Honors College Jamaica Study Abroad Program

General Information

Welcome to the Honors CollegeÕs course on the Caribbean Environment. Civilizations have flourished and waned through millenia depending on where Earth allows people to use its bounty of resources, where they can find suitable habitats controlled by the rocks of the subsurface modulated by the superimposed effects of climates, and where they can triumph from apparent unpredictable temper of the skies and the ground.

As a main objective, this course is to develop your understanding of the origin and development of the Earth, including the role of the atmosphere, the oceans, past life forms, and their interaction with the solid rocks that form the foundation of civilization.

As a whole the Caribbean region is a source of fascination not only because of its contrasts due to exceptional geographic factors controlled by a unique geologic setting, but also because of its unique ethnologic make up enhanced by diverse cultural influences from the original Tainos, Europeans, Africans and Asians. A visit in any part of the Caribbean quickly offers a wide variety of geographic terranes strictly linked to the geologic evolution of these lands.

The island of Jamaica offers an example of this ethnographic blend. While you enjoy your trip you will be able to experience first hand not only sharp contrasts in landscapes and their environmental, cultural and economic implications, but you will also be able to compare these impacts from within and in between given areas.

Your visit on the island will help you assess the present situation and the importance of all aspects of EarthÕs natural ressources in the daily life as people experience it now.

Course Schedule (Lectures):

Meeting days: TBA

Time : 0930 - 1330

Material to be Covered

How stable is the solid Earth where we live? Plate tectonics

How rocks are formed and changed through time: Earth's interior; Earthquakes.

Jamaica and the Caribbean Plate How stable is the region through time? The Port Royal earthquake

Minerals

Building blocks of rocks.

Earth's materials. Crystal structure and states of matter

Properties of minerals - Different mineral groups. Minerals found in Jamaica

Rocks: records of geologic processes

o Rocks originated from the interior of the Earth:

¤ Magmas and the varieties of igneous rocks,

¤ Volcanism; geothermal energy - geysers. Examples of evidence for past volcanism in Jamaica

o Weathering and erosion:

¤ Examples: The Blue Mountains; The Cockpit Country

o Sediments and sedimentary rocks

¤ Clastic sedimentary rocks: Rocks of the wagwater Belt in Eastern Jamaica

¤ Carbonates: rocks of the Cockpit country

o Metamorphism and metamorphic rocks

¤ General occurrence in the Caribbean

Stratigraphy: rocks as a record of time

Relative dating and correlation: Use of fossils (Examples of the Fossils used in Jamaican stratigraphy

Absolute dating. Ð Radioactivity and the Geologic Time Scale

Rock deformation: folds and faults

Example of Jamaican faults and how they control the present landscape of the island.

Earth's energy and mineral resources

Jamaica has no hydrocarbon resources, but has one of the richest bauxite deposit in the world. Bauxite is a red soil from which aluminum is extracted)

Water

Groundwater; springs, Wells and aquifers

Streams and drainage systems

Oceans: coastal processes/changing coastlines

Wind systems

Effects on climates; deserts, etc. (Example of the rain shadow effect as seen in the contrast between the dry climate in Kingston, and the wet climate to the north, as in the Blue Mountain region)

General overview of the Geology of the Caribbean

Overview of the Geology, Environment and Resources of Jamaica

(How the rocks in the subsurface control the landscape, water resources, agriculture, human settlement and the history of Jamaica)

Text

Any Physical Geology textbook will do. If you do not have one I will provide you one on loan

General concepts: Understanding Earth, by Press and Siever, 3^rd edition, Freeman, New York, 2003; Earth Lab Exploring the Earth, by Owen Pirie and Draper; Brooks/Cole Publisher, 2001

Web site for Press and Siever text: http://www.whfreeman.com/presssiever has links to many web sites listed in the chapters to help you in your study.

Research Paper / Report

The research asignment is to give you the opportunity to explore the relationship between the fundamental concepts of geology and past/and present environemntal conditions in the areas you will visit. The goal is to examine how the Earth Sciences are closely linked to environmental, economic and cultural issues and development in the Caribbean region, as can be epitomized in Jamaica.

As you will be provided the fundamental concepts of the earth sciences and their relationship to controlling factors that affect the environments where we live, you will make use of these concepts to focus the theme of your paper. You may take account of the human cultural factors that will be analyzed during the field trips, as well as facts and current controversies that will be discussed. The paper is to practice the use of scientific methods, and synthesize data to create your own ideas.

In order to help you organize and present your views from the information you will receive, here are the guidelines you should follow:

1. Select a geographic region that you visited on the island.

2. Choose a specific subject (e.g. agriculture, water supply, mining, housing development, road, dam, railway, a type of industry that you observed, etc..) suitable to your own majoring field.

3. Find examples of relationships between the geologic nature of the region chosen and how it has affected the historical, economic and cultural development of the country.

4. Find examples in the present culture, art, architecture, religious customs etc. related to one or a combination of the influence of European, African , Asian and Taino cultures. Your analysis of these relationships should exclude political systems.

5. References must be clearly listed, and as to they have been consulted by you, or you are refering to a quote by another author, or from interviews, films, videos, TV broadcasts, websites, encyclopedias.

Other Texts : If you wish to further develop your ideas on certain aspects of geology of the region, in addition to the bibliographic materials listed in the guide you may consult the following publications: Survey of the Geology of Haiti, by F. Maurrasse, Miami Geological Society, 1982, Publisher, 103 p; Eastern and Central Jamaica, , by S. K. Donovan , T.A. Jackson, H. L., Dixon, and E. N. Doyle, 1995, GeologistsÕ Association Guide No 53, , GeologistsÕ Association Publisher 62 p

Additional hand outs will complement the lecture course.

Laboratory work will complement the lecture and the field trips..

Grading

Grades will be computed as an average of the total scores of 300 points as follows:

*Field Trip report : Limited to ten type-written pages, including figures and references : 100 points.

*Field trip book ( daily journal on studentÕs impressions, and instructions received on sites visited throughout the trip) : 60 points

*Participation : (class and field trip) 40 points

Exam at the conclusion of the lectures at FIU : 100 points. This exam covers all lectures and Laboratory practices. The theoretical part is comprehensive (covers all lectures), and consists of short essays for the lectures (70% ), and practicals for the laboratory works (30%).

Passing Grades are based on the following numbers of total points: A = 288 and above, A- = 287-270; B+ = 269-258; B- = 257-255; B- = 254 - 240; C+ = 239 Ð 231; C = 230 Ð 225; C- = 224 Ð 210; D + = 209 - 204; D = 203 Ð 198; D- = 197 - 195.

LEARN A LOT WHILE HAVING A GREAT TIME !!!!!!!!!!!