The real question here is… ‘how do you sum the Earth up into one day?’ The Earth with its tiny, detailed intricacies but also its colossal systems which change constantly with time. How do we, as Earth Scientists, manage to study real-time processes which are ongoing, alongside concepts which are so far in the past that they barely seem comprehensible? - Well, the answer to that is actually managing to make it to your 9am lecture!
Yep, unfortunately, most lectures in first year start at 9am! Normally, you’ll be in one of two places – The laboratories or the seminar rooms. Each lecture lasts one hour and can range in the topics that are taught. In first year, you are given lectures related to the following titles: Maths, PCB (physics, chemistry and biology), Fundamentals of geology I & II, and Planet Earth.
In an Earth Science day there are 7 contact hours between 9am and 5pm – with an hour for lunch between 1 and 2. I do hasten to add that we rarely have 7 hours of contact, normally, it’s around 3 to 5 contact hours.
In a full day, the first four hours are normally all lectures where you’ll learn about the complexities of crystal structures, the formation of the solar system, the processes which drive the atmosphere and oceans, the physics behind mantle convection (key processes which govern the holy paradigm of Plate Tectonics <3), how to use partial differentiation in thermodynamic systems, Schrodinger’s equation, the diversity of the geologic timescale, paleobiology (fossils), sedimentary processes, cell biology and many, many, MANY more things… honestly, I could go on and on. As you can see, just the first 4 hours are jam-packed with fascinating concepts – thus, I regularly take a mid-way coffee break in front of the life-sustaining coffee machine; a hotspot for a quick chin wag between lectures.
If not lectures, then you will have free time to use as you wish; either socialising or doing work in the Earth Science library – a shrine of knowledge accessible to, and only to, Earth Scientists (a subject-specific library… what more could you ask for?) Additionally, a couple of your hours may be filled with tutorials. Every first year has one maths tutorial a week (usually with a postgraduate student) and one tutorial with your college tutor or another lecturer in the department.
At lunch time you’ll find most people doing different things; eating food (shocking, I know!), studying in the library, catching up on work in the laboratories, listening to talks on the recent research carried out in the department or socialising with other Earth Scientists. Each year group only has between 35 to 40 students in it so you regularly find yourself talking to students from all years.
After lunch, most of the time, we have our practical sessions. In Michaelmas term you have three hours of mapping a week – where you learn how to interpret geologic maps, assign a geological history to the environment, identify geological features and produce a 3D cross-section from a 2D map. In addition to mapping, you also have 2 hours of mineralogy where we look at hand specimens of different minerals and their identifiable features or we look at cross-sections under the microscope to see the refractive properties of minerals/crystals – and here’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for… Do we lick rocks? Yes and No! You’ll never be made to lick a rock though if you ever have the urge you can always feel free to! (Fun Fact: licking halite is an actual way to identify it – it has a salty taste!)
Hilary term practicals involve two hours of studying fossils a week - from the fascinating segmented bodies of the trilobites to the swirling, pearlescent shells of the ammonites. Further to this, you also have two hours a week of sedimentary geology practicals. These include studying deep sea cores, observing geological structures in sedimentary samples and looking at the properties of conglomerates, sandstones and mudstones (it’s actually more interesting than it sounds!).
After a very academically stimulating day, you normally return to college and work for a few hours, before finishing off the day, in my case, with a pint in the college bar!
Big rock love,
Abbie xxx
PS, this picture was taken on our field trip to Pembrokeshire. Comment below if you would be interested in learning more about our field trips.
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