Prelude - and just what is geology? Flashcards
Engineering geology
The stability of geologic materials at the Earth’s surface, for such purposes as controlling landslides and building tunnels, dams, mines, roads, or foundations
Environmental Geology
Interactions between the environment and geologic materials, and the contamination of geologic materials
Geochemistry
Chemical compositions of materials in the Earth and chemical reactions in the natural environment
Geochronology
The age (in years) of geologic materials, the Earth, and extraterrestrial objects
Geomorphology
Landscape formation and evolution
Geophysics
Physical characteristics of the whole Earth (such as Earth’s magnetic field and gravity field) and of forces in the Earth
Copyright | W. W. Norton & Company | Earth: Portrait of a Planet (Fourth Edition) | charmsofgold@gmail.com | Printed from www.chegg.com
Hydrogeology
Groundwater, its movement, and its reaction with rock and soil
Copyright | W. W. Norton & Company | Earth: Portrait of a Planet (Fourth Edition) | charmsofgold@gmail.com | Printed from www.chegg.com
Mineralogy
The chemistry and physical properties of minerals
Copyright | W. W. Norton & Company | Earth: Portrait of a Planet (Fourth Edition) | charmsofgold@gmail.com | Printed from www.chegg.com
Palentology
Fossils and the evolution of life as preserved in the rock record
Copyright | W. W. Norton & Company | Earth: Portrait of a Planet (Fourth Edition) | charmsofgold@gmail.com | Printed from www.chegg.com
Petrology
Rocks and their formation
Sedimentology
Sediments and their deposition
Seismology
Earthquakes and the Earth’s interior as revealed by earthquake waves
Copyright | W. W. Norton & Company | Earth: Portrait of a Planet (Fourth Edition) | charmsofgold@gmail.com | Printed from www.chegg.com
Stratigraphy
The succession of sedimentary rock layers
Copyright | W. W. Norton & Company | Earth: Portrait of a Planet (Fourth Edition) | charmsofgold@gmail.com | Printed from www.chegg.com
Structural Geology
Rock deformation (bending and breaking) in response to the application of force
Copyright | W. W. Norton & Company | Earth: Portrait of a Planet (Fourth Edition) | charmsofgold@gmail.com | Printed from www.chegg.com
Tectonics
Regional geologic features (such as mountain belts) and plate movements and their consequences
Volcanology
Volcanic eruptions and their products
Copyright | W. W. Norton & Company | Earth: Portrait of a Planet (Fourth Edition) | charmsofgold@gmail.com | Printed from www.chegg.com
What is Geology? (or Geoscience)
The study of earth
What are Geologists?
Scientists who study the Earth
What is the theory of plate tectonics?
Plate tectonics explains many Earth processes. Earth is not a homogeneous ball, but rather consists of concentric layers—from center to surface, Earth has a core, man-tle, and crust. We live on the surface of the crust, where it meets the atmosphere and the oceans. In the 1960s, geologists recognized that the crust, together with the uppermost part of the underlying mantle, forms a 100- to 150-km-thick semi-rigid shell. Large cracks separate this shell into discrete pieces, called plates , which move very slowly relative to one another ( Fig. P.5 ). The theory
that describes this movement and its consequences is called the theory of plate tectonics , and it is the foundation for understanding most geologic phenom-ena. Although plates move very slowly—generally less than 10 cm a year—their movements yield earthquakes, volcanoes, and mountain ranges, and cause the map of Earth’s surface to change over time.
Copyright | W. W. Norton & Company | Earth: Portrait of a Planet (Fourth Edition) | charmsofgold@gmail.com | Printed from www.chegg.com
What is Earth?
A planet
How old does Geological data say the earth is?
Earth formed 4.57 Billion years ago
What is the Geologic Time Scale?
depicts the major subdivisions of the geologic time scale. Geologists call the last 542 mil-lion years the Phanerozoic Eon, and all time before that the Precambrian. They further divide the Precambrian into three main intervals named, from oldest to young-est, the Hadean, the Archean, and the Proterozoic Eons. The Phanerozoic Eon is also divided into three main intervals named, from oldest to youngest, the Paleozoic, the Mesozoic, and the Cenozoic Eras.
Copyright | W. W. Norton & Company | Earth: Portrait of a Planet (Fourth Edition) | charmsofgold@gmail.com | Printed from www.chegg.com
What are Internal Processes?
phenomena driven by heat from inside the Earth. Plate movement is an exam-ple. Because plate movements cause mountain building, earthquakes, and volcanoes, we call all of these phenom-ena internal processes as well.
Copyright | W. W. Norton & Company | Earth: Portrait of a Planet (Fourth Edition) | charmsofgold@gmail.com | Printed from www.chegg.com
What are External Processes?
phenomena driven by heat supplied by radiation coming to the Earth from the Sun. This heat drives the movement of air and water, which grinds and sculpts the Earth’s surface and transports the debris to new loca-tions, where it accumulates. The interaction between internal and external processes forms the landscapes of our planet. As we’ll see, gravity—the pull that one mass exerts on another—plays an important role in both inter-nal and external processes.
Copyright | W. W. Norton & Company | Earth: Portrait of a Planet (Fourth Edition) | charmsofgold@gmail.com | Printed from www.chegg.com
How does Geological phenomenon affect our environment?
Volcanoes, earthquakes, landslides, floods, groundwater, energy sources, and mineral reserves are of vital interest to every inhabitant of this planet. Therefore, throughout this book we emphasize the linkages between geology, the environment, and society.
Copyright | W. W. Norton & Company | Earth: Portrait of a Planet (Fourth Edition) | charmsofgold@gmail.com | Printed from www.chegg.com
What is the Scientific Method?
Every scien-tific idea must be tested thoroughly, and should be used only when supported by documented observations. Further, scientific ideas do not appear out of nowhere, but are the result of human efforts. Wherever possible, this book shows where geologic ideas came from, and tries to answer the question, “How do we know that?”
Copyright | W. W. Norton & Company | Earth: Portrait of a Planet (Fourth Edition) | charmsofgold@gmail.com | Printed from www.chegg.com
How should you view learning Geology?
Don’t view geology as a list of words to memorize, but rather as an interconnected set of concepts to digest. Most of all, enjoy yourself as you learn about what may be the most fascinating planet in the Universe. To help illustrate the geology of our amazing world, we have created “See for Yourself” features. Using Google Earth ™, you’ll be able to see the products of geologic processes for yourself (see See for Yourself A: How to Use Google Earth™ to see Geologic Features on p. S-1, near the end of the book).
Copyright | W. W. Norton & Company | Earth: Portrait of a Planet (Fourth Edition) | charmsofgold@gmail.com | Printed from www.chegg.com
What are the steps to the Scientific Method?
- Recognize problem/issue, 2. Collect Data, 3. Proposing Hypothesis, 4. Testing Hypothesis
Terms to know, placeholder:
Earth System (p. 5)external process (p. 6)geologic time scale (p. 6)geologist (p. 3)geology (p. 3)hypothesis (p. 8)internal process (p. 6)plate (p. 5)scientific laws (p. 9)scientific method (pp. 7, 8)shatter cones (p. 8)theory (p. 8)theory of plate tectonics (p. 6)
