Exam 1

Question 1

Solar System Formation: What is the hypothesis for solar system formation?

Answer 1

Nebular Hypothesis: The basic idea that the sun and planets formed from the same cloud of gas and dust in interstellar space.

Question 2

Ocean Formation: Where did the water come from? What are the hypotheses for formation of the ocean? How can such hypotheses be evaluated?

Answer 2

Water came from Hydrogen and Oxygen combining below the Earth’s surface. Two leading hypotheses are that the oceans were formed either due to (a.) outgassing from volcanoes or (b.) asteroids, meteorites, or comets. These hypotheses can be evaluated through isotopic analysis.

Question 3

Formation of the Moon: What is the hypothesis for the creation of the moon? What evidence supports this hypothesis? What is responsible for the axial tilt of Earth?

Answer 3

Giant Impact Hypothesis states that Earth’s Moon formed out of the debris left over from an indirect collision between Earth and an astronomical body. Its Metallic core joined earth’s core and its rocky exterior ejected and formed the moon. The stabilizing effect of the Moon is responsible for the axial tilt of Earth.

Question 4

Layering of Earth: What is stratification? How do we compare layers of the Earth?

Answer 4

Arrangement of layers of sedimentary rock. We compare layers of the Earth by the groupings of layers and the combination of physical properties, including appearance.
Lysocline: zone where the rate of calcite dissolution increases rapidly with depth
Thermocline: zone where temperature changes rapidly with depth

Question 5

Foundations of Stratigraphy: What are Steno’s Principles?

Answer 5

Superposition: in a sequence of strata, any stratum is younger than the sequence of strata on which it rests, and is older than the strata that rest upon it.

original horizontality :states that strata are deposited horizontally and then deformed to various attitudes later.

original lateral continuity: states that strata can be assumed to have continued laterally far from where they presently end.

Question 6

Age: What are the differences between absolute and relative ages? What tools are used to infer them?

Answer 6

Absolute age establishes how many years ago a given event took place. radioactive decay is a tool used to infer Absolute age. Relative age establishes places in historical events in their correct order but does not give a numerical estimates of how many years ago the events happened. Superposition is a tool used to infer relative age.

Question 7

Uniformitarianism: What is the principle of Uniformitarianism?

Answer 7

the universe’s natural laws operate in the same manner everywhere and always, and do not vary from place to place or time to time.

Question 8

Radioactive Decay: What are the types of radioactive decay? What particles are released during such decay? What is a half-life? What equation governs the decay of a parent element into a daughter element?

Answer 8

Alpha particle is a “helium nucleus”, atomic mass decreases by 4, atomic number decreases by 2. Beta particles are high energy electrons emitted by neutron rich unstable nuclei. An antineutrino is ejected, atomic mass remains constant, atomic number increases by 1. Beta particles are also negatively charged.
half life is the amount of time required for the amount of something to fall to half its initial value.
dN/dt=-lambdaN
N = N0e􀀀^(-lamdat)
N is the number of atoms at time t and lamda is the decay constant.

delta t=1/lambda ln[(Np(t1)/(Np(t0)]

Question 9

Magnetism: What are magnetic inclination and declination? What is the relationship between geomagnetic latitude and inclination? What is the Curie Point?

Answer 9

Magnetic inclination is the angle made with the horizontal by the Earth’s magnetic field lines. The angle varies at different points on the Earth’s surface. Magnetic declination is the angle on the horizontal plane between magnetic
north and true north. The Curie Point is the temperature at which a rock’s magnetic signature is destroyed.

Question 10

Seismology: What are the two kinds of seismic waves and how do they differ?

Answer 10

These waves are both seismic waves that propagate through the Earth following a disturbance. P waves (or primary waves) are compressional or longitudinal waves, which means that they oscillate parallel to the
direction of wave propagation; they are able to propagate through all states of matter. S waves (or secondary waves) are transverse waves, meaning that they oscillate in the direction perpendicular to the direction of wave propagation; they are only able to travel through
solids. Further, the propagation of P waves is faster than of S waves.

Question 11

Stratification: What are the layers of Earth? What are each of the layers comprised of?

Answer 11

Inner Core Mostly iron, solid due to high pressure
Outer Core Mostly iron, fluid due to low pressure
Mantle Iron-magnesium silicates, solid
Crust Cold, thin, rigid, sharp boundary with mantle

Question 12

Isostatic equilibrium: What is isostatic equilibrium? How is pressure related to gravitational acceleration, density, and depth?

Answer 12

Isostatic Equilibrium are Areas of the Earth’s crust rise or subside until their masses are in balance, floating on the mantle. the equation is p=rhogh where g remains constant over the change in depth and pressure remains constant at isostatic compensation depth, and density will vary depending on the material in question. Referring to the lithosphere, only the pressure and depth will vary given the density of the lithosphere.

Question 13

Plate Boundaries: What are the types of plate boundaries?

Answer 13

Convergent- plates are destructive, tend to form mountain ranges due to continental-continental convergence, and trenches and volcanic islands
Divergent- 2 plates form a gap as they move away from each other such as mid ocean ridges due to subduction of oceanic-continental convergence
Transform-involves 2 plates moving/rubbing side by side, such as the san andreas fault line in CA

Question 14

Keeling Curve: Describe what the keeling curve is, where the data is recorded, and how seasonality affects its inter-annual variability. How would the Keeling Curve look different if it was recorded on Block Island?

