will enable students to integrate geobiological knowledge into topics that will be taught in subsequent Earth science courses and into the current understanding of Earth history. They will learn to better understand modern geological settings and, if necessary, to recommend biogeochemically well-founded and responsible interventions or protective measures.
ContentThe course focuses on geobiochemical cycles that play major roles in Earth history in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, on biosynthetic and catabolic processes which are essential for life and on organisms which regulate and maintain geochemical cycling.
Accordingly, we must understand
-- how biological cells and its components are built from essential elements and molecules,
-- where the elements and molecules needed to form biomass originate,
-- how cells function and which life styles organisms developed,
-- where organisms can exist and which factors select for their presence,
-- where biologically useable forms of energy come from and under which conditions they can be exploited,
-- how one can apply thermodynamic principles to predict habitability, metabolic pathways and biogeochemical processes,
-- how organic and inorganic monomers can polymerise to form biomacromolecules and how these can be broken down again,
-- how biomacromolecules can acquire catalytic abilities,
-- which metabolic strategies lead to the selection of molecular isomers,
-- how biological metabolism can change environmental conditions and composition,
-- which metabolic products can lead to mineralogical signals in the rock record,
-- how biomolecules and elements are altered in sedimentary deposits,
-- which biological skeletal components can become indicators in Earth history,
-- how organic and inorganic components and redox-labile trace elements are cycled in the biosphere,
-- how biogeochemical cycles function and how they can get out of steady state,
-- which information of relevance for Earth history is stored in genomes of organisms,
-- how biological "innovations" evolved, how they were maintained over time and how they changed in response to environmental changes,
-- which characteristics were essential for an ancestral cell to be able to metabolise, to reproduce and to respond to changes in environmental conditions,
-- which abiotic, catalytic processes, reactivities on mineral surfaces and conditions were necessary for life to emerge ?

Applied Case Studies, which supplement and illustrate the contents:
-- Scientific applications of geobiological knowledge are found in fields like Microbial Ecology, Geochemistry, Palaeontology, Sedimentology, Petrology, Ocean Research, Environmental Sciences, Astrobiology and Archaeology.
-- Practical applications of geobiological knowledge are needed in fields like stabilisation of existing and design of save waste repositories, surveilling ground water resources, sewage treatment, exploitation of and prospecting for fossil carbon sources, soil remediation, mineral exploration and leaching, forensic and geomedicine.
Lecture notesLecture slides, a list with recommended text books, scientific articles and recorded lectures to specific topics will be available in electronic form on the learning management site OLAT. Access requires that participants who are enrolled in MyStudies, will login to the course "Geobiology ETHZ" in OLAT via the switch aai authorisation system.
https://www.olat.uzh.ch/olat/url/RepositoryEntry/15294070784?guest=true&lang=en
LiteratureWill become available on the Course Internet Site on OLAT:
https://www.olat.uzh.ch/olat/url/RepositoryEntry/15294070784?guest=true&lang=en
Prerequisites / NoticeThe course builds on the contents of the natural science topics that are parts of the basics, the focus areas and the supplementary courses as required for the Swiss federal Matura (Guidelines for the Swiss Matura Exam, 2012). In order to be able to repeat some of these contents and to better prepare for the course before it starts, one can find links to preparatory material (videoclips) on the Course website on OLAT.
651-4231-00LBasin Analysis3 credits2GS. Willett, T. I. Eglinton, M. Lupker
AbstractThe course discusses the formation and development of different basin types as part of lithosphere geodynamics. It introduces conceptual models and governing physics, with practical application to the study of basin evolution. Techniques for the analysis of subsidence and thermal history are demonstrated. Organic matter, petroleum play, and their biogeochemical investigation are examined.
ObjectiveBased on the introductory education and practical training during this course, each participant should be able to choose and apply approaches and techniques to own problems of basin analysis, and should be versed to expand their knowledge independently.

In particular, each participant should:

- Develop an intuitive understanding for origin, dynamics, and temporal evolution of basins in a geological / geodynamic context;

- Acquire the necessary theoretical foundation to describe basin evolution quantitatively;

- Be familiar with geological and geophysical methods that are applied to obtain information about rock properties, structural geometry, and thermal and subsidence history of basins;

- Understand the burial and maturation of organic matter in basins, the development of petroleum play, and be acquainted with geochemical methods to study the evolution of biogenic carbon.
ContentThe following topics are covered:

- Introduction; classification schemes and types of basins; heat conduction; geotherms;

- The lithosphere; isostasy; rifts and basins due to lithospheric stretching; uniform extension model; modifications to the uniform stretching model; dynamics of rifting.

- Elasticity of the lithosphere; flexural compensation; geometry and analytical description of loads and the resulting deflection; foreland basins; their anatomy;

- Reconstruction of basin evolution; borehole data; porosity loss and decompaction; backstripping; subsidence curves; thermal history and its reconstruction;

- Petroleum play concept; organic production; source rock prediction and depositional environment; petroleum generation, expulsion, migration, alteration; reservoir and traps;

- Carbon cycle; maturation of organic matter; geochemistry of biogenic carbon; biomarkers; analytical techniques

- Overview of other basin types: effects of mantle dynamics, strike-slip basins.

Each week of the course is split in lectures and corresponding practicals, in which the concepts are applied to simplified problems.

Grading of the semester performance is based on submitted practicals (50%) and a final exam (50%). The exam will take place in the time slot of the last practical (18.12.).
Lecture notesLecture notes are provided online during the course. They summarize the current subjects week by week, and provide the essential theoretical background.
LiteratureMain reference :

Allen, P.A., and Allen, J.R., 2013. Basin Analysis - Principles and Application to petroleum play assessment
3rd edition, 619 pp. Wiley-Blackwell, Chichester, UK.
ISBN 978-0-470-67376-8

Recommended, but not required (available in library).



Supplementary:
Turcotte, D.L., and Schubert, S., 2002. Geodynamics.
2nd edition, 456 pp. Cambridge University Press.
ISBN 0-521-66624-4.

Peters, K.E., Walters, C.C., Moldowan, J.M., 2005. The biomarker guide (volume 2).
2nd edition, Cambridge University Press.
ISBN 0-521-83762-6.
Prerequisites / NoticeFamiliarity with MATLAB is advantageous, but not required.