Club Classes

Club Classes are privately run classes held at venues used by the Adult Learning and Skills Service. To enrol on a Club Class, please contact the tutor directly as all tution fees must be paid directly to the tutor. For further information about any Club Class, please contact the tutor.

Geology: a study of the Earth

This course will cover 20 fully illustrated lectures over two terms and it will cover a broad introduction to the study of the Earth. Topics covered will provide answers to questions like: ‘How, when, and of what was the Earth formed?’, ‘What can we expect to find at depth or at the Earth’s core?’ and ‘What causes the Earth’s crust to move and create earthquakes?’ There will be opportunities to handle and examine specimens of rocks, minerals and fossils from sources worldwide. Typical meeting lectures will include: Origins: of the Universe, the Solar System and the Earth, its atmosphere and life The Interior of the Earth: its composition and structure The Earth’s Crust: Structure and composition, variable thickness, floating continents, isostacy Plate Tectonics and Mountain Chains: Mechanisms, orogenic and magmatic cycles Earth Stability: Expanding or contracting? Magnetic rocks and magnetic reversals; land bridges, convection currents and coral clocks. Mass extinctions and Ice Ages. Stable and unstable areas, continental shields. A pulsating Earth? Major Deformation Processes: Faults, folds, rifts And Much More Meetings held at: Macbeth Centre, Macbeth Street, Hammersmith. London W6 9JJ On:Wednesdays, 2.30 to 4. 30 pm Commencing: 21st September 2011 Term 1 21/09/2011 to 30/11/2011 (half-term Wed 26 October) Term 2 11/01/2012 to 21/03/2012 (half-term Wed 15 February) A two term course: of 20 lectures plus field excursions Lecturer: Prof. John F. Potter Cost: £110 per term or £200 if paid all in advance