Chapter 1 Flashcards
What is Science?
A systematic approach to studying the natural world.
Science is the pursuit and application of knowledge and
understanding of the natural and social world following a systematic
methodology based on evidence.
Scientific methodology includes the following
*Objective observation: Measurement and data (possibly although not
necessarily using mathematics as a tool)
* Evidence
* Experiment and/or observation as benchmarks for testing hypotheses
* Induction: reasoning to establish general rules or conclusions drawn from
facts or examples
* Repetition
* Critical analysis
* Verification and testing: critical exposure to scrutiny, peer review and
assessment
Scientific method
The way a scientist
approaches a problem.
the steps include
1. observing
2. formulating a hypothesis
3 .testing the hypothesis
4. evaluating results.
Hypothesis
Theory
A hypothesis that has been tested and is strongly supported
by experimentation, observation, and scientific evidence.
Earth System Science
more all-inclusive view of geology - study of all system - the atmosphere, the oceans, mountain range, volcanos
A System
A portion of the universe that can be isolated for the purpose of observing and measuring change.
An Open System
can exchange both matter and energy across its boundaries.
An island offers a simple example that allows matters and engergy to cross its boundaries
A closed System
has boundaries that do not allow any matter to enter or escape the system. The boundaries may (and in the real world, always do) allow energy, such as sunlight, to pass through.
An example of a closed system would be a perfectly sealed oven, which would allow the material inside to be heated but would not allow any of that material to escape.
Earth’s Interconnected Sub Systems
The Earth system can be divided into four very
large subsystems:
1. The geospsere - The solid Earth, as a whole.
2. The Biospsere - The system consisting of all living and recently dead
organisms on Earth.
3. The Atmosphere - The envelope of gases that surrounds Earth.
4. hydrosphere - The system comprising all of Earth’s bodies of water and ice, both on the surface and underground.
Litmosphere
Earth’s rocky outermost layer - the outermost part of the
geosphere
Three interrelated Earth cycles
- Hydrologic Cycle (Water cycle) - A model that describes the movement of water through the reservoirs of the Earth system; the water cycle.
- Rock Cycle - The set of crustal processes that form new rock, modify it, transport it, and break it down.
- Tectonic Cycle - Movements and interactions in the geosphere and the
internal Earth processes that drive them.
What is Geology?
The scientific study of the Earth.
Geology is the study of planet Earth – the materials of which it is made, the
processes that modify these materials, the resulting products, and the history
of the planet and the life forms it has sustained since its formation c. 4.55
billion years ago.
Geology considers the physical forces that act on the Earth, the chemistry of
its constituent materials including rocks, minerals, soils and water, and the
biology of its past inhabitants as revealed by fossils
The knowledge thus obtained is placed in the service of humanity – to aid in
the discovery of energy and mineral resources in the Earth’s crust, to identify
and optimize land usage for agriculture and other activities, to identify
geologically stable sites for major structures/development, and to inform
society concerning the hazards associated with living on an active, dynamic
planet.
What is Earth System Science?
The study of the interconnected components of our environment—the
atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, cryosphere, and biosphere—and how they
interact to produce an integrated whole.
Earth System Science (ESS) is a rapidly emerging transdisciplinary endeavour
aimed at understanding the structure and functioning of the Earth as a complex,
adaptive system
Branches of Geology?
1.Physical geology
2. Historical geology
Physical geology?
understanding the processes that operate at or beneath the surface of Earth and the
materials on which those processes operate.
Examples - Mountains, buildings, volcanic eruptions, river, oceans
Historical geology?
the sequence of events that have occurred in the past.
These events can be inferred from the evidence left in Earth’s
rocks.
Harrison (Jack) Schmitt
planetary geologist, is
the only scientist (so far) to walk on the Moon, for
the Apollo 17 mission in 1972. Here, he is collecting a lunar
sample to take back to Earth.