Answer 14

the Keeling curve is a measure of CO2 in the atmosphere in Mauna Lou, Hawaii. The overall trend is increasing, where the inter-annual variability comes from plants removing CO2 from the atmosphere during the mid-late summer months and CO2 increases during the winter when fewer plants are actively removing it. if the Kneeling curve was in Iceland (or Block island) there would be larger fluctuations in the inter-annual curve due to higher extremes in seasonality.

Question 15

Sediments: What can marine sediments tell us?

Answer 15

• Tectonic history
• Evolution of life
• Mass extinction events
• Paleoclimate
• Changes in sea level
• Past meteorite impacts
• Past volcanic eruptions
• Past tsunamis

Question 16

Classification: How are marine sediments classified? What are the different origins? Grain size types [i.e., their names (silt, clay, etc.), not the numerical ranges]? What is the difference between well- and poorly-sorted sediments?

Answer 16

Classified Based on Size and Origin
Size:
Boulder >256mm
Cobble 64-256mm
Pebble 4-64mm
Granule 2-4mm
Sand 0.062-2mm
Silt 0.004-0.062mm
Clay 

Origin:
Terrigenous
• Biogenous
• Hydrogenous
• Volcanogenous
• Cosmogenous

fine grain because its well sorted meaning that theres low energy in the area. mixed composition means theres varying degrees of energy in the area. boulder suggests high constant energy in the area, both areas risk potential damage to any permanent residence.

Question 17

Hjulstöm curve: Can you read a Hjulström diagram?

Answer 17

YES

Question 18

Oozes: What are the types of oozes and what organisms create them?

Answer 18

calcareous oozes (containing skeletons made of calcium carbonate) 
siliceous oozes (containing skeletons made of silica)
biogenous sediments

Question 19

Carbonate: What is the Calcium Carbonate Compensation Depth? What variables is it a function of?

Answer 19

CCD is the ocean depth at which the rate of supply or deposition of CaCO3 equals the rate of solvation or dissolution of CaCO3. Function of temperature and pressure

Question 20

Properties of Water: What are some of the anomalous properties of seawater? What accounts for these remarkable properties?

Answer 20

• dipole structure allows it to be a “universal solvent”
• it exists in all 3 states of matter on the Earth’s surface
• ‘sticky’ nature leads to cohesion and adhesion
• solid form, ice, is less dense than it liquid form.

Question 21

Phase: What are the three phases of water? What is the triple point of water?

Answer 21

Liquid(Water), Solid(ice) and Gas(water Vapor). The triple point of water Point where solid, liquid, and water vapor coexist.

Question 22

Bonding: What is the difference between cohesion and adhesion? How do they relate to surface tension and wetting?

Answer 22

cohesion is the force of attraction between molecules of the same substance. adhesion is the force of attraction between different substances. cohesive forces between liquid molecules are responsible for surface tension. for wetting, Adhesive forces between a liquid and solid cause a liquid drop to spread across the surface. Cohesive forces within the liquid cause the drop to ball up and avoid contact with the surface.

Question 23

Density: How does the density of water change with temperature? How is this unique?

Answer 23

Normally, increasing the temperature generally decreases the density. However, the density of water increases between its melting point at 0 °C and 4 °C.

Question 24

Heat: What is the difference between temperature and heat?

Answer 24

the heat of an object is the total energy of all the molecular motion inside that object. Temperature is a measure of the average heat or thermal energy of the molecules in a substance.

Question 25

Ocean salinity: How is salinity defined? How is salinity related to conductivity? What are some of the most abundant ions dissolved in seawater? What are some of the minor solutes in seawater?

Answer 25

salinity is the # of grams of dissolved inorganic material in 1 kg of seawater.

At the current ocean pH HCO3 is the most abundant.

m=rho V
m=mass kg
rho=kg/m3
V=m

increase in salt and decrease in the volume of water= the density will increase

Question 26

Aquarius: What is the Aquarius project? What does it measure? How does it make that measurement (i.e., how does the instrument work)? In what way are these measurements relevant for studies of climate?

Answer 26

the Aquarius project uses a satellite to measure sea surface salinity and temperature (SSS + SST) on a fast pace, global pace, making this very useful when recording the variability of SSS +SST with Seasonality

Question 27

Argo: What is the Argo program? What does it measure? How does it make that measurement (i.e., how does the instrument work)? In what way are these measurements relevant for studies of climate?

Answer 27

Measures seawater temperature and salinity as a function of depth in various water columns over the course of it mission. useful for recording long term trends and currents

Question 28

CTD devices

Answer 28

measure conductivity, temperature, and density in the water column. useful for recording thermoclines and pycnoclines.

Question 29

Henry’s Law

Answer 29

The amount of gas dissolved in water equilibrium with the atmosphere is proportional to the partial pressure of the gas.

Question 30

OZM zone

Answer 30

There is less oxygen in the OZM zone due to more organisms higher in water column. Also theres no photosynthesis and no exchange with the atmosphere.

Question 31

What is the source of oxygen deep in the ocean? How can concentrations be so high deep in the water column where there is no contact with the atmosphere?

Answer 31

There is increased oxygen in the deep ocean due to the conveyor belt circulation, where oxygen is absorbed more readily in the cold water at the poles and sinks as it is transported all over the globe.