FRS 002CC — Sec. 001 — (2 units) — CRN 53295 — T 6:10 – 8:00 pm — 175A Physics/Geology
Life Without Light – The Connections Between Geology, Geophysics, Geochemistry and Chemosynthetic Faunal Communities at Deep Sea Hydrothermal Vent Sites

Instructors: Robert Zierenberg and James McClain, Department of Geology, College of Letters and Science

Description: One of the outstanding scientific discoveries of the last two decades was the observation of dense communities of organisms living in the deep sea at hydrothermal vents (Black Smokers). These diverse communities of animals live off of the chemical energy of dissolved chemicals in the hydrothermal fluids, instead of photosynthetically derived organic matter. The seminar will explore the geological and geochemical processes that allow novel life forms to thrive in an inhospitable environment that would be toxic to most higher organisms. In addition to introducing the students to a fascinating world of biology, geophysics, geology and chemistry we plan to emphasize the following. First, the sense of discovery. The faunal communities we will discuss were unknown at the time the Freshmen were born, and the biological dogma of the time argued they couldn't exist. One of the difficult lessens to teach undergraduates is how little we really know about science and how much is left to their generation to discover. Second, we wish to emphasize the interdisciplinary nature of modern science. The biological communities that exist at hydrothermal sites can only be appreciate and full understood in the context of the geophysical, geological, geochemical and oceanographic setting in which they occur. It is by design that a seminar on a biological topic-Life without Light- is being taught by a geophysicist and a geochemist.

Format: The course will consist of informal lectures presented by the instructors and discussions presented by the students. The instructors will draw heavily on their own research on deep sea hydrothermal vents and we will use archival video of deep sea vent communities taken from the ALVIN and other research submersibles to engage the students. Background reading from a series of recent publications will be used to focus discussion and guide more in depth research. Student will work in small teams (2-4) to produce either written or web based reports on selected topics and will present these orally to the seminar group in the final weeks of the class. Grading: The student will be graded on written/web project (40%), their oral presentation of the research project (20%), and their participation in discussions (40%).

About the Instructors: