GEO9822 ¨C Geochemistry

Course content

The course covers central fields of inorganic geochemistry, focusing on the use of the major element, trace element, radiometric, radiogenic and stable isotope data to understand the evolution of the Earth from initial accretion to its present, differentiated state.

To provide a background for these main topics, the course will give a general introduction to the geochemical classification of the elements and their behaviour in magmatic systems, and the use of radiogenic isotopes to date geological processes, identify source materials, and evaluate the mass balance of processes in the Earth¡¯s mantle and crust.

The practical part of the course covers aspects of analytical geochemistry and handling of analytical data, with emphasis on methods of major and trace element and radiogenic isotope analysis in minerals and rocks, and evaluation of the uncertainty inherent in analytical data. Furthermore, we will work on the interpretation of isotope-geochemical data sets and explore what they can tell us about the evolution of the Earth¡¯s crust and mantle.

Learning outcome

By the end of the course, the student should

• understand the geochemical classification of the elements and how they were formed
• know how to use major and trace elements to trace magmatic processes and for tectonic discrimination
• get acquainted with the thermodynamics of magmatic petrology
• be able to use geochemical and petrological data to explore melt sources and physical and chemical properties of melts during their evolution from formation to solidification, including fractional crystallisation, assimilation/contamination and emplacement
• use isotope-geochemistry/isotope geology for melt source characterisation and understanding melt-host rock interaction from melt generation to emplacement
• get familiar with the main geochronological methods based on radiometric isotopes
• use isotope geology to trace processes in the mantle and to get an understanding of the geochemical evolution of the Earth, including the formation of the early Earth
• get acquainted with the use of isotopes as proxies
• get acquainted with some central analytical methods and how to assess the quality of analytical data
• know how to give a critical evaluation of a research problem based on published data

Admission to the course

PhD candidates from the University of Oslo should apply for classes and register for examinations through?Studentweb.

If a course has limited intake capacity, priority will be given to PhD candidates who follow an individual education plan where this particular course is included. Some national research schools may have specific rules for ranking applicants for courses with limited intake capacity.

PhD candidates who have been admitted to another higher education institution must?apply for a position as a visiting student?within a given deadline.

The courses GEO4822 and GEO9822 have a joint admission?with a joint capacity of 25 students.?

If there are more than 25 applicants, the applicants will be ranked after the following categories:

1. Students admitted to one of the following programme options (not prioritized order):?
   • Earth¡¯s Structures and Planetary Processes (programme option)
   • Applied Basin Analysis: Processes, Resources and Evolution of Life (programme option)
2. Students at one of the following programmes:
   • Geosciences (master's two years)
   • Computational Science (master's two years)
   • PhD candidates at the MN Faculty?
3. Students at the following programme:?
   • Chemistry (master's two years)

Formal prerequisite knowledge

The course includes a compulsory field course and excursions. A health-and-safety course for safety in the field must be passed before you can go on these:

• HMS0504 ¨C Field Safety

Recommended previous knowledge

• GEO1110 ¨C Earth Processes
• KJM1101 ¨C Generell kjemi
• GEO2110 ¨C Mineralogy
• GEO2150 ¨C Petrology and Geochemistry

Overlapping courses

• 10 credits overlap with GEO4822 ¨C Geochemistry.

Teaching

The teaching consists of 2 hours of lectures every week along with 2-4 hours of teaching that can be either seminars or lab practicals. Each student will present a small literature study which must be approved to sit the final exam.?

From the seminars, mandatory assignments shall be submitted and must be approved to sit the final exam. From the lab exercises, submitted assignments will count towards the final grade.

There will be at least one full day of field excursion from which a submitted field report counts towards the final grade.?

PhD candidates have to give a presentation of a literature review on a given topic which must be approved to sit the final exam.?

Attendance at the first lecture is compulsory. Students who fail to meet are considered to have withdrawn from the course unless they have previously given notice to the Student administration (studieinfo@geo.uio.no).

We reserve the right to change the teaching?form and examination of the course in semesters where 5 or fewer students have been admitted.

As?the?teaching involves laboratory and/or fieldwork, you should consider taking out a separate travel and personal risk insurance.?Read about your insurance coverage as a student.

General information about excursions at the Department?of Geosciences

Examination

• Literature review presentation,?assignments from the seminars and the presentation of the literature study must be approved before you sit the final written examination.
• Mandatory assignments from the lab practicals together counts 40% towards the final grade.
• The field report counts 10% towards the final grade.
• The final written exam counts 50% towards the final grade.
• All partial assessments must be passed separately to pass the course.?

Mandatory assignments are valid for 5 semesters starting from the semester they were approved the first time.

It is possible to take the exam up to 3 times. If you?withdraw from the exam?after the deadline or during the exam, this will be counted as an examination attempt.

It will also be counted as 1 of the 3 attempts to sit the exam for this course if you sit the exam for the following course:

• GEO4822 ¨C Geochemistry

Examination support material

Approved calculator

Language of examination

Courses taught in English will only offer the exam paper in English.

You may write your examination paper in Norwegian, Swedish, Danish or English.

Grading scale

Grades are awarded on a pass/fail scale. Read more about the grading system.

Resit an examination

Students who can document a valid reason for absence from the regular examination are offered a postponed examination at the beginning of the next semester.

Re-scheduled examinations are not offered to students who withdraw during, or did not pass, the original examination.

More about examinations at UiO

• Use of sources and citations
• Special exam arrangements due to individual needs
• Withdrawal from an exam
• Illness at exams / postponed exams
• Explanation of grades and appeals
• Resitting an exam
• Cheating/attempted cheating

You will find further guides and resources at the web page on examinations at UiO.