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REN R 105 > Lecture #4 (Lithosphere) > Flashcards

Lecture #4 (Lithosphere) Flashcards

1
Q

How long ago was the Big Bang?

A

13.8 billion YBP (Years Before Present)

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2
Q

What is thought to have caused the Big Bang?

A

Some irregularity – think of the quote, “We are all star dust”

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3
Q

What is the name of the galaxy that we live in?

A

Milky Way

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4
Q

When did the first galaxies and stars form?

A

About a few hundred million years (Ma) after the Big Bang

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5
Q

How long ago did our solar system and sun form?

A

5 Ga (~9 Gas after the Big Bang)

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6
Q

At 4.54 Ga what was formed?

A

The Earth

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7
Q

What is the Theia Impact theorized to have caused/formed? And when?

A

The moon; 4.5 Ga

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8
Q

The oldest known rock on Earth is ____ Ga and is located where?

A

4.03; Canadian Shield

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9
Q

What does LUCA stand for?

A

Last Universal Common Ancestor of life (start of life on Earth)

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10
Q

How many years is Ga?

A

Billions of years

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11
Q

How many years is Ma?

A

Millions of years

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12
Q

LUCA was about how many years ago? And during what period was this in?

A

~3.8 Ga; Archean Period

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13
Q

What is the lithosphere?

A

The solid outer part of Earth including the crust and the upper part of the mantle

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14
Q

What are the 4 different eras in geological time scales of planet Earth?

A
  1. Cenozoic (present)
  2. Mesozoic (middle)
  3. Paleozoic (ancient)
  4. Precambrian (oldest of old)
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15
Q

What geological time eon, era, period, and epoch are we currently in?

A

Phanerozoic (Eon); Cenozoic (Era); Quaternary (Period); Holocene (Epoch)

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16
Q

The Precambrian era was how many years ago?

A

2.5 to 4.54 Ga

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17
Q

What 2 Epoch’s are within the Quaternary Period?

A

Holocene (today) & Pleistocene (11.8 Ka)

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18
Q

What is the order of the geological time scale eras from most recent to oldest?

A

Cenozoic (today - 66 Ma) –> Mesozoic (66 Ma - 252 Ma) –> Paleozoic (252 Ma - 541 Ma) –> Precambrian (541 Ma - 4.54 Ga)

Cenozoic; Mesozoic; Paleozoic; Precambrian

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19
Q

What eon are we currently in?

A

Phanerozoic

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20
Q

When was the Quaternary period?

A

Currently (present day)

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21
Q

Life has been on the planet since the ending of the Precambrian eon, when did this eon end?

A

541 Ma

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22
Q

What are the 2 sub-types of the Igneous lithosphere?

A

Volcanic rocks & Plutonic rocks

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23
Q

What is the igneous lithosphere?

A

The farthest layer from the core that has solidified from lava or magma; these rocks can be old, such as the Canadian Shield, to very recent, such as in Western Canada

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24
Q

What type of rocks are formed from lava that flows on the Earth’s surface?

A

Volcanic

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25
Q

What type of rocks are formed from magma cooling and solidifying underground?

A

Plutonic

26
Q

What is a shield (in relation to the lithosphere)?

A

A large area of exposed Precambrian-age igneous and metamorphic rocks that form tectonically stable areas (cratons); Age of rocks is > 570 Ma & sometimes 2 to over 4 Ga.

27
Q

What type of rocks form by recrystallizing minerals under high pressure or temperature (common to the Canadian Shield)?

A

Metamorphic Rocks

28
Q

What type of rocks form from pieces of other rocks ‘glued’ together (or organics like coal) or by minerals being precipitated from water?

A

Sedimentary rocks

29
Q

Between Metamorphic and Sedimentary rocks, which one is older?

A

Metamorphic

30
Q

What is a craton?

A

A part of a continent that is stable, forming the central mass of a continent (i.e. the older ‘basement’ or foundation rocks)

31
Q

When did Earth’s continents start forming?

A

~3 Ga

32
Q

The North American lithosphere is approximately how many kilometers thick?

A

250 km

33
Q

When the Earth cooled around __ Ga and within the last ___ Ma the cratons stopped growing

A

2; 500

34
Q

What are the 4 North American cratons?

A

Superior (4.3 to 2.6 Ga)
Slave (2.7 Ga)
Churchill (1.83 Ga)
Wyoming (3.0 Ga)

35
Q

What is continental drift?

A

The gradual movement of the continents across the Earth’s surface through geological time

36
Q

What Mesozoic mean?

A

“Middle life”

37
Q

The Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous periods were all part of what era?

A

Mesozoic Era

38
Q

How long was the era of the dinosaurs (Mesozoic era)?

A

From 252-66 Ma

39
Q

This period was the recovery of extinction event; breakup of Pangea; expansion of dinosaurs & gymnosperms/conifers; lasted from 252 to 201 Ma

A

Triassic Period

40
Q

This period was more tropical and humid climate; expansion of seas; dinosaurs begin to dominate; first true mammals evolve; lasted from 201 to 145 Ma

A

Jurassic Period

41
Q

This period had more expansion of the seas; more seasonality; birds developing; volcanic eruptions affecting atmosphere; many of the dinosaurs in the film ‘Jurassic’ Park are from this period; lasted from 145 to 66 Ma

A

Cretaceous Period

42
Q

Alberta and surrounding area mostly formed in the late ______ Period. This period also happens to correspond to the period of dinosaurs

A

Cretaceous

43
Q

The different layer of rock are called what?

A

Beds

44
Q

The boundaries separating beds are called what?

A

Contacts

45
Q

____ period ______ rocks dominate the plains (same type of rocks found near Drumheller)

A

Cretaceous; sedimentary

46
Q

Alberta was a ___ at 95 Ma and land by the time of dinosaur extinction __ Ma

A

sea; 66

47
Q

What is the K-T (K-Pg) boundary?

A

The point between the Cretaceous (traditionally abbreviated K) and Tertiary periods (T), now called the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg)

48
Q

The K-T boundary has been dated back to ___ Ma when the dinosaurs disappeared

A

65.5

49
Q

Who studied the boundary and determined the impactor based on iridium amounts must have been at least 10 km in diameter and would not only destroyed everything locally, but also obscured sunlight from dust globally for years?

A

Luis & Walter Alvarez (father-son duo)

50
Q

In what 3 countries have scientists found evidence of the Chicxulub Crater (place of impact)?

A

Mexico, Ukraine, and India

51
Q

What era was the Canadian Rockies formed in?

A

Late Paleozoic Era and uplifted 185 Ma (Western parts) to 55 Ma (eastern foothills)

52
Q

Mountains make up about how much of the Earth’s terrestrial surface?

A

30%

53
Q

What are Hammond’s landforms?

A

A map depicting the mountain, hills, plains, and tablelands of the world

54
Q

Majority of Alberta was formed during the ______ era.

A

Mesozoic

55
Q

Alberta’s terrain was shaped by ____ geology together with recent ____ history.

A

older; glacial

56
Q

The Peace River and Athabasca River both flow into the _______ Delta

A

Peace-Athabasca

57
Q

Icefields mountains in Jasper were formed in what period?

A

Paleozoic

58
Q

Drumheller rock formations were formed during which 2 eras?

A

Mesozoic-Cenozoic

59
Q

The Canadian Shield is made up of ___ bedrock

A

Precambrian

60
Q

Northern Alberta rivers flow towards ______ and southern rivers flow towards _____

A

Artic Ocean; Hudson Bay

REN R 105 (6 decks)

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