AG-209 The Tectonic and Sedimentary History of Svalbard (15 ECTS)

Grade:	Letter grade (A through F)
Course Cost:	Fieldwork, max. NOK 600 (app. 3 nights x NOK 200)
Course Capacity Min/Max:	10/20 students
Language of instruction:	English
Examination support material:	Bilingual dictionary between English and mother tongue

How to apply

Carlette Neline Blok

Researcher, Arctic geology

nelinec@unis.no

Course requirements

60 ECTS within general natural science, of which 30 ECTS within the field of geology. The applicant must be enrolled in a programme at Bachelor level, or document that the courses are approved into the applicant’s current study programme.

The course should be combined with AG-222 Integrated Geological Methods: From Outcrop to Geomodel (15 ECTS) and the two courses are designed to complement each other.

Academic content

Academic content:
In the Svalbard Archipelago there is a well-developed and well exposed stratigraphic record that comprises Precambrian, Late Palaeozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic strata. The course uses published research from Svalbard combined with visiting key sites in the field to introduce students to this unique geological history “book”, which also provides onshore access to formations equivalent to the subsurface in the Barents Sea. The sedimentary rock record on Svalbard comprises siliciclastic rocks, carbonates and evaporates and we study a rift-basin setting, a foreland basin setting and the fold and thrust belt.    

Learning outcomes

Upon completing the course, the students will:

Learning activities

The course extends over a full semester. Initially, students attend one week of compulsory AS-101 Arctic survival and safety training.

Early in the semester focus is on the theoretical background knowledge. Students read scientific papers and background book chapters, analyse examples of geological data and discuss data and readings in class. When the light returns, focus will change to field trips where students use the earlier gained knowledge to put their own field observations into a context. Field trips comprise excursion parts and parts with independent student observations. Students write a field report and a term project. The latter is a small independent research project carried out based on data from joint field trips and reviewed literature on the topic. Term projects are presented at the end of the semester.

Compulsory learning activities

All compulsory learning activities must be approved in order to sit the exam.

• Field excursions
• Field seminar presentations
• Presentation of scientific articles
• Completed course portfolio

Assessment

All assessments must be passed in order to pass the course.

Each assessment is graded, and subsequently combined into a single grade. Partial grades for each assessment will be available.

Student life