Recently, Dr. Rimmer has taught the following courses:
GEOL 482
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ORGANIC PETROLOGY: This course provides an introduction to coal and kerogen petrology. The objectives of the course are: to develop an understanding of the processes involved in the accumulation, preservation and alteration of organic materials in sedimentary rocks including coals, hydrocarbons (oil/gas), oil shales, and dispersed organics; to be able to recognize organic components under the microscope in various light modes, to understand the implications of the presence/absence of components, and to learn standard petrographic techniques such as maceral analysis and reflectance analysis; and to consider a variety of applications including oil and gas generation, basin analysis, and coal utilization. This is a laboratory-intensive class.
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GEOL 480
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GEOLOGY OF COAL: This course covers the basics of coal geology. The objectives of the course are for students to develop an understanding of the processes involved in the accumulation and preservation of coal, including depositional settings (eod) of peat swamps through time; to understand the composition of coal and the influence of eod and rank on composition and coal properties; to understand changes in coal rank from both a geological and geochemical perspective; to understand the relationships between coal properties and coal utilization (and hence value of the coal), and environmental aspects of coal mining and use; and to develop a working knowledge of the geological aspects of coal mining and exploration.
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GEOL 420
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PETROLEUM GEOLOGY: This course examines the fundamental aspects of petroleum geology including: the origin or hydrocarbons in organic-rich source beds, including black shales and other non-conventional source rocks; the geochemistry of petroleum in terms of the spectrum of naturally occurring organic compounds and the stability of these compounds in terms of temperature (thermal maturation); the geologic framework of deposits in the context of stratigraphy and structure; reservoir characteristics in terms of porosity and permeability; exploration methods including seismic stratigraphy; production methods; and potential environmental impacts of exploration and production. This course is team taught with Sally Potter-McIntyre and a few other colleagues.
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GEOL 582
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ADVANCED COAL PETROLOGY: This course is offered to provide additional background and hands-on experience in organic petrology, such as in the petrology of source rocks; emphases may vary from year to year. This is a class that is appropriate for those who have taken GEOL 482 and have research interests in organic petrology.
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GEOL 524/440
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ADVANCED TOPICS IN SEDIMENTARY GEOLOGY: Topical classes focused on specific areas of interest. For example, in Spring 2014 a seminar in "Fracking the Illinois Basin" was team-taught with Sally Potter-McIntyre.
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Other departmental classes
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Many classes are available in the Department of Geology for those students interested in source rocks, basin analysis, geochemistry, and the petroleum and coal industries in general. The department offers courses in low-temperature geochemistry, organic geochemistry, isotope geochemistry, sedimentology, and paleoecology to mention a few.
For more details on our graduate course offerings go to: http://gradschool.siu.edu/_common/documents/catalog_15-16/Grad%20Catalog-Ch2.pdf |