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Geobiology (GEOL30007)
Undergraduate level 3Points: 12.5On Campus (Parkville)
From 2023 most subjects will be taught on campus only with flexible options limited to a select number of postgraduate programs and individual subjects.
To learn more, visit COVID-19 course and subject delivery.
About this subject
- Overview
- Eligibility and requirements
- Assessment
- Dates and times
- Further information
- Timetable(opens in new window)
Contact information
Overview
Availability | Semester 2 |
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Fees | Look up fees |
This subject explores the vast diversity of life that has inhabited planet Earth throughout its 4.5 billion year history and biology’s dynamic role in shaping Earth’s environments; from the inhospitable early Earth to the modern world we see around us. From the perspectives of energy flow, metabolism, species-species interactions, and evolutionary innovation, we explore the origin of life, photosynthesis and the oxygenation of the atmosphere, biogeochemical cycles, and life in extreme environments. Using paleontological principles we unravel the vast amount of information contained within fossils, including: paleoenvironmental reconstruction based on microfossil compositions; and broad evolutionary patterns of speciation and extinction spanning the appearance of the first biomineralized tissues half a billion years ago, to the rise and fall of dinosaurs and mammalian megafauna. The topics covered in this course also provide insight into a range of problems in the energy, minerals and environmental industry sectors.
Intended learning outcomes
On completion of this subject you will be able to:
- Explain the evolutionary history of life on Earth and the evidence used to infer this history
- Explain how biogeochemical cycles shape Earth's climate on the modern Earth, and on geologic timescales
- Describe and explain how ecological niches arise and impact the distribution and diversity of life on Earth
- Identify, explain and interpret fossil distributions, and their applications, including the controls on extinction
- Predict the distribution of dominant metabolisms using energetic considerations
- Apply skills for identifying and describing fossils in the field or in the laboratory
- Document and present an advanced synthesis of the use of at least one group of fossils or biogeochemical system
Generic skills
On completion of this subject students should have developed the following generic skills:
- Critical thinking skills: an ability to assimilate and critically evaluate new knowledge from the literature
- Communication skills: capacity to to communicate subject knowledge to a broad audience
- Problem solving skills: ability to integrate knowledge and skills from different scientific disciplines to address complex problems using a range of interdisciplinary approaches.
Last updated: 31 January 2024
Eligibility and requirements
Prerequisites
25 credit points of Level 2 Earth Science, Chemistry or Biology Subjects
OR
By arrangement with subject co-ordinators
Corequisites
None
Non-allowed subjects
None
Inherent requirements (core participation requirements)
The University of Melbourne is committed to providing students with reasonable adjustments to assessment and participation under the Disability Standards for Education (2005), and the Assessment and Results Policy (MPF1326). Students are expected to meet the core participation requirements for their course. These can be viewed under Entry and Participation Requirements for the course outlines in the Handbook.
Further details on how to seek academic adjustments can be found on the Student Equity and Disability Support website: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/student-equity/home
Last updated: 31 January 2024
Assessment
Description | Timing | Percentage |
---|---|---|
Four short reading quizzes / problem sets
| Weeks 2, 4, 7, and 9 of teaching semester | 20% |
Two lab reports / essays
| Week 5 and Week 11 of teaching semester | 40% |
Written examination
| During the examination period | 40% |
Additional details
Topics selected from assigned readings will be assessed in the reading quizzes and final examination.
Last updated: 31 January 2024
Dates & times
- Semester 2
Coordinators Harry McClelland and Stephen Gallagher Mode of delivery On Campus (Parkville) Contact hours 66 hours: 2 x 1hr lecture per week and 1 x 3hr lecture per week (excluding in Weeks 2 and 7); 2 x 1 day field trips in Weeks 2 and 7 (8 hrs per day). Both lectures and the practical will be given each week on the same day. Each field trip will occur in place of the two lectures and the practical for that week. Total time commitment 170 hours Teaching period 25 July 2022 to 23 October 2022 Last self-enrol date 5 August 2022 Census date 31 August 2022 Last date to withdraw without fail 23 September 2022 Assessment period ends 18 November 2022
Time commitment details
Estimated total time commitment of 170 hours
Last updated: 31 January 2024
Further information
- Texts
Prescribed texts
Recommended texts and other resources
Knoll, Andrew H., Donald E. Canfield, and Kurt. Konhauser. Fundamentals of Geobiology. Chichester, West Sussex ;: John Wiley & Sons, 2012. Print.
- Subject notes
This subject is available for science credit to students enrolled in the BSc (both pre-2008 and new degrees), BASc or a combined BSc course.
Please note that there is a $100 course fee for this subject (lab materials and field trip costs)
- Related Handbook entries
This subject contributes to the following:
Type Name Course Master of Environmental Science Course Master of Geoscience Informal specialisation Science Discipline subjects - new generation B-SCI Informal specialisation Geology Major Geology Informal specialisation Geology Major Environmental Science Major Geology - Breadth options
This subject is available as breadth in the following courses:
- Bachelor of Arts
- Bachelor of Commerce
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Acting)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Animation)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Dance)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Film and Television)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Music Theatre)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Production)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Screenwriting)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Theatre)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Visual Art)
- Bachelor of Music
- Available through the Community Access Program
About the Community Access Program (CAP)
This subject is available through the Community Access Program (also called Single Subject Studies) which allows you to enrol in single subjects offered by the University of Melbourne, without the commitment required to complete a whole degree.
Entry requirements including prerequisites may apply. Please refer to the CAP applications page for further information.
- Available to Study Abroad and/or Study Exchange Students
This subject is available to students studying at the University from eligible overseas institutions on exchange and study abroad. Students are required to satisfy any listed requirements, such as pre- and co-requisites, for enrolment in the subject.
Last updated: 31 January 2024