Volcanism in the Solar System

• Credit value: 15 credits at Level 6
• Convenor: Eleanor Jennings
• Prerequisites: passes in Foundations of Mineralogy, Igneous Petrology and Metamorphic Petrology
• Assessment: three practical write-ups (15% each), an annotated bibliography (15%) and a 2000-word essay (40%)

This module aims to: introduce you to the nature of volcanism on the Earth and other planets; expand your understanding of the processes that drive volcanism; explain the differences in volcanic activity on different bodies in the Solar System; and show how volcanic activity is related to the chemical and physical properties of magmas and the nature of the planetary body.

Indicative module content

The module will consist of 11 lectures and practicals. Practical material will include hand-specimens and thin-sections of volcanic rocks, together with maps and digital images of volcanoes, and thin-sections and geochemical data of samples from the Moon and Mars. A mixture of terrestrial and planetary material will be presented.

By the end of this module, you will be able to:

• understand the diversity of magmas that form volcanoes on the terrestrial planets and icy satellites
• understand volcanic processes and products
• distinguish and classify volcanic structures and products using maps, hand-specimens and thin-sections.