Final (PPTs: Before Midterm) Flashcards
Skipped Intro Slides (Sept 6-13)
I.e…
- Remote sensing, GIS
- Principle of Superposition, Principle of Original Horizontality, Principle of Uniformitarianism (James Hutton, Hutton’s Unconformity) -> Principle of Actualism
Skipped Intro Slides (Sept 13-15)
I.e…
- Types of sciences
- Definition of model, flux, cycle, budget, feedback, residence time, sequestering, sink, source, etc…
- 1.74x10^17 Watts input from Sun (~30% reflected back to space, ~50% converted to heat an reradiated, ~25% melts ice and evaporates water to be stored in hydrosphere, rest 350tW goes to wind, waves and currents and more, and least amount ~40tW goes to living things)
- ~32 tW from Earth, breakdown of Uranium, Thorium, and other radioactive elements (volcanoes and hotsprings 0.3tW, undersea volcanoes 11tW, surface conduction 21 tW), conduction and convection
- Definition of geothermal gradient (more pronounced with depth, varies from place to place)
- ~27 tW from tidal energy (spring tides and neap tides, flood current and ebb current, twice daily tidal cycle)
- Energy consumed globally is 3x10^20 J (equivalent to 10 barrels of oil per person per year)
Skipped Intro Slides (Sept 15-18)
I.e…
- Hydrologic cycle (reservoir %: 97.5 oceans & 1.85 ice & 0.64 groundwater & 0.01 lakes and rivers and atmosphere, pathways, budget %s: 11% runoff diverted by humans, 26% of evapo-transpiration is from human dominated land)
- Residence time = size of reservoir / flow rate, typical residence times for resevoirs (thousands of yrs for oceans and icecaps, weeks for rivers, days for atmosphere)
- Rock cycle
- magma @ 800-1200 C and lava at ~20
- Definition of rocks, minerals, breakdown of 3 rock types.
Ch. 2 & 4 Slides (Sept 18-22):
What is the prevalent theory for the formation of the universe?
The Solar Nebula Hypothesis.
How long did it take to form the sun and what is the approx. composition?
10 million yrs to form sun.
74% H and 26% He.
What process converts H to He in the star?
Nuclear fusion.
What is the basic composition of the Terrestrial and Jovian planets?
Terrestrial: High temperature condensates of refractory elements such as Ca, Al, Mg, Fe and Si.
Jovian: Low temperature condensates of volatiles such as H, N, C, and He.
How old is the solar system?
~4.56 billion yrs old.
Beyond the end of the nebular hypothesis story, what five key factors played determining roles in the subsequent evolution of the terrestrial planets?
- Melting, Impacts, and Differentiation (Dense Elements Sink)
- Volcanism (Radioactive Elements)
- Planetary Mass (Orbit, Moons, Atmosphere)
- Distance From Sun (Water as Liquid)
- Biosphere (Biogeochemical Cycles and Atmosphere)
Briefly describe the objects in the solar system?
- 8 planets
- 5 dwarf planets
- ~170 moons/satellites
- comets and meteorites
What are the Terrestrial planets and describe them.
Jovian?
Terrestrial: Small, rocky, metallic, and dense. Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars.
Jovian: Larger, less dense, gaseous. Thin, H rich atmosphere, liquid interior, denser rock core. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune.
How many stars are there in the milky way? How many galaxies in the universe?
200-400 bill. stars in milky way and >100 bill. galaxies in universe.
Describe the features and properties of the sun.
- Enormous mass of ionized gas/plasma.
- ~700,000 km radius
- 109x Earth’s diameter
- Mass ~2x10^30 kg
- 300,000x Earth’s mass
- 99.8% overall mass of solar system
- Density 1.4 g/cm^3
- 1/4 Earth’s density
Describe the layers of the Sun.
- The Core (site of fusion, 62% He and 38% H)
- The Radiative Layer (Energy from core moves by radiation)
- The Convective Layer (Energy moves by convection)
- The Photosphere (Visible portion that emits light)
- The Chromosphere (A low-density layer of very hot gas)
- The Corona (Even lower density layer of gasses)
What is the distance between Sun and Earth? Earth and Moon?
~150x10^6 km (1 AU)
~315x10^3 km
What is the Sun’s total energy output? What reaches Earth?
- 8x10^26 W
1. 8x10^17 W
What is the max energy flux on Earth’s surface?
1370 W/m^2 with sun directly overhead.
Fusion converts matter to ___. Energy released by fusion in the Sun is in the form of ___ ___ (98%) and neutrinos.
Energy. (E=mc^2) Gamma rays (98%) and neutrinos.
Describe to P-P cycle (88%, CNO 12%).
- 4H==>1He + E
- Extreme temperatures needed (Core sun is 15,000,000K)
- 4.2x10^-12 J from one reaction
- 4.5x10^6 metric tons of H->He every sec.
Most solar energy has a wavelength of 10^-5 to 10^-7 m. This includes…?
- radio
- infra-red
- visible
- UV
What is a spectrum?
A group of electromagnetic rays in order of increasing or decreasing wavelength.
Why is the solar spectrum not a perfect blackbody?
H surrounding sun absorbs as does Earth’s atmosphere.
What planets are visible?
Up to Saturn, rest need a telescope.
Give some features of Mercury.
- smallest planet
- closet to the sun
- no moons
- goes around the Sun fastest, 59 earth days
- D: 5430 kg/m^3
Give some features of Venus.
- 2nd planet from the Sun
- Inside is very similar to the earth
- Covered with clouds
- 10-30 km thick crust
- brightest in sky
Give some features of Earth.
- Crust thickness: 30 km avg. for land, 5 km avg for seabed
- D: 5520 kg/m^3
Give some features of Mars.
- 4th planet from the Sun
- One-half diameter of Earth
- Rocky and metal
- D: 3940 kg/m^3
- Clouds and winds
- Red because of Fe rich material blown by wind
Give some features of Jupiter.
- 5th planet from the Sun. The largest planet
- H & He
- No hard surface
- Beneath the cloud layers, the clear atmosphere is denser and warmer and slowly transforms from a gas to a liquid without a sharp boundary
- Core: ~20,000 degrees Celsius
Give some features of Saturn.
- 6th planet from the Sun
- It has a famous ring- made of chunks of ice and rock.
- Exterior is composed of frozen ammonia
- Interior is composed of mainly H.
Give some features of Uranus.
- 7th planet from Sun
- Poles face the sun
- Blue due to methane
Give some features of Neptune.
- 8th planet from the Sun
- H, He, and methane
- Largest core, proportionally
- Blue color comes from methane
- Strongest winds (2000 km/h)
How is a planet defined?
- Orbit Sun
- Spherical Shape
- Cleared orbital path
What are the dwarf planets?
Pluto, are Eris, Haumea, Makemake, and Ceres.
Over what period does the Earth’s axis vary? Precession of equinoxes? Eccentricity of orbit?
- Tilt varies from 21.5 to 24.5 over 41,000 yr period
- 23,000 yr
- 100,000 yr
Skipped Some Slides (Sept 22-25)
Equations for period, etc…
Skipped Some Slides (Sept 25)
Atomic numbers, mass, radioactive decay, half-life equations.
What is the half-life of Carbon 14 (to N 14)?
5,730 yrs.
Organic matter, calcium carbonate, fossils, wood.
What are some principles of stratigraphy?
- Principle of original horizontality
- Principle or superposition
Lithology (layers) and fossils can show correlations. Cross cutting relationships can also show relationships, such as igneous intrusive (xenoliths, etc…), faults and unconformities. Name the unconformities.
- Nonconformity
- Angular unconformity
- Disconformity
Briefly describe the eons in the geological time scale.
Hadean (>3.8 Ga): earliest known rocks, molten earth, differentiation.
Archean (2.5-3.8 Ga): atmosphere mainly N and CO2, first evidence of life.
Proterozoic (543 Ma - 2.5 Ga): tectonic similar to today, single-celled organisms abundant, increasing O.
Phanerozoic (0-543 Ma): first animal shell fossils (542 Ma), increased animal diversity, land colonized by plants (400 Ma), first land animals (insects, amphibians), Pangea.
What was the atmosphere like in Hadean eon vs now?
Now: -O 21% -N 78% -CO2: 380 ppm Then: -Oxygen: little -Nitrogen: similar -CO2: uncertain, likely high
How old are the earliest known rocks?
~4.0 Ga, metamorphic