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2017　Special Lecture in Earth and Planetary Sciences CII

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Academic unit or major
Graduate major in Earth and Planetary Sciences
Instructor(s)
Brasser Ramon 
Class Format
Lecture     
Media-enhanced courses
Day/Period(Room No.)
Mon3-4(石川台, 2号館, 実験棟1-103)  
Group
-
Course number
EPS.A457
Credits
1
Academic year
2017
Offered quarter
3Q
Syllabus updated
2017/9/20
Lecture notes updated
-
Language used
English
Access Index

Course description and aims

This course will consist of a series of lectures that touches upon fundamental principles and problems in planetary science.

Student learning outcomes

To make the students aware of the diversity of studies that can be done in planetary sciences and to inspire the students to
think about how to combine many aspects into one coherent picture of planet formation and evolution.

Keywords

Cosmochemistry, planet formation, planetary evolution, habitability

Competencies that will be developed

✔ Specialist skills ✔ Intercultural skills ✔ Communication skills ✔ Critical thinking skills ✔ Practical and/or problem-solving skills

Class flow

Power point slides and blackboard derivations will be used.

Course schedule/Required learning

  Course schedule Required learning
Class 1 Overview of existing problems in planetary science. This is an introductory class where I lay the foundation of things to come and explain some basic concepts.
Class 2 Relationship between dynamics and cosmochemistry. Here I explain how understanding planet formation relies on data from cosmochemistry, and how the lack of samples severely limits what we can learn from exoplanets. It features a short intro to cosmochemistry.
Class 3 Exoplanet formation This class would consist of an overview of terrestrial planet formation and the stages through which this proceeds and how to test models from the meteorite data.
Class 4 Planetary spins In this class I will discuss the precession and nutation of planetary spins and introduce the chaotic obliquity variations of Mars. The effect of the spins on climate, such as repeated ice ages on the Earth caused by the Milankovic, will also be mentioned.
Class 5 Tides This class would introduce the students to tidal evolution in planets, mostly focused on rocky planets. The rotation rate and obliquity evolution are discussed as well, as well as a focus on Saturn's moon Enceladus.
Class 6 Exoplanet radius distribution In this class I will discuss the observed radius distribution of small exoplanets and how this is shaped by photoevaporation and what this tells us about their formation.
Class 7 Discussion This lecture is reserved for discussion of a topic that the students find interesting, and for discussion about projects. I will also touch on proposal writing for future endeavours.

Textbook(s)

Planetary Sciences (de Pater & Lissauer), Lecture notes in Planetary Sciences (Armitage). These are only for reference.

Reference books, course materials, etc.

Will be made available during each class. Will consist of powerpoint slides and archive files with relevant literature.

Assessment criteria and methods

Coursework

Related courses

  • EPS.A410 ： Astrophysics and Planetary Physics A
  • EPS.A411 ： Astrophysics and Planetary Physics B
  • EPS.A412 ： Astrophysics and Planetary Physics C
  • EPS.A413 ： Astrophysics and Planetary Physics D
  • EPS.A458 ： Special Lecture in Earth and Planetary Sciences DII

Prerequisites (i.e., required knowledge, skills, courses, etc.)

None

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