Climatologists
A person that studies climate change - ice, sand
A seismologist
A person that studies earthquakes
Volcanologists
A person that studies volacanos - sounds, heat of the erruption
Solar System
consists of the Sun and the group of objects in orbit around it.
146 known moons and 27 provisional moons, at least eight dwarf planets, a vast number of
asteroids and comets, and innumerable fragments of rock and dust
Planets
There eight planets - Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune
(My Very Educated Mother Just served us Noodles)
Requirement to be planet (international scientific agreement (2006))
- be in orbit around the Sun
- be large enough that it takes on a nearly round shape
- have cleared its orbit of other objects
Exoplanets
planets in solar systems outside of our own—have been confirmed by NASA, with thousands of additional candidates
Terrestrial Planets (Small, rocky, and dense)
Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars,
Jovian Planets (Large, less dense)
Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, Uranus
Kuiper Belt objects
Pluto-like bodies beyond in the orbit of Neptune
Dwarf planet (Pluto like bodies)
an object that orbits the Sun, is large enough that its own gravity has pulled it into a spherical shape, but its gravity is too small to have “cleared the neighborhood around its orbit” by gravitational attraction of surrounding debris.
How The solar system was formed
- Cloud of matter (nebula) begins to contract gravitationally. Process may have been initiated or accelerated by shock waves from supernova explosion (not shown).
2.As gas cloud contracts, it spins faster and faster, forming a central bulge and a wide disk.
3.Contraction raises temperature; process of nuclear fusion begins in central bulge—Sun begins to shine. Outer disk cools—now contains wide swath of rocky debris. Larger chunks of debris begin to attract smaller chunks by gravity, thereby growing larger (accretion).
The nebular hypothesis
originally formulated by the German philosopher Immanuel Kant in 1755 and now widely accepted as the best description of planetary formation, hypothesizes that the solar system coalesced out of a swirling cloud of interstellar dust and gas called a nebula
fusion
When the gases at the center of the cloud of gas and dust became sufficiently hot and dense, an energy-producing nuclear reaction called fusion began, and our Sun was born.
The process of fusion, which combines hydrogen atoms to form helium, has powered the Sun for 4.56 billion years and will continue to power it for billions of years into the future
Planetary accretion
a 20th-century supplement to the nebular hypothesis, accounts for the existence of meteoroids and asteroids. According to the accretion hypothesis, the outer portions of the solar nebula cooled as it flattened out into a disk of rocky, metallic, and icy debris before any of the planets were formed
Meteorite, Meteors, Meteorites
- Meteorite - A fragment of extraterrestrial material that falls to Earth. (pieces of debris that fall to earth)
- Meteors - if they burn up in the atmosphere
- Meteorites if they reach Earth’s surface.
differentiation (the formation of crust, mantle and core of Earth)
During the period of partial melting, terrestrial planets separated into layers of differing chemical composition, a process called differentiation. Earth’s geosphere differentiated
into three layers:
1. a relatively thin, low-density, rocky crust;
2 .a rocky, intermediate-density Mantle;
3.a metallic, high-density Core.
How Earth’s moon Formed
Eartrh Collided with Theia and regrouped the clumps and dust into the moon as we know
basalt
the terrestrial planets. All of them have experienced volcanic activity, which means they have or once had internal heat sources. The volcanism is dominated by the eruption of lava that cools to form a volcanic rock called basalt
weathering
The nature of Earth’s solid surface is another special characteristic. Earth is covered by an irregular blanket of loose debris formed as a result of weathering
regolith (soil, river mud, desert sand, rock fragments, and other unconsolidated debris.)
the chemical alteration and mechanical breakdown of rock caused by exposure to water, air, and living organisms. This layer is called regolith (from the Greek words for “blanket” and
“stone”). It includes soil, river mud, desert sand, rock fragments, and other unconsolidated debris. Earth’s regolith is unique because it teems with life
Why is Earth Unique
Regolith and weathering - has created Earth surface
Plate tectonic - Has shaped continent
Earth Vs its closest neighbours
