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George Mason University – Graduate Council
Graduate Course Approval Form
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Please indicate: New___X____
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Department/Unit:___Physics & Astronomy____ Course Subject/Number:____ASTR 703_____________
Submitted by:____R. Ehrlich_________________________________ Ext:___1268________
Email:[email protected]_____________________
Course Title:____Planetary Sciences____________________________________________________
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George Mason University
Graduate Course Coordination Form
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Syllabus
ASTR-704: Planetary Sciences
Catalog Description: This course will cover the processes and events that have played a central role in the origin and evolution of the
solar system, with special emphasis on the terrestrial planets. The unique history of Earth, and how it has evolved into a habitable
world, will be covered in detail.
Nature of content: This course is specifically designed to provide students in the Astrobiology concentration, especially those
coming from a biology background, with an overview of the solar system, focusing on the comparative evolution of the terrestrial
planets and implications and possible sites for life. Topics will include the origin of the solar system, the formation of the Earth’s
ocean and atmosphere, its plate tectonics, the influence of life, the co-evolution of life and the atmosphere, and finally discussing ways
humans are impacting Earth and its possible future evolution. We will also discuss the “habitability zones” for planets around stars,
and the search for extraterrestrial life in our solar system, including on Mars and the icy moons of Jupiter, and beyond. One goal will
be to provide a broad context by discussing the Earth history in relation to that of other planets in the solar system. The
interdisciplinary nature of astrobiology will be emphasized, and the relevant aspects of physics, chemistry and other fields will be
discussed. The course will also include discussions of the primary methods/techniques that have been instrumental in helping to build
a picture of the history of Earth and the solar system (e.g., radioactive dating, the geological record, NASA planetary missions.)
Methods of instruction and evaluation: The format of the course will be lecture along with group discussion.
Sprinkled throughout the course will be short tutorials on relevant topics, e.g., equilibrium chemistry,
thermodynamics, and spectroscopy. Homework will include the use of computational simulations (e.g.,
planetary formation, the greenhouse effect and the runaway greenhouse, daisy world, ice ages, and
biogeochemical cycles) and make extensive use of web resources. There will also be bi-weekly quizzes, and
mid-term and final exams. A term project, with both written and oral presentation, will be required. Grading
will be 30% term project, 20% mid-term exam, 20% final exam, 20% homework, and 10% quizzes.
This course will be taught by Michael Summers (SCS and Dept. of Physics and Astronomy) whose research specialty is Planetary
Atmospheres. He has taught related courses at GMU including an undergraduate special topics course on Astrobiology (PHYS-390),
developed the graduate courses in Atmospheric Physics (PHYS-575/CSI-655) and Atmospheric Dynamics (PHYS-676/CSI-755), and
has taught graduate special topics courses on Atmospheric Chemistry, Global Change, and on the Origin and Evolution of Planetary
Atmospheres.
LECTURES:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Origin of the solar system
a. Molecular clouds and star formation
b. Nucleosynthesis
c. Proto-solar nebula
Formation of planets
a. Protoplanetary nebula
b. Accretion of planetismals
c. Planetary body formation
d. Terrestrial planets vs outer gas giant planet formation/evolution
e. Remnants: comets, asteroids, Kuiper belt objects
The early terrestrial planets
a. Early Earth, Mars, and Venus
b. Earliest atmospheres
c. Age dating techniques
The Hadean Earth
a. Differentiation and core formation
b. Outgassing
c. Formation of the moon
Plate tectonics and early evolution of the surface of Earth
a. Establishment of oceans and continents
b. Establishment of hydrosphere
c. Cratering and geological layering
d. Volcanism
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
e. Internal structure
Atmospheric processes on terrestrial planets
a. Composition and structure of planetary atmospheres
b. Atmospheric chemistry
c. Greenhouse effect
d. Atmospheres as heat engines
Atmosphere/continents/ocean interactions on Earth
a. Ocean circulation
b. Weathering, formation of carbonates
c. Ocean sediments
The early greenhouse, faint early sun problem
a. Carbon dioxide cycling and relation to early plate tectonics
b. Carbon-Silicate cycle
c. Climate stability and role of greenhouse gases
d. The role of life
Climate histories of Mars and Venus and habitability of planets
a. The runaway greenhouse and Venus’ thick/hot carbon dioxide atmosphere
b. The warm/wet early Mars and the cold Mars of today
c. Habitable zones and sites for life
d. Subsurface ocean on Europa
The rise of an oxygen atmosphere on Earth
a. Natural sources and abundance of free oxygen, photosysthesis
b. Evidences for rise of oxygen and decrease of carbon dioxide
c. Formation of ozone UV shield for life
The Phanerozoic Earth:
a. Co-evolution of atmospheres and life
b. Mass extinction events, asteroid impacts
c. Climatic change across the phanerozoic
d. Biogeochemical cycles
Ice ages and climate variability
a. Positive and negative climate feedbacks
b. Snowball Earth
c. The warm Cretaceous
d. Causes of Pleistocene ice age and climate oscillations
Climate changes over the past 100,000 years
a. The record in ice cores
b. Climate variability in the late Holocene
c. The Younger Dryas: the role of the ocean in climate
The impact of Humans
a. Anthropogenic green house gases
b. Effects of global warming
c. Ozone depletion
d. El Nino phenomenon
e. Difficulty of proof: Weather versus climate
Required Textbooks:
Earth, Evolution of a Habitable World, J.I. Lunine, Cambridge, 1999.
Physics and Chemistry of the Solar System, J.S. Lewis, Academic Press, 1995.
Recommended:
Photochemistry of Planetary Atmospheres, Y.L. Yung and W.B. DeMore, Oxford, 1999.
Fundamentals of Atmospheric P