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HU Credits:
2
Degree/Cycle:
1st degree (Bachelor)
Responsible Department:
Geology
Semester:
1st Semester
Teaching Languages:
Hebrew
Campus:
Mt. Scopus
Course/Module Coordinator:
Oded Navon
Coordinator Office Hours:
Tuesday, 08:00-08:30 and 10:00-10:30.
Teaching Staff:
Prof Oded Navon,
Prof Mordechai Stein
Course/Module description:
The Dead Sea rift is a much deeper hole than the 400 m below sea level of its shores. The hole continues to a few kilometers below the sea bottom, but was filled by sediments. In the course we will learn how such a hole is formed in the framework of the theory of plate tectonics and how the rocks record the tectonic history and the climate of the past. We will learn about the various lakes that existed in the region and learn how these data help us understand global warming issues. We will discuss the volcanic and seismic activity and conclude by looking at the human activity and its effect on the dead sea environment in the past, present and future.
Course/Module aims:
To understand the geological history of the Levant, israel and the Dead-Sea Rift in the context of plate tectonics. To learn how lake sediments record the climate record of the past and the relation to global warming. To know how rocks are dated.
Learning outcomes - On successful completion of this module, students should be able to:
To describe the geological and limnological of the dead Sea Rift and its lakes. To understand the connection between the climate of the past and the present global warming. To understand basic text in geology.
Attendance requirements(%):
100
Teaching arrangement and method of instruction:
Oral presentations and home assignments
Course/Module Content:
Syllabus
1. The formation of the deepest place on Earth: The Earth as an active planet, plate tectonics, faults, formation of the dead sea rift. Going out to an overview on the Judean desert.
2. Rocks and their formation I. Plate tectonics and the inner structure of the Earth, The formation of Igneous rocks, and the early history of the Levant.
3. Rocks and their formation II. Jerusalem under water. How to fill a 10 km deep hole.
4. The tectonics of the dead sea rift.
5. Introduction to the history of the dead sea water bodies: The Sodom Lagoon to the present Dead-Sea – sedimentation vs. subsidence.
6. When the Mediterranean went dry. The Strontium curve, the Mesinian event, evaporites, the Sodom salt.
7. Lakes come and go: The Amora, Samra and Lisan Lakes (chronology, geochemistry, limnology and the climatological context).
8. When did it all happened? How do we determine radioactive ages, the Lisan as a case study.
9. The Ice Ages and their record at the dead sea. From Milankovitch to sun storms.
10. The last 10,000 years. Global change, cultures, catastrophes and the regional climate.
11. Volcanism: causes, basalts and volcanic hazard.
12. Seismic history and the lake sediment record.
13. Pioneers, explorers and settlers: The early exploration, the industry and anthropogenic influence, the future.
Required Reading:
A few popular papers in "Salt of the Earth" and other sources.
Additional Reading Material:
A few popular papers in "Salt of the Earth"
Understanding Earth by Grotzinger, Jordan, Press
and Siever 5th ed.
Grading Scheme :
Additional information:
none
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